This is an extremely rare and seldom seen Steyr VK98 rifle, it is matching numbered and was made in early 1945. The rifle is 100% correct and factory original. The VK98 was designed for rapid mass production to arm the German Army and also the Nazi Volkssturm. The design was a vastly simplified 98k rifle that was reduced to simply the elements needed to fire a rifle cartridge with some level of accuracy. Manufacture of these rifles began in January 1945 and perhaps as many as 10,000 were produced but no one is certain. Our example is the Slab Stock variant, with the MR and XE cartouches at the bottom of the stock which is believed to be a sub department of the Steyr Factory. This rifle also has the completely raw unfinished barrel, which is often mistakenly called an MG barrel.
Today, these rifles are extremely rare and seldom ever seen. As you might imagine, who would want to bring this wretched looking example of a Mauser 98k rifle home as a war trophy? None the less, they are an extremely important historical artifact and the final crudest iteration of the Mauser 98k rifle.
