svw45 w/ odd stock - please see pics

[hatrick]

I just picked up an svw45 that is a totally correct wartime receiver and barrel and other hardware but the stock is really odd. It is a hardwood/walnut stock that has the correct late style buttplate and no stock bolt takedown disk. It has no markings anywhere not even in the stock channel, handguard or under the buttplate. The thing that has me confused is that it has a plug in the bottom of the buttstock where an old sling swivel was apparently removed and filled. I know at this late point in the war, the Germans were using/reusing all kinds of parts but this isn't a re-used Gew98 stock or it would have the bolt takedown disk.

Anyone have any ideas on this stock?? I suspect it is a postwar stock of some sorts even though the story is that this was a vet bringback rifle and it is not import marked.

Thanks,
Eric

Information

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[jmoore]

It's French, according to a friend. Or Portuguese, maybe. But more probably French.

That's the 15 second evaluation.

[hatrick]

Did the French make their own stocks or was it made from another model gun?? I'm curious on how it ended up in a French stock being a wartime built rifle.

[Calif-Steve]

The French got to the Mauser factory before anybody else. Eventually handed over to the Russians. But, the French did re-start production and kept everything they could lay their hands on. Normally they did mark weapons, but not always. Almost certainly it has French connections.

[Sarge]

Lotsa wrong info here!
1. The frogs did Not capture the Mauser factory, the US did and then turned it over to the frogs a couple of months later because it was in the agreed frog occupation zone.
2. The ruskies Never got close to Oberndorff! They did get the Walther factory - again after the US captured it.
The frogs put Oberndorff back into production in about Jun 45 and continued to make K98ks, HSc u. P.38 pistols untill the late spring of 1946 when, because the ruskies were raising hell about it, they shut down production and destroyed the factory buildings. They shipped a lot of parts back to france and later did some additional assembly there, mostly P.38s.
The stock is a semi Kriegs and could be correkt for a Jan 45 produced 98k. Someone has made a sporter stock out of it sometime in its life. NO connection with the Portuguse nor the frogs!
Sarge

[hatrick]

Sarge,

Thanks for your reply. I really wish/hope that the stock is the original stock even if it had a sling loop added and then plugged but I was told that if it was original that it would have to have a WaA135 stamp on the side of the buttstock. This stock has no markings anywhere.

Thanks,
Eric

[jmoore]

Possibly it is similar to the MAS 45 .22 rf training rifle. Most are French marked. But early ones still have the Mauser banner on the receiver ring. But that's a SWAG on my part.

[JerryB08]

The French cut out a section in the stock and put a bar in to attach the rear sling. I was going to that it had been converted back from a 7.62 Israeli rifle. The fact that it's Walnut is interesting.

---------- Post added at 12:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:05 AM ----------

Ground off

[Calif-Steve]

Sarge 13 got it right. Sorry, doing this off the top of my head. The French ran the factory in violation of the peace treaty that did not allow any weapons production on German soil. But the French had lost entire Army's worth of equipment in 1940 and needed everything they could find. It seems to me they had problems getting all of the German equipment captured in France. But the Russians put up a stink and the French eventuallly moved most of the tooling to France. The French made Walther PP pistols for years with German marking for commerical sale. Kept it a huge secret as Walther sold them to the public as German made guns.

[hatrick]

My svw45 was made well before the plant was taken over so I guess I am still not sure about this stock since it does not have the WaA135 stamp. I could certainly understand the stock if this rifle was made after the plant was taken over.

Eric