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You will find Kar98a barrel bands on trash bins on tables at the big gunshows. No one knows what the bands are and what they are for. So you MIGHT pick them up for a song. But, you must beat the bushes and be serious. Closed up gun shops are great, too. Good luck. A note: I long ago stopped helping dealers price their odd stuff. I got run off at a table once and was called a "F###" another time. So if you see something real for dirt buy it!
I did decide to get the rifle. Going to try to take this one slow so I'm not dumping a ton of money in it. Did find repro stocks for them but would run about $350 to get a set shipped. Not sure at this point that I want to invest that much. Found most of the missing metal and that's going to run another $100 and some of it is Polish.
The stocks are beautiful so tempting but not original so not sure how I feel about them.
PPHU Fox - Wooden gun stocks
That stuff is so nice I'd do it. If you don't, the original stuff will never show up. If you do, the original stuff will show up the next day. Do it and be happy, forget about getting original wood after that. Put it together and let it be the center piece of your really neat collectibles. The price on original wood will be staggering and the gun still isn't original, the wood won't look that good...
I knew I shouldn't have put the link to the stock up. So if I were to decide to get a stock, what are the opinions of getting the stamps on it? I did some looking around and can't tell if they look correct or not. I had a guy try to sell me a M74/81 one time with really fake looking marks and he swore the "brand new" looking stock was original. I knew it wasn't. I wouldn't try to pass this off as original either but if the marks are correct, they also look nice. But if they are not correct, I'd rather have a plain stock I think.
Can you not ask the manufacturer for a plain stock? These guys should be able to do that. And as for publishing the site, that's just good info for us for later...
Jim,
Plain stock is the standard base stock. The markings are like $10 extra. They can put a serial number on along with I believe the site said Bavarian markings.
I wanted to post the site to help people, but I figured someone would talk me into actually buying one which is why I made the comment. They do sure look good and the metal on the rifle I picked up while not new is in pretty good shape. Stock metal is where I'm going to be hurting I think. With a stock like that I'll pretty much have to refinish any metal I find.
I looked at those while seeking my k-98 stock. Very pricey but do appear to be quite nice looking.
What a tangled web we weave when a bubbaed milsurp we recieve.
I still think it's the way to go. Them forget about looking for original wood, you have a beauty and in 70 years no one will be able to tell...as for externals of the metal bits...clean them up and let it sit for a couple years to see what you think then.
Lets discuss the proper stock then. I have an Erfurt 1918. The stock it came in while cut down still shows it to be a version I according to the website. No disassembly hole, no finger groove. I don't know if this was a put together rifle from an earlier time of not. I would think it would have a later stock but not having to find the butt disk would be one less thing to worry about. Photos seem to show 1918 Erferts having the finger groove and hole.
They claim to have both versions or a combination...whatever you like. I'd go with whatever the butt you have looks like. The hardware for the stock hole would be same as standard I should think.