I found a military issue G33/40 today. Not sure how often these turn up in original militray issue form but I do know how sought after the action is for custom rifles. Condition is 90% or better. Clearly marked ".G 33/40" and metal looks great too. The serial number on the bolt does not match the receiver. That is about as much as I inspected it. The guy is asking $950 so that is my first question, is this price reasonable? I am not a military collector and my plans would be to strip this rifle down for the action and sell the parts to help offset the cost. Next question is how much should I expect to spend to get this action ready for a custom rifle? I am thinking 30.06 but have not thought much about it. It would most likely take me a while to put all this together and start with the action work. I have wanted a G33/40 for quite a while and am happy I finally found one, but wondering about the price. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks.

Well, to give you something to compare to, I purchased one in excellent condition from a Cabelas store two years ago for $335.00 and it had a matching correct bolt.

In addition, there was one a few months ago on Gunbroker with a nice stock and a doublas 6mm barrel selling at $800

If you want to see a photo of a really nice one, take a look at the for sale Rifles on Biesen's web site. Roger Biesen has done up quite a few rifles on G.33/40 actions. I bet he buys up every one he can find.

There are some photos of a couple of really nice ones in the 2005 Gun Digest. Also, Tom Turpin included photos of David Millers Old G.33/40 that he customized and used for many years in Turpins Book on the David Miller Company.

The one you found in Cabelas was it GI issue? I saw the one on GB for quite a while but the high gloss blueing and one-piece scope mount had me worried. When I saw the mismatched bolt on this rifle I was bummed but after thinking about it, I assume the handle would be cut off and a new Talley or the like welded in its place so not sure how much it matters if its going into a custom project, but it certainly would from a collectors standpoint. Any idea how much the parts are worth like the barrel, stock, and sights? I would think the bottom metal would get ditched too for a Blackburn, etc.

Not GI issue. Stock had been altered quite a bit.

The perfect bottom metal for it is 1909 Argentine, which fits perfectly. But that would be a bit short for 30-06 if you didn't lengthen it a bit. Its just my opinion but I think all G.33s deserve to be made into 7 x 57s.

Alot of G.33/40 parts get bid up pretty good on Ebay. Espcially if in good condition. If I remember correctly I once saw a front sight hood go for $50.00 which I though was a little bit out of line.

I still think you ought to try and deal the guy down a few hundred bucks at least due to the nonmatching bolt, even though you know you are going to change the handle on it anyway.

What do you think is a good price for how I described it?

Without getting too detailed, how much should I expect to drop on getting the action ready for a rifle? Nothing fancy, just polishing, trigger, bottom metal, maybe a 3 pos safety, etc.

I haven't customized mine yet becuase I am going through the same dilema as you. When you get a nice desireable action like a G.33/40 there are a billion choices and you want to make sure you do it right in order to respect the rarity of the action. So I really don't know what to tell you. Perhaps the better guy to ask would be ForrestB. He has a trio of them that he has shown photos of here on AR on more than one occasion. If you see those photos you will get a wealth of ideas on what to do with yours.

One article that has really inspired me when thinking about what to do with mine is an article entitled "Forty Years with the little 7mm" that is printed in the Deluxe 5th Edition Gun Digest Tresury. Its by Jack O'Connor, and in that article he talks quite a bit about a small ring 7 x 57 that he had built up by Thomas Burgess and Stocked by Russ Leonard. I believe it was a VZ33 action. Anyway, his wife Elenor liked that rifle so much she latched onto it and hunted with it all over the world. There is a nice photo of that Rifle in the article. Because of that Article I am almost inclined to send mine over to thomas Burgess and just tell him to duplicate what he did for O'Connor! I'd send along a 1909 Bottom metal, and ask for a Blackburn Trigger. I would probably go with the 2 position wing safety, lighweight contour barrel from Half Moon, and lightweight scope mounts and bases. 7 x 57!!

