My uncle gave me a few old rifles he had and i am wondering if anyone knows anything about them.

I got a Danzig 1913 with a 48xx serial number. It has some charector i cant read and then ar. 98 so i am going to guess its on a mauser action but i need help with what caliber it is. I am thinking its 8mm.

I also got a German G43 (edit: typed 34 by accident) in the 20xx serial number range. Its in good condition, the stock is a bit beat up and the magizne has a few scratches but otherwise its in great shape. The action feels a bit stiff but that may be because it hasnt been oiled in over 50 years.

Also got a old Marlin shotgun, has a bunch of patent dates on the barrel from the 1890's and has an open hammer like a winchester 1897. I need to tear it apart and reconnect the slide to the bolt, they are seperated so it wont go into battery, i think it would be safe to shoot with standard velocity loads.

And finaly got an 1897 shotgun, i already have one, so now i have two, this one has a shorter barrel than the one i got and the action is very very stiff so it needs a good teardown and cleaning and oiling

If anyone can give me any info on these i would apreciate it. Oh and i will try and get pictures up soon

And here are the pictures:



Here are some more:



Now the mauser:


Here it is with a round of 7.62x39 wolf in the barrel:

Some 1897's

And my tactical gear:

Holy shit a G43?!?!?!

That alone makes it worth it!

Do Not shoot That Marlin with modern ammo.  The bolt is not well retained, like a win97,  and it will Ka-BOOM!

I have one but there is no way I would fire a smokeless round in it.

I just got finished cleaning the G43. I am wondering if the corrosive romanian ammo would be ok to shoot through it. The gas block looks kinda hard to clean and i would worry about having that corrode. The block extends back about 4 inches and has a connetor rod go between the block and the op rod.

The thing hasnt been cleaned in over 50 years i bet. The action is 100 times smoother, the bolt no longer gets stuck. Lubed with rem oil hopefully thats slippery enough for it.

I shoot my 1897 atleast 4 times a year, and each time shoot like a box or 2 of ammo out of it. Its one of my favorite shotguns. I be sure i shoot regular velocity stuff out of it. Nothing too hot.

I did a little bit of reading on the marlin and i think your rite, I dont think i am gonna shoot it. The whole thing of the bolt coming back into my head kinda scares me. I will try and reassemble it correctly and atleast make it function properly as a wall hanger.

Damn, and I thought getting a nylon 1911 holster for Christmas was a cool gun present.  

You suck, you don't suck if you sell me the G43

Though not for sale but out of curiocity how much is it worth anyways?

I have been doing some reading, and aparently in order to safely shoot it its highly recomended that i get new springs and get a new gas regulator, just to be safe and not screw the gun up. Replacement parts are a freakin fortune for this thing.

Check Numerich for parts, www.e-gunparts.com

Those G-43's are sweet...........my uncle has one along with a few M-1D snipers, and it's been well taken care of........he gets offers for it , but wont sell it. And he told me he was gonna will it to me!!

Check gunbroker for prices, I saw a beautiful one at a show about 2 years ago with the correct scope and in beautiful condition.....$3800.

I've seen nice reworks on gunbroker go for around $1500-3000

I was just complaining about G43's selling for $2900 when someone told be that an auction was recently WON for one with a scope for $3400.

These rifles have a reputation for breaking.  I would either hang it on the wall or sell it but then again I'm just not comfortable with those at current prices.

Dennis Jenkins

Quoted: I just got finished cleaning the G43. I am wondering if the corrosive romanian ammo would be ok to shoot through it. The gas block looks kinda hard to clean and i would worry about having that corrode. The block extends back about 4 inches and has a connetor rod go between the block and the op rod. The thing hasnt been cleaned in over 50 years i bet. The action is 100 times smoother, the bolt no longer gets stuck. Lubed with rem oil hopefully thats slippery enough for it. I shoot my 1897 atleast 4 times a year, and each time shoot like a box or 2 of ammo out of it. Its one of my favorite shotguns. I be sure i shoot regular velocity stuff out of it. Nothing too hot. I did a little bit of reading on the marlin and i think your rite, I dont think i am gonna shoot it. The whole thing of the bolt coming back into my head kinda scares me. I will try and reassemble it correctly and atleast make it function properly as a wall hanger.

G43?  SCHWEEEEET!  

That's like my 'holy grail' rifle.  Post more pics of it!  Details man!  Details!

Quoted: G43?  SCHWEEEEET!   That's like my 'holy grail' rifle.  Post more pics of it!  Details man!  Details!

here is an airsoft replica on gun broker for almost 2 grand

gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=41899609

or a real one for around the same  eta this isnt a g43 but something similar

gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=41883497

Okie, that's a nice looking replica... That could serve as a good wall hanger... but too dang pricey.

