Hey guys, it has been a while since posting on the Forum, but I try to read it as time permits. I did want to post this for those that like Sniper rifles.
I have always wante a K98k Sniper, but was not going to pay the price for an original. the next best thing was to buy a reproduction from IO or Classic. Last week I called Classic and Ben said they would not have any more at this time. Then a call to IO and they are out with a waiting time of 8-10 weeks. Being the impatient person I am, I wanted one and Ben at Classic told me that Cole Distributing had them in stock. I called and ordered one immediately. The rifle arrived on Monday afternoon in a nice hard case. When I opened the case, I was like Ralphie in the Christmas Story looking at the blued steel beauty! The scope and mount is really nice looking and appears to be well made! the rifle is in excellent condition with a mint bore. Dan Bartha (Angloa Armory and Cole's) told me that they hand pick the rifles used for the Sniper variation.
If anyone is intetested in one of these, give Dan or Gary a call....you won't be disappointed with the quality you get. As always, you guys know that Cole's always provides the best!
Well guys, I have been around, and checked the forum weekly, but not shooting or building anything, I figured I didn't have much to contribute. Work has has been "all consuming" the past 6 months and when I get home on the weekend, I crash. Earlier last year, I was in Washington State with 1 day per week off and I hiked the Cascade Mtns that dfay to unwind. I feel like I don't have a life much anymore and I am getting too old for this, LOL!
Since My MG42 is running fine, the price of ammo and lack of time keeps me from shooting. I have bought several K98k rifles (some RC that I refurbish to German and a couple of matching rifles) and wanted a sniper rifle. the price of originals was out of my range so the repro. rifle fit the bill fine. I received it last Monday and only got to play with it for a couple of hours. I plan to be home this weekend and want to work on before posting photos. Once I get it completed, I will post photos!
I want to strip the stock of the Russian Shellac and carefully bronze wool the surface and put BLO back on it (walnut). I will remove the electropencil parks on the metal, polish the dip blue and remove some on the high edges to give it a little "character".
I would like to remove the flat buttplate and cut the buttstock for a cupped buttplate. Have any of you guys done this before? I thought I would measure the buttstock of another rifle with the cupped buttplate and transfer thos dimensions to the walnut stock so I can mount my Sniper Buttplate. This would look great and a little more authentic since the rifle is "CE 43". If anyone has done this and has some "secret" way to make it easier, let me know!
I have extensive experience refinishing and cleaning up RC k98's. There are a few different ways to strip off the crappy Russian shellac. That orange peel smelling paint stripper in a spray can works well. If you have black oil stains around the wrist and butt, you can force a lot of the black oil out by soaking the wood in acetone and using a heat gun to gently heat the wood, allowing the expanding air inside to force out much of the oil so you can wipe it off. The black stains will reduce to a more tollerable shadowy gray. After you clean the stock and smooth any lifted wood fibles with 0000 steel wool, you can apply boiled linseed oil to restore that rich wood grain and colour.
Brownells Oxpho Blue is the best I have found for touching up metal parts. I hear BluWonder bluing gel is also good. Also, many of my friends and I trade parts among the two dozen k98's to match up the proper factory markings and style of parts to our receivers. We all end up with factory matching guns that are a tad closer to a vet bringback gun than they were before. That's also part of the fun. I think cutting the stock for a cupped buttplate is a bit extreme, since you could trade off your early stock for a later one. Besides, only a few random byf 1944 guns had solid walnut stocks with cupped buttplates. Frankly, I'd much rather take that nice walnut stock and put it in a 1937 or ealrier k98, since good walnut stocks are less plentiful. I prefer the early k98's myself. Better finish work on average.
"if you have black oil stains around the wrist and butt"....change your diet and use better paper,stop using the stuff you steal from the gas station.... ---bil
"I dream of a world where I can buy alcohol,tobacco and firearms from the same drive-up window,and use them all on the way home from work!" Dogbert
Thanks for the information! The Shellac should be easy to remove and the info on removing the dark stains around the buttstock is a real help. I will use acetone and the hairdryer to remove most of this. You are right about cutting the stock for a cupped buttplate; I decided last night not to do this. I am currently looking for a laminated stock with a cupped buttplate to replace the walnut one I have. I think I have another RC K98k that this stock would look good on after cleaning.
I hope to get to work on the stock this weekend and once I have it cleaned up I will post some photos!
Oven cleaner works well for stripping a finish off a stock also. We buy the cheapest stuff at Dollar General and it works well. DO NOT let it dry on the stock! Spray on a heavy coating, let it sit, then spray on another coat, let this second coat get to work, then using a nylon brush, scrub off with water. Make sure you are wearing GOOD rubber gloves as this stuff will burn your hands. Acetone for the oil soaked areas as noted above. Let it dry out at least 24 hours before sanding. Have plenty of sandpaper as any oil left in the stock will clog it up fast and spread the gunk back into/over the stock.
Dan
Dan, that oven cleaner trick has some bad effects on the wood. If not neutralised properly it will continue to eat the wood a bit after cleaning it off. I don't recommend it, though lots of amatuer wood finishers use it because it's cheap.
Try these again... This was my RC sniper project. Sold it recently, but it WAS a fun rifle to build. I can't see doing it to the one K98 I have now (everthing but the floorplate matches; including the bolt) but I would not mind building another RC like it, only this next time maybe a turret version.
Well guys, I have not forgotten about this thread, but I have been out of town and have a million things to do the 2 days I am home each week! But, I have worked on the rifle and hope to have it ready to photograph this weekend. The stock is done and a few more hours and it will be ready. I hope the weather is good this weekend so I can take it for a test drive, LOL!
OK guys, I finally got the time to make some photos of the Zf39 K98k Sniper Repro from Cole Distributing. I am very pleased with how it looks after removing the Russian Shellac and adding the Sniper Safety I bought from IO. I did have to perform some minor grinding to get the Safety to work, but that was it. I hope the photos show up nicely!
Awesome rifle! One suggestion, take the rough edges off the Russian made stencil marks with a fine mill file and then cold blue the stencils to downplay their obviousness. You can do some things to improve the crappy Russian blacked acid finish on the steel. Some RC k98's have a glassy smooth charcoal finish that is, or is close to, the original finish. If you want to build a pseudo-sniper rifle, choose one of these if you can find one. You may have to look through several dozen RC k98's. I have one which appears almost as good as my vet bringback. The early (1930's) k98's generally have a smoother metal finish and are more likely to have the smooth finish that is desireable.
You are 100% correct about the electropencil markings, they will be removed as soon as I get the time. I really hate them and I do use Swiss files to remove the markings and then clean with Blue Wonder, and use Blue Wonder bluing. Once that is done, I use the Scotchbrite pads to remove the ugly Russian dip blue. This usually leaves the charcoal finish and adds the original "character" to the rifle. I have thought about adding some "character" to the scope by gently removing some the bluing on wear points. I have copies of original German sniper photos and most of the scopes have blue wear on the high points and sharp edges. I wanted to get the stock closer to original before completing the rifle, but it will happen. Time is just not on my side since I travel most of the week. I will keep the forum posted as work progresses.
I really appreciate the comments and I want this one to look good!
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back..
---bil
