Found a Mauser, Need Help with Markings, and What Mauser it is?

[Flying10uk]

68rs327, is the number on the barrel which you have posted a picture of on the underside or the side of the barrel? I was under the impression that the K98s of the Nazi era normally had the serial numbers on the barrel stamped on the side near where it joined the receiver. I don't know if this was always the case with every example. Also have you noticed any Waffenampt markings on your rifle. My Yugo K98 still has many left on it although some were probably removed in the refurb process.

[68rs327]

Serial number was on the bottom of the barrel under the wood. Can you answer a few questions I'd like to know.
*Any idea what year the barrel was made by the serial number?
*Any idea what the arsenal marks mean?
*Is the Barrel a German Barrel? So who replied said it's a Yugo Barrel, but I read the Yugo barrels didn't have any numbers on them?
I've posted several photos of the markings and numbers on the rifle, including the wood. Is there no way to date any of this by the numbers?
I know it's not a numbers matching gun, and is made from several different guns when the Yugo's rebuilt them. I believe the Entire rifle is all German made and the only thing the Yugo's added is their crest....
And Yes, my rifle has several Waffen Eagle markings on it. Looks like the only thing the Yugo's scrubbed was the top of the receiver?

[Flying10uk]

I am not an expert on the subject of the Yugo K98 but I do happen to own an example and I am also a collector and enthusiast. In my opinion with the number on the underside of the barrel it is not a German serial number and probably not even be a Yugo serial number but it could be a date as I have stated in a previous post. It was my understanding that Yugoslavia did not serial number the barrels of their own manufacture. If there are is no sign of a serial number on the left hand side of the barrel near to the join with the receiver and no sign of a number having been removed and also if there are no Waffenampt markings on the actual barrel then in my opinion the barrel is most likely a Yugo replacement. Yesterday I got my example out and had a good look at it and managed, with a little patience, to discover the age and make of the receiver; you may be able/like to do the same. Here is what I did: the area that we are interested in is the top of the receiver just below the base of the Yugo crest. First I soaked a piece of 4X2 cloth in gun oil and rubbed the area over well and then rubbed it over again with a couple of tissues to remove all traces of oil and grease etc. You will now need a powerful magnifying glass; mine came from an old slide projector which I broke up. By holding the rifle at just the right angle in very good light by a window and looking through the magnifying glass I could just make out ax 41 just below the crest. This tells us that the receiver on my rifle was made at the Erma, Erfurt, Factory, Germany in 1941. You could see nothing of these markings with the naked eye.
You can look up the waffenampt numbers online to find the locations of the factories although I don't think that they have all been identified yet. Having a waffenampt number doesn't mean that the part in question was definitely made in Germany; occupied countries also used it as did a few Swiss companies I believe.


I'm not sure that you can date a K98 by just a serial number alone because of the way the system worked. You can, however, tell the period that the receiver was made from the letters on the top of the receiver and if you can see the numbers that follow that will give you the actual year of manufacture.


Perhaps other forum members can tell us about the arsenal markings, please?

[Aragorn243]

Forensic science, I like it.

[68rs327]

Thank you, I will try the CSI route, maybe I can see with magnification.

[68rs327]

I found this website that answered a lot of questions about a date range on Mauser parts. Lots of good information and pictures.
Firearms and Uniforms of the Wehrmacht

---------- Post added at 09:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:37 AM ----------

It has an awesome discussion forum full of different topics, war stories, weapons, pictures, really nice website.
Wehrmacht-Awards.com Militaria Forums - Powered by vBulletin

[Flying10uk]

The other reason that I think the numbers on the underside of the barrel are a date is the the numbers themselves or rather the second 2 numbers i.e. 58 which would fit in with being a date of manufacture or refurb.


Am I correct in thinking that it is illegal in the U.S.A. to own a Firearm which doesn't have a serial number?

[Aragorn243]

Not exactly. It is illegal to alter a serial number. There are a lot of firearms that don't have serial numbers, specifically older shotguns. I had a Mossberg with no serial number, probably manufactured in the 1960's.

[Sentryduty]

I seem to recall the cutoff was 1968 when firearms serials became mandated in the USA. As an aside, loads of firearms were produced without serials, the vast majority Cooey firearms in Canada were produced without serials.

[Flying10uk]

What made me wonder is the T.V. programmes we get over here and which I watch sometimes of traders buying storage Lock-ups. Some of these are from the States and they seem to make a bit of a fuss when a weapon turns up with no serial but thinking about it it may be when a serial number has obviously been erased that there is a problem with the purchaser retaining the gun?