This is an extremely rare SS issue hand stamped bnz 4 Single Rune K98k Service Rifle made with a non standard receiver. The receiver is actually a spare ultra rare BSW made example!!! This rifle is 100% factory original and totally matching. After the loss of the Polish Radom plant in late July, 1944 there was a shortage of 98k parts at the Molln Facility where slave labor was manufacturing rifles for the SS and the Heer after the bombing of the Main Steyr Plant in early 1944. In order to solve this production shortfall, various receivers were used to bridge the gap in production. These most commonly seen receivers used to bridge the gap were bcd4 receivers and recycled WW1 Gew 98 receivers. They were hand stamped with the bnz and a single rune to distinguish them from rifles being made for the Heer at the same factory. These rifles would have been produced in the early fall of 1944. A very detailed explanation of these rifles is to be found in Chapter 12 of Karem & Steves book “Karabiner 98k volume IIb”, which deals with SS contract rifles. These hand stamped bnz rifles are among the most sought after variation of definitive known SS issued rifles and they rarely come up for sale. This will be an important and significant addition to any advanced Nazi rifle collection.
