First of all this is the real freaking deal…..A commercial proofed SS issued and marked Gew98/98k conversion. It is a vet bring back, it has a repaired duffle cut and the bolt does not match, but it is exactly as it was captured and vet brought back at the end of the war. This is a definitive textbook example it has the correct death head markings with the distinctive larger size on the stock grip and the proper crown n proofs which all genuine examples must have.
SS issued rifles are esoterically scarce and widely faked and to find a genuine example is quite a find. This is the second real one that we have seen in 30 years. There has been much speculation of the years as to what the true use of these rifles was, were they issued to the Waffen SS or to the Concentration camp guard force known at the Totenkopfverbande. Research on these rifles and the Deaths Head marked Lugers indicates a close association with the latter though I am not aware of any final conclusion on the matter. Needless to say this is a very dark artifact from the era.