The G41 is nice... they're more rare than the G43, and in good shape, would be worth quite a bit more, IMHO.  

I don't know if I'll ever be able to obtain a G43... but I can always dream about it.  

For the Mauser, the first letter is a K.  Nice rifle.  Can it be restored to original condition?  If onlt the stock has been cut it has more value than if the barrle has been cut too.

The G43 is one heck of a gift.  There is a forum devoted to these rifles and I STRONGLY recommend that you look it over before shooting your rifle.  It is safe to shoot, but they are finicky and need things like new springs every 500 rounds or so.  I would get a complete set of sprongs from Wolff and replace them before shooting to insure your rifle cycles properly.  These rifles were hurried into production and, during the war,  there was no time to address many of the issues with them.   There is a book about them called "Hitler's Garand".  Well worht getting.  

There can also be issues with the gas piston etc and there is a person who offers new, improved, gas pistons systems for sale.  I would get one of those, but save all original pieces.  You have a real collecors rifle there.  Treat is as such.  Enjoy shooting it, but learn all you can about it first.

Corrosive ammo is no big deal if you clean accordingly after shooting.  During WWII, all ammo had corrosive primers.  Besides the sentimental valus of these rifles, the G43 is sort of a holy grail for some collectors.  Treat it accordingly.

The mauser is a sporterized Kar 98. If the bolt matches and the bore is good it is worth around $ 175 as is. It is safe to shoot 8mm surplus in it; Romanian 8mm would be good.

The G43 looks pretty good, don't mess with the stock even though the shellac is wrong. Easily worth $ 1200-1500. You can try the Romanian but Yugo would probably work better as it is the same as the German WW2 196 grain 8mm it was designed to shoot. +1 on getting new springs and cleaning it good if you are going to shoot it with corrosive ammo...

Don't shoot any Turkish 8mm in the G43. I saw a mint G43 k-boom using Turkish ammo.  

I found the website that has the new gas pistons and stuff for the g43. I was going to buy that and new springs before i was going to shoot it. I dont want to take the chance in screwing something up. Plus if i own something i like to use it.

I didnt notice it before but the i guess you could call it the gas tube is stuck to the piston on the g43. I was trying to get it off last night and failed. I am gonna spray some oil in there and some hoppes bore solvent to try and break up the corrosion and remove the pieces without scratching them. I read on one of the websites that another guy got the things unstuck by shooting about 20 rounds through the gun and using the gas pressure to break them free.

Its good to know that it would be safe to shoot surplus though the mauser. It looks to be all matching, even the stock is the original stock. The thing is pretty light so its gonna have a hell of a kick to it.

Thanks for all the help, you will all be rewarded with more pictures tonight

As the others have noted, the G43 is one heck of a Christmas gift. I'm sure you're aware by now that the default components won't stand up to regular use. As I understand it, the factory gas valve is too big and a few other parts are too delicate to withstand the punishment of 8mm ammunition. I personally wouldn't shoot it. Replacing these parts with beefier modern reproduction parts seems to be the next best solution. Just make sure you learn how to properly dis/reassemble the gun and make sure you never lose the original parts.

I can't tell with any degree of certainty, but it looks as if your G43 stock may have been refinished with a shiny lacquer at some point. This doesn't kill the collector value but it does diminish it somewhat. The serious German collectors are real demons when it comes to historical authenticity.

The letters on your sporterized Mauser are probably "GEW" in fancy fraktur script. Gew. is short for Gewehr, or rifle. This would make your rifle a Gewehr 1898- the WW1 era full length precursor to the K98k karbine the Germans used in WW2. Some people turn their noses up at all sporterized military surplus rifles, but there is a small niche of people who collect vintage conversions. They can be nice finds if the work is top notch. I wouldn't take it for granted that the rifle is chambered for 8mm, though this is probably the case. Have gunsmith make a casting of the chamber if you intend to shoot it.

All of these guns are apparently family heirilooms, so I assume the dollar value isn't of much concern to you except for insurance purposes.

Galland

Ed: Ahh, so it is a G41. Even nicer!

They all sound GREAT yeah I like the G43 too, YOU are a Lucky Man,and It sounds like your uncle knows you will appricate and take care of them, God Bless and Good Luck

Quoted: Do Not shoot That Marlin with modern ammo.  The bolt is not well retained, like a win97,  and it will Ka-BOOM! I have one but there is no way I would fire a smokeless round in it.

Marlin has been trying for years to get all these back to destroy them since they are inherently dangerous since it can fire with an unlocked bolt.

Consider yourself duly warned.

wganz
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I have a Marlin 98 shotgun that i have shot for years, it says smokeless right on the barrel. I shot 3 years of cowboy action shooting with it untill i got a 97 winchester. Depending on what year it was built it may or may not be dangerous to shoot.