G43 Restoration

[m4a3sherman]

Because this is the only place you can go to be excited about the "saving of a life" when it comes to restoring a horribly butchered rifle. Very few people tend to understand the historical significance that milsurps often have. Save for Sht_le, the other folks at my gunshop could care less about anything milsurpy and I always get the disapproving "slow head shake" when I happily tear into a box and reveal ANOTHER "beat up old military gun."

But more to the point; I love to restore firearms and all the better if it is a wonderful gem hiding behind duct tape and plastic butt-pads (or in this case, electrical tape.) So, I guess I will begin this somewhat lengthy story at the beginning, as these stories are want to wander.

It all started in February of this year at the local gun show. After wandering around to see the usual vendors and rubbing shoulders a little, I had just about seen what there was to see on the tables and was no looking around for what was on people's shoulders when I had to do a double take. There, on the back of a hunched over old man was something that looked very familiar yet somehow foreign, like seeing something in real life for the first time. There, wrapped in black electrical tape the whole length of the handguard, was the muzzle end of a G43, A REAL GEWEHR 43! You have to imagine my heart dropped; I'd never even seen one in real life before, let alone one that was presumably for sale.
Ever the realist, I consigned myself to the reality that it had to over priced or at the very least, out of MY price range. Never the less, I approached and asked if it was for sale; it was.

"May I see it?"
"Sure."
I look it over and see how badly she has been sporterized. The wood is severely sanded down yet still somehow rough as if they had only bothered to use a wood-rasp and never felt like smoothing it. The butt was so modified that they had replaced the metal buttplate, now vastly oversized, with some piece of plastic crap. The electrical tape was shrouding SOMETHING but the style handguard remained a mystery. The bore was nice and the action seemed more or less correct (but I had never played with one so I had no idea either way apart from educated assumptions).
"Well.. How much are you asking?"
"Sonny do you know what this is?"
I should point out that I am 22 and look about 24.
"Yes sir, it's a G43 and it looks like it has been chopped a bit."
"Yea, my uncle brought it back from the Germans and used to hunt with it."
"Mmmhmm."
"Well, I don't know, I have seen what they are going for online"
At this point, my heart is sinking with fears that he will have grandiose ideas of how much his bubba'd rifle is worth.
"I need to get no less than $500 for it."
"hmmm" I take another look over her- all the numbers match but for the bolt assembly and the I already know what the manufacturer's marking is from my study of Kar98ks. It's a Gustloff Werks and I know exactly where this gun was made, Buchenwald.
"Well, I will have to think about it, but thank you." And I walk away.

The second I walk away I go find Sht_le who is talking to the Earls (two of our most beloved Milsurp dealers who are always at the show with stuff for us) and explain it to him. He seems as deeply excited as I am but doesn't show it til later and we decide I need to go for it. So, after some horse trading, Sht_le ends up with my Finn 1891, and I get $250 to go with mine and I track down the old man and make the sale. Proudly I shoulder her and hang the bag of goodies provided with the rifle and leave with a huge smile on my face, electrical tape and all.
And what was in that bag you ask? A reproduction magazine, repro scope mounts and rings, and some old 8mm rounds. The ammo looks like reloads and gets pulled apart to make dummies and the rest is put aside for later. Once I get home, I pull off the tape and find a cracked handguard equally as sanded and disfigured.





The gun show had been on a saturday and so I decided to wait until Monday to do a full take down and inspection to decide what need to be replaced apart from the awful stock. Meanwhile I researched as much as I could find online about the G43s and learned a good bit about my particular bird. After Monday arrived, I began to take her apart and it was clear that some things would need to be worked on. So....
About 2 months later, my replacement laminated stock arrived from Poland along with a replacement band spring. I found a set of new springs for the gun to rebuild the whole thing and set about installing them. Every part was inspected for damage or sabotage. Every part was stripped off and every spec of rust was purged. No reblue (I'm not so cruel) or touch up required. The real issue was inletting the stock which was a serious pain but came out well. Now, several months later, the magazine still wants to feed when it feels like it despite hours upon hours of fitting (stupid repro) and I have not found a buttplate that I can bare paying for (I REFUSE to pay $300 for a buttplate! and instead has a Colombian mauser buttplate with the trapdoor). The cleaning rod was added and is an original from my spares bin along with the sight hood and muzzle cover. All and all, I have about $900 or so not counting my labour in the gun and here she is:







I would never have thought that I could have such a thing at my age and it goes to show that you never know what you'll find if you just keep your eyes open and have the good fortune to have good friends to buy your Finn 1891's.

So, I am sorry for the lengthy post and if you only looked at the pictures, that is ok too- But I am glad to have a place to share things like this and be amoung people who can understand the joy of finding your "one rifle" that stands out in your collection. It is not always a super rare rifle or even a pretty one and to be sure, this G43 is not my "baby" but everyone has that special rifle that they can look upon like a friend who has always inspired you to collect and learn more or perhaps it is that rifle that has never let you down and kept dinner on your table. Whatever the reason you love your milsurps, I am glad we can all come together and express that love. Thanks for reading and keep shooting!

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