If you take an original condition (save the matching bolt number) G33/40 and reduce it down to an action, you will have taken a $900 rifle and made it a $400 action. Why do that? Leave a complete 33/40 intact and it will probably continue to go up in value.

As previously mentioned, you can find any number of high quality Mauser actions already "customized" much cheaper than that. Resurrect a sporter from the 1960's and upgrade it to whatever kind of sporter you have in mind.

I don't think a mis-matched bolt matters much in a gun destined to be rebarreled anyway. The 'smith installing the barrel will deal with all headspacing and feeding issues.

22WRF, that sounds like a great idea. I like the idea of a 7x57 too, but for me, a 30.06 could be taken just about anywhere for anything outside of large African game and I would not feel undergunned. At least it's nice to have one in the safe, waiting for you to decide what it will become. I have to find the article you are referring to so I can get some ideas going. And before I put the cart before the horse, I need to negotiate a better price and buy it.

Matt I know where you are coming from because I have a weakness for prewar model 70s. I would never dream of finding an original and stripping it down and drilling holes for scope mounts, utterly sacreligious, but folks do it all the time. Same issue on the intact G33/40 I found, except I am not a collector and I have yet to find a customized 33/40 that isn't already a several thousand dollar rifle. I just don't come across them that often, customized or GI issue.

Prewar, I think the price for that rifle is very good and I think the prices that 22WRF is quoting are incredible buys and do not reflect the market. The last one I purchased was almost 10 years ago and I gave $450 for it and considered that a good buy.

As far as costs to use for a custom rifle, you will want to surface grind the action and prices vary from $65 to $125, new bolt handle at $125 +/-, Drill and tap for scope bases at $40 or so, bottom metal at $300 for commercial custom stuff (cheaper for some Argentine then lengthen and reshape the trigger guard), Trigger at $65 or so, new safety at anywhere from $100 (2 position) to $250 (3 position). Wonder what I missed?

Sorry I edited my post while you typed yours. I would also think of buying that rifle at that price and then look to sell it to a collector and then search for just an action.

Chic, always appreciate your input. I was also thinking that the price was fair, certainly not a steal. If I had more sales to compare to that would make it easier.

If you REALLY want a G33-40, and are ebay savy, you can come out on the purchase price financially. That means taking good pix an learning how to do ebay. Folks will tell you it is too much.
As for the conversion and the cost of building a custom rifle it is really a moot point until you are ready to invest the $ required. It will take a lot of $ when the time comes. Folks can give you an endless variety of cost estimates, but if you want a rifle equivelent to the ones ForrestB has shown here, a minimum of 10k will be required.
But having a truly custom rifle built is not about the total cost, and it is absolutely possible to spread the cost over several years, so there will never need to be a huge outlay at one time. Once you have it, you will never regret it!
Having a rifle built that reflects the quality of the action you convet is a worthy goal. Having it done RIGHT will take some time and thoughtful considerations. Getting the action is only the first step. But you "aint got shit" until you have it.
I mirror 22WRF's thoughts in that if you have a so called Lightweight action, it might as well be for a cartridge sutable for a classic lightweight rifle. He's spot on!
So many of the posts and discussions here are in the dream world, I'd like to see you get the action, then start asking questions.
SDH

I will be contacting the seller tomorrow and make him an offer. My initial question on cost wasn't about the whole rifle, but just the action work. For me, I love wood stocks and that is my first choice but from a dollar standpoint I could start hunting with it much sooner if I chose a synthetic like an Echols. Then that would give me time to save my nickels to choose a great blank and stockmaker.

Shoot now or wait for wood, I know it sounds like blasphemy, but.....

Prewar

I am just curious. When you say nonmatching bolt do you mean that the number doesn't match, or do you mean that they put a bolt from a different model mauser in there. I am sure that you are aware that the true G.33 bolt has a sort of half knob type affair with the back portion hollowed out.

