Early German G-43

[Bill Grist]

16.. TOOL ctgs...HEER marked

[Bill Grist]

17... The first type butt manual........

[Adrian Stevenson]

Very nice Bill.


These rifles have always been very hard to come by here in the UK. I cannot recall ever seeing one for sale? A friend of mine once showed me one which was in poor condition and covered in Arabic decoration.

Cheers, Ade.

[John Hodgin]

Museum piece Bill! Better it is with you, a museum would not appreciate it. Superb!

[mudsharkangler]

Bill,

Gorgeous weapon!! Thanks for sharing all of your items with us!

Brian Kowalski

[Bill Grist]

Captivity

Museum piece Bill! Better it is with you, a museum would not appreciate it. Superb!

John, That is why I say "OUT OF CAPTIVITY"..BILL

[Ronnie Fry]

Thank You Again

Bill,
We've come to expect the unexpected. A wonderful example of this hard to find item. And, of course, you always seem to have the even harder to find accessories that make the item even more interesting.
A tip of the ole' Hatlo Hat to you Bud!!

r

[Gene]

Holy moly Bill. . . that is an outstanding rifle! Methinks we need to rename this the Bill Grist/Gary Cain/Leon DeSpain Outstanding Firearms So View 'Em And Weep Forum!

[J Melvin]

Beautiful gun. It's interesting to note the quality of craftsmanship on this very early one in comparison to what was coming out in late '44 and '45.

[Bill Grist]

Glad

I am thrilled that people are enjoying the Items.. If you display at a gun show the Idiots don't know what the stuff is, and all they are interested in is sportizing a 'OLD RIFLE' into a deer gun... I can tell horror stories of GUNS that I have seen that were super rare, when I first saw them, and the person would not sell, then years later seeing the weapon ruined..I'll tell one story.. 25 years ago I saw in Charlotte, N.C. a Luftwaffe marked Low Turret Sniper rifle with matching scope mounts and very nice shape. Five years ago I saw the same rifle come into a NCGCA show with the mounts taken off the weapon and stock cut, He had the scope and the turret was cut off the ring and the back attaching locking devise and bottom part of the rear mount was gone.. It looked like someone had tried to mount the scope on a commercial rifle, by cutting down the front turret mount.. The person that had the weapon purchased at a local flea market. I purchased the scope and sold it at the SOS some years later.. What can I say.. and there are other horror stories...BILL

[John Hodgin]

I'll tell one story.. 25 years ago I saw in Charlotte, N.C. a Luftwaffe marked Low Turret Sniper rifle with matching scope mounts and very nice shape. Five years ago I saw the same rifle come into a NCGCA show with the mounts taken off the weapon and stock cut, He had the scope and the turret was cut off the ring and the back attaching locking devise and bottom part of the rear mount was gone.. It looked like someone had tried to mount the scope on a commercial rifle, by cutting down the front turret mount.. The person that had the weapon purchased at a local flea market. I purchased the scope and sold it at the SOS some years later.. What can I say.. and there are other horror stories...BILL

Hi Bill,
Did you tell the fool what he had done, or suggest he be shot with the weapon?

I've seen so many beautiful 98ks turned into "deer guns" it makes one want to cry. The last was a mint late 30s KM marked one. It had deep rich bluing and appeared unfired until it was "chopped" and hunted with. Pity! The old veteran understood his error when I told him the gun's value in original condition and what it was worth as a deer gun......

[JosefII]

absolutely beautiful bill, congrats.... may i ask how much these fetch for?

[Willi Z.]

Super rifle and accessories Bill!

Those tool cartridges are very tough to find also. How about showing us a Luftwaffe tool cartridge too?

[Patrick Dempsey]

Late to this thread (as usual ),

but that is a magnificent item. As Ade has mentioned these weapons are on the level of myth in the UK, and i too have never seen an example for sale.

I have to mention the ammo pouch also...simply beautiful.


Patrick.

[JosefII]

really? what about the MG44? wasn't that made in even slightly fewer numbers?

now that would be a prize !