Are there any SS Death's Head marked Gewehr 98 rifles?

[Col.Klink]

I know that early in the war, the SS were forced to re-issue the older Gewehr 98 rifles since they didn't get a priority in the arms department, so are there any known ORIGINAL examples of these rifles with SS stampings (such as a Totenkopf)? Thanks for any and all help!
Grant

[juoneen]

They had death squad 98k ss rifles , usually with 2 skulls on the recvr, and barrell. Always found in very poor condition, I do not own one , but know a guy that does. Unfortunately I cannot get photos, maybe someone will have one to show. . These marks were deep stamped into the rcvr's etc after annealing, and prior to heat treating. Any lightly stamped skulls should be viewed with the utmost skepticism, and caution. That shows an "added" mark after heat treating.I have never seen ss marks on reissued gevher ww1 transitional rifles, although the ss carried , and used them early on by bodyguard units etc, until they replaced them with the 98's with skulls stamped as i just described. Other opinions?Rifles to show? If you are col. klink why does your photo look like schultz?hhaha

[Col.Klink]

If you are col. klink why does your photo look like schultz?hhaha[/QUOTE]
HAHAHA Yeah, I know I have Schultz as my pic. I am trying to find a nice shot of Col.Klink on google though, so as soon as I do, I will get rid of poor old Schultzie.

[Col.Klink]

There we go, now I got a classic shot of the bald eagle (er, I mean IRON EAGLE!).

[gew98]

They had death squad 98k ss rifles , usually with 2 skulls on the recvr, and barrell. Always found in very poor condition, I do not own one , but know a guy that does. Unfortunately I cannot get photos, maybe someone will have one to show. . These marks were deep stamped into the rcvr's etc after annealing, and prior to heat treating. Any lightly stamped skulls should be viewed with the utmost skepticism, and caution. That shows an "added" mark after heat treating.I have never seen ss marks on reissued gevher ww1 transitional rifles, although the ss carried , and used them early on by bodyguard units etc, until they replaced them with the 98's with skulls stamped as i just described. Other opinions?Rifles to show? If you are col. klink why does your photo look like schultz?hhaha

Hmmm.... Let's put some of this straight. The majority of gew98 rifles that were used by the SS were rebuilt to 98k configuration and then put back into SS use. That is when they got the totehead mark(s) on the barrel and in the wrist of the stock. They are not terribly rare to find mismatched and or import marked. They are rare to find matching and in excellent condition.
Now I know of one gew98 that is SS marked that has not been rebuilt to 98k specs , and a buddy has had it for some years. I know the owner whom owned it before my buddy ( he's a buddy too ) and he regrets letting it go.
The vast majority of gew98's rebuilt to 98k specs had their imperial arsenal/date marking ground off and were commercially proofed as the SS outsourced the work. Money was tight for the SS up until late 1942 and as such many of these rebuilds used their original gew98 stocks and arts modified to 98k specs as well.
What one has to learn with any SS marked gew98 to 98k build and any 98k they salvaged that went through an SS zentralzeugamt is the patterns and placement of the totehead proofs. And of course spotting a good from a bad totehead , which is actually easier than you may think. As it is the frauds simply pop real laughable toteheads in all the wrong places without any of the other markings that make it right - or wrong.
http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?t=87829
http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?t=88299

Please visit these two threads for a more accurate look and discussion of the whole totehead conundrum.

[MauserKar98k]

The majority of gew98 rifles that were used by the SS were rebuilt to 98k configuration and then put back into SS use. That is when they got the totehead mark(s) on the barrel and in the wrist of the stock. They are not terribly rare to find mismatched and or import marked. They are rare to find matching and in excellent condition.

I concur. Well said gew98.