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Kar98 Manufacturer

Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 12:03 am
by SuperSniperJimmy
What is the highest quality Manufactured Kar98s? For instance I have a BNZ 43 and it's been pretty good to me so far.

Re: Kar98 Manufacturer

Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 1:22 am
by saddler
Quality wise...they all had to meet specific criteria or they'd not pass inspection.
(WaffenAmpt stamps are Arms Inspector markings)

The rule of thumb for which were better made: pre-war were made with a lot more care and attention to finish, etc., than war-time manufacture...as they had fewer time constraints as well as a bigger pool of highly skilled workers.

The only ones I'd personally not go near (unless they were thoroughly checked by an expert first) are some of the '45 production.

Re: Kar98 Manufacturer

Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 8:50 pm
by mauser98
I have to agree with Saddler. pre and early war rifles were the best quality. After 1941 they started to cut corners in manufacturing to save time and money but quality was still quite good. By late 43 into 1944 more time saving proceedures were initiated. This included stamped bands and triggerguards, less finishing work on metal parts and stocks became rougher. BNZ eventually used slave labor as did BCD, so quality was reduced. 1945 rifles were very crude, noticable machining marks and chatter on wood stocks.
Some of the smaller early war companies such as BSW, ar and Sauer has excellent quality weapons. BYF was always a top rifle company but Mauser finishing suffered like many others due to high demand.
dot Brunn made some of the best later war rifles (43-44) with high quality blueing and stock fit.
Hope this helps
mauser98