Combloc
Stop Negassing me!!!!!
At a local shop. I looked it over and everything looked good to me but the price was way too low. The shop owner said "the stock is mismatched." indicating why the price was so low. But I know a little bit (a very little bit)about these old clunkers and the stock was Mauser proofed. It also looked like it was right for this point in production so I gambled and bought it, not wanting to ask if I could rip it all apart in the shop. Besides, if it turned out that the stock was matching, the price should shoot up about 600 bucks! Anywho, I took it home and disassembled it for inspection and preservation. Just as I suspected, the stock did match except for the handguard which had been made by BRNO in Czechoslovakia. This is common as the handguards are prone to cracking and it very well may have been brought back to the US like this. Everything else was 100% matching, unsanded and nonbubba. I figure the shop owner looked under the handguard and assumed the rest didn't match either. Anywho, I made out pretty good in the end. It has a nice patina and that later war look I like so much. As a bonus, it even has a white glue stock!
The non-matching handguard and "DOT" stamp:
Someone wrote the rifle's serial number under the handguard in pencil. Judging by the style of writing, this was most likely done by an American. But whether it was the man who brought it back or someone else will never be known.
Under the butt plate was some writing I assume was put there by the man who brought it home including his initials and the year of capture. It wasn't in German service very long.
And finally, a picture with a few contemporaries, both friend and foe:
The non-matching handguard and "DOT" stamp:
Someone wrote the rifle's serial number under the handguard in pencil. Judging by the style of writing, this was most likely done by an American. But whether it was the man who brought it back or someone else will never be known.
Under the butt plate was some writing I assume was put there by the man who brought it home including his initials and the year of capture. It wasn't in German service very long.
And finally, a picture with a few contemporaries, both friend and foe: