Over the years I have noticed that a large portion of the G/K-43 rifles on the U.S. collector market have sanded/refinished stocks. To me, the very high percentage of sanded stocks is out of proportion to what we see with 98k and other WWII German rifles typically found here in the U.S. I wonder if there is a pattern?
I recall seeing G/K-43 rifles for sale in the Interarms (and related Sam Cummings' entities) ads in the back of of 1960's-era American Rifleman magazines, so it seems clear that Sam Cummings imported some quantity of these rifles for the US market. In reading several books about Sam Cummings and his operations, I see repeated references to him having "refurbishment" operations (particularly at Interarms' Manchester, England facility) where the raw surplus was processed through for cleaning and other "refurbishment" prior to being shipped to the US for sale.
Thus, I wonder if the pattern (that I perceive to exist) of sanded and refinished G/K-43 stocks indicates that many such examples on the U.S. market are Sam Cummings/Interarms imports from the 1960's rather than direct U.S. veteran bring-backs?
Sure, there are going to be lots of "Bubba" sanded stocks on G/K-43's, just like with 98k's. My point, however, is that the precentage of sanded/refinished stocks that I have observed on the U.S. market for G/K-43's seems MUCH higher than the number of correspondingly altered 98k's. With 98k's that are "Bubba" jobs, we typically see variation among the examples as to what sort of alterations were made to "sporterize" the rifles; with the G/K-43's the rifles seem pretty consistent with the only alteration being stock sanding and coating with varnish. This seemingly consistent treatment, coupled with the documented Interarms sale of such rifles here in the U.S. (and further knowing that Interarms "refurbished" rifles prior to sale) causes me to wonder if we are seeing a pattern.
BTW: If you read the various books on Interarms/Sam Cummings, you will learn about the tremendous quantities of WWII German small arms that he imported into the U.S. My understanding is that so-called "import markings" were not in effect at this time, so none of the Interarms guns are specially marked. Thus, my sense is that a significant number of WWII German small arms now in U.S. collections are Interarms imports and not "war trophy" bring-backs from U.S. troops.
Just a few ideas that I wanted to toss out for discussion. Any thoughts?
I recall seeing G/K-43 rifles for sale in the Interarms (and related Sam Cummings' entities) ads in the back of of 1960's-era American Rifleman magazines, so it seems clear that Sam Cummings imported some quantity of these rifles for the US market. In reading several books about Sam Cummings and his operations, I see repeated references to him having "refurbishment" operations (particularly at Interarms' Manchester, England facility) where the raw surplus was processed through for cleaning and other "refurbishment" prior to being shipped to the US for sale.
Thus, I wonder if the pattern (that I perceive to exist) of sanded and refinished G/K-43 stocks indicates that many such examples on the U.S. market are Sam Cummings/Interarms imports from the 1960's rather than direct U.S. veteran bring-backs?
Sure, there are going to be lots of "Bubba" sanded stocks on G/K-43's, just like with 98k's. My point, however, is that the precentage of sanded/refinished stocks that I have observed on the U.S. market for G/K-43's seems MUCH higher than the number of correspondingly altered 98k's. With 98k's that are "Bubba" jobs, we typically see variation among the examples as to what sort of alterations were made to "sporterize" the rifles; with the G/K-43's the rifles seem pretty consistent with the only alteration being stock sanding and coating with varnish. This seemingly consistent treatment, coupled with the documented Interarms sale of such rifles here in the U.S. (and further knowing that Interarms "refurbished" rifles prior to sale) causes me to wonder if we are seeing a pattern.
BTW: If you read the various books on Interarms/Sam Cummings, you will learn about the tremendous quantities of WWII German small arms that he imported into the U.S. My understanding is that so-called "import markings" were not in effect at this time, so none of the Interarms guns are specially marked. Thus, my sense is that a significant number of WWII German small arms now in U.S. collections are Interarms imports and not "war trophy" bring-backs from U.S. troops.
Just a few ideas that I wanted to toss out for discussion. Any thoughts?
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