If that stock is all original and in good shape there will be collectors salivating to get their hands on it. Also the barrel if its original and has the front signt and hood attached.

I sure hope you are able to buy it. Should be fun to work it up into a nice rifle.

22WRF,

Number doesn't match, but bolt is correct as you described. I gotta get the rifle tomorrow and then I will get some pictures so everyone can tell me how much I overpaid for it. What the hell, life is short.

Here you go Prewar. One all done up and ready to go. Definitely a poor choice of scope for the overall stature of the gun IMO.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=45721007

22wrf, the back of the bolt knob is not hollowed out, it is the bottom of the knob that is hollowed out.

Sooooo,

When I bought my G33/40 barreled action in a Bishop stock, with an over the rear receiver ring target style peep sight, two boxes of ammo, forty once fired cases and a new box of Sierra 8mm bullets for $100.00, I didn't get taken too badly???

LD

Personally, I don't collect military rifles and have no interest in them. That being said, I do not cut up collector pieces as I do consider it blasphemy. It is purely a persoanl decision, but soemthing to think about. Military collectors are very forgiving on how mis-matched they will take a G33/40, just because so mane were cut up fo sporters right after the war. I have 5 of them and one is full military. now way would I ever cut it up for the action. If I did, I would expect a lightning bolt to crash down and kill me ro something


And if you do have the correct bolt in one, whatever you do, PLEASE do not cut it. THey are very scarce, and if you are going to change the handle anyway, just get a cheap regular Mauser bolt. THe original bolts are as described by 22wrf-they kinda like having 1/3 of the back side fo the bolt cot off and hollwed out. If you see one with th ebottom of the bolt hollowed out (like on a M70) then it has already been altered. Those original bolts are very much in demand

But it's a free country, do as you wish. Just eb informed before you do something that can't be undone. If you have a little patieince, you can find a sporterized G33/40 for much less money.

The question of reducing a complete Mauser rifle to an action comes up rather frequently and I am one who feels that if someone is taking an action and turning it into a custom rifle that reflects his desires far be it from me to tell them that they shouldn't do it. I have had people tell me the same thing about doing that to a 1903 Springfield. I guess some fear that Sgt York's ghost will haunt them even though it is not completely clear if he used a 1903 or a 1917 Enfield in his heroic deed.

I recently had an 1903 barreled action that had never been messed with and merely needed a new rear sight and a stock to put it back to full military dress. I had some folks who thought I should do that, but it never entered my mind to do that. Why, because I feel there is also history connected with custom rifles that started life as military rifles, and that is the part of history I choose to pursue. I am not interested in collecting full military dress rifles. If others are, that is fine, but let's not forget there is plenty of history to support both trains of thought.

Prewar, I encourage you to carry out your desires with the action. Few things on earth are as pleasing as a custom rifle that reflects its owner's tastes. Good luck with your project. I predict it will be all you hoped it would be.

quote:

Originally posted by z1r:
22wrf, the back of the bolt knob is not hollowed out, it is the bottom of the knob that is hollowed out.

If its one with the bent down bolt handle like mine on the 945 action, the hollowing out faces the stock, not the bottom. I don't know what they are like on the DOT actions. The photo on page 178 of Olson's book, while correct, is kind of deceiving. It makes it look like the hollow is on the bottom of the bolt knob, but you have to remember that that bolt is bent down but its hard to tell that in the photo.


Lawndart

And here I thought I had gotten mine for about as cheap as possible, and you found one for $100. What are you going to do with yours?

Half of the G33/40 enthusiasts are trying to restore them to original condition, the other half are trying to make them into sporters.

At this point, I would only try to sporterize one that has already been ruined from its original configuration. If you want a small ring 98, you are better off finding a Brno 21 or 22 that is beaten up or bubba-fied.

