Detecting the Fakes

Thats a pretty bold title- detecting the fakes. It sounds easy- just jot down the things to look for in a fake. But, what is a fake 98k? Are we talking ground up reproduction? No- most people consider fakes those guns with renumbered parts, or fantasy pieces such as SS or Sniper setups that were enhanced and built after 1945. I am here to tell you there are tons of fake 98k's out there. Some are faked for financial gain. Years ago, and even today, there were plenty of guys willing to spend some money on a set of stamps and get busy on all those bolt mismatch rifles, making them all matching. Money is always to blame- a bolt mismatch is half the price of an all matching gun. With the advent of the internet, it is much more difficult for these hucksters to get away with thier deception.

So here I am- having to make a web page dedicated to shining the light on fraudsters and hucksters, however you like to call them. I have been personally called all sorts of names by these clowns. I have had my own rifles declared fakes by some of them- but remember, I am not selling anything-- they are!. With that statement, I must say I do not claim to know it all-- hell, I know very little in the scheme of things. However-- this I do know-- what is right, and what isn't right! My main focus for this website is late war 98k's. I decided long ago to concentrate on just this era. In my haste to become a collector, I stumbled a few times along the way. Difference is, I didn't continue making mistakes- I learned from them. This section is dedicated to what I have learned, my own personal experience. Take it for what it's worth! I update it as I see new ones, as the fakers are getting better!

A unique aspect of collecting 45 date rifles is configuration. As stocks and bands are not serial numbered, it is very easy to replace the stock with an unnumbered one and call it done- this is not as easy to pull off on an earlier gun, so I am not covering those.. I see quite a few nice looking rifles that are configured wrong, or have the wrong parts on them. I wish I had $1.00 for every time I heard someone say "It was late in the war, they were using whatever they had on hand." This statement couldn't be further from the truth of the matter! This late in production, there were not piles of used parts or WW1 parts just laying about. In some cases WW1 parts are used, but not to the degree you would think. I had to learn, and am still learning, what is right about a certain manufacturer and what isn't.

I decided I needed to expand this section of the website, as it gets the most traffic and garners the most questions. So I have divided it up into each manufacturer, with a detailed study of each one. Mind you, there could be variations to what I have, as some were making approx. 4000 rifles a week- thats 133 guns each day average. But first, a test- go here and decide which bolt is renumbered post WW2- TEST HERE

Detecting Fakes By Maker

byf 45, svw 45, svw MB	dou 44, dou 45	bcd 4, bcd 45
bnz 45, swj XE	dot 1944, swp 1945

 

I'll try to add the missing maker sections soon.