Help with k98

[ALJEFF]

I am thinking of purchaseing a matching KM, AR k98.It has a sling cutout in the stock,it looks to have been done for a long time.Can anyone identify this sling cutout.

[ALJEFF]

other

[ALJEFF]

cutout

[phild]

What makes the rifle KM? Are there any marks on the belly of the butt stock area? The butt plate looks a little odd in the photos. The stock looks to be a laminated type and the sling bard looks to be the Polish type....but the laminated is not right for a Polish re-work stock and there are other differences between these type of stocks.

I think that photos of any stock markings inside or out would be helpful and close ups of the butt plate.

[ALJEFF]

There is a M and eagle on the r/s of the butt stock.I may be wrong but isn;t that for the KM.I will ask for more pictures of the stock and post them.There is no import markings on it. It is marked AR 41. Personaly I don't feel good about the stock,the seller say's the stock is s/n in the channel,and he sent a pic, but can't read the number.

[phild]

There is a M and eagle on the r/s of the butt stock.I may be wrong but isn;t that for the KM.I will ask for more pictures of the stock and post them.There is no import markings on it. It is marked AR 41. Personaly I don't feel good about the stock,the seller say's the stock is s/n in the channel,and he sent a pic, but can't read the number.

You are right of course about the E-M stamp being KM if it is original. I can not recall what the P.H. stamp is on the takedown disk...but I don't recall that as being KM, as I think that only O or N were used in KM in property IDs.

I was curious if the underside of the stock was stamped with a Kru in the pistol grip area or a Hza Eagle stamp a little further back from that area?

The sling bar looks very well executed as if by an arsenal. It may be a post war re-issue but I would think that other markings should be fond somewhere if that was the case. Essentially it allows for the use of both a German sling or a common tab over button type sling....of which there must have been tens or even 100s of thousands in stocks captured from a half a dozen different countries by the Germans.

I also think that the butt plate markings and make will be a big clue here.

[gurtsack]

fench

hallo
it is a french army modification.
it is for used mas 36 leather sling
regards
gurt

[phild]

hallo
it is a french army modification.
it is for used mas 36 leather sling
regards
gurt

That makes perfect sense. After futher looking at the posted example i realize that the bar is not exactly like the Polish Mauser's in the shape of the anchoring ends.

I have seen some 98k's that were assembled under French occupation at Mauser. I would say that these French re-worked 98k rifles are not real common in the U.S.

[MauserKar98k]

Yes, it definately is French. I have a French rifle whose sling is attached in exactly the same manner.

[ALJEFF]

I have requested more pictures of the rifle.I will post them as soon as I get them.How rare is this type of sling attachment..

[Bob in OH]

"Rarity" of the sling bar doesn't improve value... it actually hurts value (over an unmodified one) as it's not orig German...