My Grandad's Kriegsmodell bnz45 - Photos

[Windage&Elevation]

Hi Everyone. I'm new to Milsurps.com, and I thought I'd break the ice with a few photos of my Grandad's Kriegsmodell, a Steyr-Daimler-Puch bnz45.

The backstory is that this rifle was brought back by a GI friend of my Grandad, who was too old to serve in WWII. The GI fought his way through Europe, from Normandy till VE Day. He brought back this rifle for my Grandad, but along with it, the stories that slave labor had been used in the factory. My Grandad was suitably impressed with the stories of slave labor sabotage that he apparently never fired the rifle. He passed the rifle on to my uncle, who passed it along to my older brother. Evidently, the rifle was tucked somewhere safely in storage all those decades, until my brother mentioned he still had Grandad's Mauser. It turned out he'd never gotten around to shooting it either, so when I expressed an interest in doing so, he happily handed it over to me for shooting and safekeeping.

When I first held this rifle, I have to say I was shocked at the rough finish of the metalwork, and the coarseness of the unfinished stock. Like most Americans, when I think German, I think Mercedes, BMW, and world class precision. To my surprise, the bolt and action were a bit clunky, and occasionally the rounds fed rather reluctantly. But on the plus side, all serial numbers match, the bore is sharp, bright and spotless, and there is no visible corrosion or blemishes on the metal. The only incorrect parts are the two screws in the fore stock bands.


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The stock appears to have never been varnished, but possibly lightly oiled sometime in its youth. It appears to have been pulled off the rack at the Steyr-Daimler-Puch factory.

What I have learned (thanks to Milsurps threads) is that the rifle's coarseness, the source of my initial surprise and disappointment, is actually its greatest virtue.

My brother and I would never sell this rifle; we intend to pass it down to one of our sons.

Anyway, as promised, here are some photos.

Information

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[NRA]

WOW ...... I am in love!

[RCEMERalf]

My brother never gave me any such thing. In fact, I do not recall him giving me anything of value at all. Am I envious?

[Windage&Elevation]

My brother never gave me any such thing. In fact, I do not recall him giving me anything of value at all. Am I envious?

Ha! It sounds like your brother did give you a gift, the gift of envy. Envy is under rated; it's one of the reasons that drives sane people to keep spending their hard earned dollars on old firearms?

Actually, my brother is a great guy who said it was mine to keep, but it was my Grandad's gift to him. He looked after my old rifles while I travelled the world with the Navy, and it's his rifle, after all. I'm happy to act as caretaker and occasionally take it to the range until it's time to hand it down.

[NRA]

Ha! It sounds like your brother did give you a gift, the gift of envy. Envy is under rated; it's one of the reasons that drives sane people to keep spending their hard earned dollars on old firearms?

Actually, my brother is a great guy who said it was mine to keep, but it was my Grandad's gift to him. He looked after my old rifles while I travelled the world with the Navy, and it's his rifle, after all. I'm happy to act as caretaker and occasionally take it to the range until it's time to hand it down.

Yup you are a lucky man.

[kar98k]

I have to say I was shocked at the rough finish of the metalwork, and the coarseness of the unfinished stock. Like most Americans, when I think Germanicon, I think Mercedes, BMW, and world class precision. To my surprise, the bolt and action were a bit clunky

it's a very late war rifle. the pre and early war rifles are beautifully machined. this was made quickly to just get it onto the battlefield ASAP.

bnz 45 rifles are not common at all. beautiful, beautiful example. a wonderful piece of history with a connection to your family. that deserves to be hung up on the wall in a shadow box and displayed proudly.

[Windage&Elevation]

Thanks Everyone for all the terrific comments. While we considered our rifle an interesting artifact from World War II, as a combat rifle, we thought it was a second rate weapon. Thanks to the encyclopedic knowledge of the members on this board, we've learned that our rifle turns out to be a valuable piece of history with an even more interesting story.

All your comments are greatly appreciated!

[Calif-Steve]

Take a look at latewar.com. Very nice presentation. The bnz production runs stopped at around 59xxT, so you do have a very late WWII rifle. Was this captured in the factory? Any history on it? Very nice piece.

[Windage&Elevation]

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Take a look at latewar.com. Very nice presentation. The bnz production runs stopped at around 59xxT, so you do have a very late WWII rifle. Was this captured in the factory? Any history on it? Very nice piece.

Thanks Steve, I'm loving this rifle more and more every day.

I'm afraid I don't have any history on precisely where the rifle was "captured." As I mentioned, the rifle was brought back after WWII by a friend of my grandfather, and given to him. My grandfather was told about the rumors of sabotage by the slave laborers at the Steyr-Daimler-Puch factory, so he never fired it. Both the GI and my grandfather passed away many years ago, and unfortunately, I have no idea what unit the soldier was in, or how he came to possess the rifle. It's in excellent condition, the bore is bright and crisp, there's no pitting or corrosion anywhere on the metal, and shows only a few minor dings and scratches on the stock, and its issue date is so late, it's possible it was picked up off the rack at the factory, but there's no way for me to tell at this stage.

My grandfather gave it to my uncle, who gave it to my older brother. I had looked at it lovingly often enough, my brother offered to give it to me, but as far as I was concerned, my grandfather wanted him to have it. I did agree to act as caretaker and do a little research on it, and perhaps take it to the range on occasion. We had all thought it was wasn't worth very much because of its coarse finish and "last ditch" roughness; imagine our surprise when it turns out those qualities are what makes it so rare. We're grateful for the expertise of Milsurps members; we never intended to sell it anyway, but we'll make sure it will eventually be passed down to a family member who will look after it as carefully as it deserves.

Speaking of the range, the weather has broken a bit here in Western PA, so I took it to the range and put 10 rounds through it this morning. It was still cold and very gusty, but I was happy with how it shot. The first two rounds were high because the sights had slipped to 200 yards, but once they were lowered, I was fairly pleased with its grouping. I'm still getting used to the Kriegsmodell sights -- I'm used to the M1 Garand sights, which I find easier to pick up.

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[kar98k]

looks great at the range. and to think you are the first person to fire it in 69 years. and if it was captured at the factory, you may be the first person ever to have fired it.