Contacted a guy about a sporter Mauser for sale who claimed his rifle was a G33/40. Got him to send me some pictures. I can't tell from the pics if it is a G33/40 or not. Can anyone tell me it is worth driving four hours one way or not to look at?






These were the only pictures he sent.

I'm not a guru, but the left side wall does look like the g33's I've seen pics of. have not owned or handled one though so take that for what it is....

Red

Mine is very legible on the left side of the receiver. It would take a lot of metal removal to make it look like this photo. roger

It will clearly be stamped G33/40 on the receiver.

Also, there are lightening cuts in the receiver rails.

Pictures/info:

http://www.quickfilepost.com/pages/g33-40/

My biggest concern is that it doesn't say G33/40 on the side. I'm thinking that someone took a small ring 98 and made it to look like the G33/40. Not that it is a bad thing just don't know if it is worth the premuim price he is asking plus 8 hours of driving to just look at it.

I'd ask him to remove the action from the stock to see if the lightening cuts are there or not. If not, it's not a G33/40, and probably not worth the "premium price" .

It could be a small ring vz33. which pre-dates the g33/40. They have the same action weight reduction cuts.
There may still be orig. stampings on the front ring, that would indicate if its a vz33 or g33/40.
I would also check to see if it has the small ring thread (.980")

Regardless of whether it is or it isn't, I would also be concerned that the drill and tap job was done correctly. Not only the straightness of it, but also that whoever did it wasn't a bubba (drilled into the locking lug recesses, etc.).

By the way, the bolt knob looks correct. they were half round and had a hollow in them.

Will he sell it with out that butt stock? Thats a keeper he should hold on to !

Even a vz33 has lettering on the side that would be hard to remove. You could ask for a measurement of the OD to see how big it is. There is a .100 difference in the rings with a large rind at 1.400 and the small ring at 1.300.

Rad

This is the response I got from the owner last night and I forgot to say this rifle is a .270 Win.

quote:

Here are some more pics. The rifle was sporterized by a former boss, Bob Hoyt, of Fort Collins, CO, over 35 years ago,, and I've owned it since then. He's the one who told me that it is a G33-40, and that "it's worth a lot of money to the right person". Under the scope it says "1941". Let me know if this helps you out.

If this is a G33/40, it sure looks like the gunsmith removed a lot of metal to get rid of the serial number, G33/40 and all the other marks on the receiver.

1941 on the receiver ring indicates a g33/40.
The left wall looks ok to me.I dont see any abnormal thickness.
Could the g33/40 stamp have been filled in and filed back?

The bolt looks like an FN commercial bolt which has been substituted for the original bolt, bolt sleeve and safety. At one time the bolts could be bought separately, and it was cheaper to buy one than to have the original bolt altered.

quote:

Originally posted by Trax:
1941 on the receiver ring indicates a g33/40.
The left wall looks ok to me.I dont see any abnormal thickness.
Could the g33/40 stamp have been filled in and filed back?

Filed/ground off more likely. It's not as deep as you think.

I would buy it and not worry about it, assuming the price is right. None of my G33/40's or my lone Vz33 have the serial number stamped in the lightening cut. BUT...I see that as further evidence supporting the theory that the gunsmith did a lot of filing on the action which removed the G33/40 and serial number stamps. He them restamped the srial number below the woodline. BTW-all of my G33/40's say "1941" on top of the ring. Well, except for one I filed off.

I can see that theory as the most sound one and would not worry about it being a LR action that was cut down. But then I used to ride bulls and still regularly jump out of airplanes, so you can guess my risk tolerance level. If you get a 3-5 day inspection take it to a GOOD gunsmith who actually knows Mausers and have him look at it. Or maybe even better, have the rifle shipped directly to a GOOD gunsmith/gunmkaer who truly knows Mausers. He can tell you for sure what it is if you are worried about it. That way your worry can be put to ease for only the extra cost of shipping from the gunsmith to you and the cost of the inspection.

Or if you are too worried about, PM me with the contact info for the guy with it for sale. I have been getting a hankering to buy a couple more!

The action is a G33/40, not likely VZ33 which were produced earlier, stamp on side polished off, bolt handle altered to clear scope, look similar to FN. Scope base holes appear to be positioned properly, assuming they are straight. I notice the tang is filed down rather sharply. Clean, unbubbad actions can bring about $5-600.

I passed on it, not because I didn't want it but because I just couldn't get there to look at it. With traffic on a good day it would be a 3.5 hour drive one way to look at it. I just don't have the time right now and he didn't seem too interested in shipping the rifle.

I passed on the info to another guy who might be interested in it who lives much closer as well. Plus I've bought two other rifle projects in the last couple of weeks and would have to tap into the Christmas funds or sell them off to pay for it. Plus I don't think the wife would appreciate it under the Christmas tree labled to me from Santa on Christmas morning.

Sure would have been a fun project to clean up that stock and see how she shoots. Plus I love the .270 Win!

Dude, you have a TERRIBLE attitude. The whole idea of being in custom guns is to see how many projects you can have going at once. Two projects is just a drop in th ebucket when I think about your full potential. And then after you are experienced, the goal is to see how many projects you have going that have been in the works for over 10 years. Then over 20, etc, etc. That is the proper attitude to have if you are into custom rifles.

With me being a custom gunmaker with ADD, my motto is "Why finish one project when I can alsmost finish 10?"


But on a serious note, in the future if you are ever interested in looking at a gun that is 4 hours away, just have it shipped to you. Is chepaer than the trip when you look at what it directly costs in gas/etc. and what it costs you in terms of losing 8+ hours on the road.

quote:

But on a serious note, in the future if you are ever interested in looking at a gun that is 4 hours away, just have it shipped to you. Is chepaer than the trip when you look at what it directly costs in gas/etc. and what it costs you in terms of losing 8+ hours on the road.

Believe me if he would have shipped it to my FFL I'd have sent the money as long as he gave me a few days to make up my mind. He didn't have a problem with shipping it, just didn't want to give me a grace period. In his email he just didn't sound comfortable with it.