Kurt I wouldn't mind finding a 21 or 22 either, but again, those don't turn up very often anymore. It's nice to be able to work with an original action and start from scratch, rather than fix someone else's mistakes. Maybe I'll hang on to it for a while, I'm in no hurry, just to see if I can find an already sporterized action in good condition and not too beaten up.

quote:

And here I thought I had gotten mine for about as cheap as possible, and you found one for $100. What are you going to do with yours?

I got it a while (1986) back. I had no idea what it was. Guy wanted to unload it because the bore looked so bad - rusted and pitted from bad maintenance over here. I was, like, "Gun? $100.00, sure."

As is it is accurate as can be for the first three rounds. Usually three clay pigeons in a row off hand at 100 meters/yards back when my eyes worked and my grip was steady.

In a few years this one will get surface ground and polished, Blackburn trigger, Ed Lapour safety, 1909 bottom metal (reworked), straddle floorplate, 7x57 Krieger tube, rust blue, slender stick of English walnut and a lot of man-hours .

And (drum roll please), a few splashes of engraving from our very own scrollcutter.

[QUOTE]As is it is accurate as can be for the first three rounds. Usually three clay pigeons in a row off hand at 100 meters/yards back when my eyes worked and my grip was steady.[QUOTE]

Lawndart:

You seem like a hell of a nice guy, but remind me never to come to you for a surgery!

I stand corrected. The funny thing is I knew better. That'll teach me to post after a night on the town with the wife.

Here are the 3 pictures, let me know if I should get the hacksaw going tonight or wait until the morning

Nice, not sure I'd break that one down.

Yah I'm not sure I'll break it down either. Maybe just hang on to it until I can find an action or something already sporterized. I'm in no hurry. I would be interested to know what the markings mean if anyone knows. I don't see an German or swaztika stamps that I have seen on others.

I wish you could post a little bit better photo of the front ring to show all of the markings better. It is very difficult to see exactly what it is you have.

I agree with the other guys that It looks pretty good. However, a true collector is going to want everything to match exactly, and they aren't going to pay real big money unless everything does match. I really doubt whether one with a mismatched bolt handle will rise in value enough to make it worthwhile to save it at the expense of another investment. If you really really want a G.33/40 sporter, and you are prepared to do justice to the action by spending a bit of money on it, I would say go for it, as there are collectors of very fine custom mausers, and you could make that into a very very fine custom mauser if you wanted to.

I'll read it:

Top ring is 7.92, under that is 945, and then under that is 1940.

Left side is 5246 with what looks like a lower case "b" under it.

Floorplate has like a small crown with 64 stamped.

Well, they all say 1940, I think.

You have a 945 Code, which means it was more than likely made by the Bruenn plant, BRNO, Czecholslovakia.

If you look at the back of the bolt handle that is where the serial number for the bolt should be.

Bolt handle has a 3188 and a couple characters before that number that I cannot make out.

I have 4059 here. I see only one mark after the serial number on the bolt handle, and one mark on the top of the bolt handle, and a J9 on the bottom of the bolt handle where it meets the bolt.


By the way, your stock looks very clean.

There is a smal 8, then a character, and then 3188 with nothing after the serial #. No marks on top, and then on the bottom it looks like a couple of those crowns, one small and one large. Who knows what they all mean.

quote:

Originally posted by Prewar70:
There is a smal 8, then a character, and then 3188 with nothing after the serial #. No marks on top, and then on the bottom it looks like a couple of those crowns, one small and one large. Who knows what they all mean.

Well, there were two other markings on G.33/40s. I think they were DOU and for sure DOT. So maybe you got a bolt that came from a DOU or DOT gun.

Prewar,
is the bolt knob hollow?? if so it's a 33/40 bolt if it's not then who knows ,either way it's a good looking example and it would be a shame to part it out, I would like to see some better pics of the rifle if it's possible please. heres a link to some info on it.


fficial_s%26sa%3DN" TARGET=_blank>http://images.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://www.we...fficial_s%26sa%3DN

Yes it has the hollowed out bolt knob.