numbers on bnz 44, single rune rifles ??

[jh-ss44]

hello ,

in Richard Laws' book ,"back bone of the Wehrmacht". (1998 revised) ;
there seems to be different information on the bnz 1944 , single rune marked rifles... any one have a clue which numbers are correct ??

page 234; total made 175,816 (= o.k. ).
at the bottom states this # includes 2,451 with the single rune & 8,692 with the SS waffen amt.
But page 236 shows the " total " of Just the single rune marked as = 6,469.

That's a 4,018 amount difference.

any clue which is correct ??
thank you in advance !
& no , I do not own one but, do own a bnz 43 ,single rune .
Jeff H.

[sszza2]

Jeff,

The short answer is neither number is correct. The majority of Laws’ information on SS rifles is incorrect. Among many research issues throughout the series - Law developed broad conclusions based on serial number studies of manufacturers/years without paying close attention to other critical details. This was problematic and as your question suggests resulted in inaccurate numbers and conclusions.

I encourage you to do a search here on ‘Backbone of the Wehrmacht’. You will find evidence that the majority of the standard SS rifles and almost all of the SS snipers in the series have authenticity issues. So it should not be used as a foundation for understanding the subject and especially for as it says "identifying the genuine article."

Scott

[jh-ss44]

Scott, first, sorry for my delay in a response = work.
thank you for taking the time to respond to my question.
I had heard that the info. was a rough guide at best in this book.
I'll try to beat the trees to find better info. on this specific code /date/ markings.

I knew the book was not perfect.... I own a dou.45 in the "k" range ; book states only found up to the "b" range. I have no grand illusions , I know that this receiver was made before the wars end , but never left the factory till well past that date.

thank you again.
jeff H.

[sszza2]

Scott, first, sorry for my delay in a response = work.
thank you for taking the time to respond to my question.
I had heard that the info. was a rough guide at best in this book.
I'll try to beat the trees to find better info. on this specific code /date/ markings.

I knew the book was not perfect.... I own a dou.45 in the "k" range ; book states only found up to the "b" range. I have no grand illusions , I know that this receiver was made before the wars end , but never left the factory till well past that date.

thank you again.
jeff H.

Jeff,

No problem on the delay. I travel a great deal and often have a problem responding quickly. Sad to say that to date there is nothing better than 'BBOTW' on the SS subject. Other references have similar problems with mixtures of good and bad rifles and conclusions derived from same.

Scott