Love the detail you put into these videos! Been doing a lot of research on a K29 8MM I inherited. It seems the stock has been modified to be more of a hunting rifle. Would love to pick your brain on it sometime if you have the time! Thanks!
@@mkruk2 Good to know. I've watched the variations video you have done and that narrowed it down a bit more. ill have to watch the other one! Its definitely a scrubbed Polish K29 but it has Y-100 on the left and what looks to be some Korean/Japanese lettering next to the serial number. I am assuming from wherever it was exported to.
@@kmanglass427 Are you a member of the GunBoards or K98k Forum? You can create a post showing photos of your rifle there and I can comment/weigh in on it there
In 2002 I was notified by a friend who worked at SARCO that they had a number of Polish long rifles from CIA that they had obtained from Albania. They had been scrubbed GEW 98 and only had a rounded triangle with a "a" on the receiver. Front sight had been modified to take a sight hood. Mismatched and "rode hard and put away wet". I later found one in great condition at a local gun shop and it did not have import marks. Check out history collectors forum on RUclips to see a Warsaw W98.
I got 98a, just like yours (#25XXX), also manufactured in 1937. It also has a two-piece stock. I suppose that could have been common for those made in 1937.
Good question. Partially my heritage, and I like to know as much as I can about the firearms in my collection. Polish pre-WWII firearms history is somewhat of an information “black hole” requiring a bit of research, and there really aren’t too many videos out there about these rifles. I decided to make these videos to share the information I came across to date. If I am proven wrong in the future, great! That means more information was discovered. Congrats on the 1938 Wz.29!
All, With regards to my question towards the end of the video, I recently had a discussion with another collector which may shed some light. In two publications (one is the Polish Mauser book I reference and the other is an article published in the dobroni.pl website), they both state that in 1939, it was documented that the Polish military had in their inventory just above 300,000 Mauser 98 long rifles. With the understanding that only 22,000 Wz.98’s were produced and let’s say 44,500 Wz.98a’s were produced, that leaves a SIGNIFICANT quantity of other “Mauser 98 long rifles”, which we may be able to assume are Gewehr 98 reworks. Given the (assumed) huge disparity between domestic produced long rifles and reworked German long rifles, it would make sense that more “Gewehr 98” looking rifles show up in period photos. Something to consider/think about.
This video gold mine of knowledge for me :) If you would be so kind, could you give any good reference books for Polish Mausers? Thank you, for your work!
@@krzysztofmokosa3902 I wish I could tell you of a single book to buy…the truth is, there are “nuggets of knowledge” interspersed amongst various references out there on Polish Mausers, and it is not all in one place. By your username, I assume you can also read in Polish. 1. Karabiny i karabinki Mauser 98 w Wojsku Polskim w Latach 1918-1939 by K. Haładaj and P. Rozdżestwieński 2. VIS Radom by William J York 3. Wrzesień 1939 Wojski Polskie 1935-1939 Zbiory Muzeum Wojska Polskiego 4. Wrzesień 1939 Tom. 10: Karabiny i Karabinki Mauser by K. Haładaj and P. Rozdżestwieński 5. (Very outdated at this point) Mauser Military Rifles of the World by Robert Ball 6. Polskie Konstrukcje Broni Strzeleckiej by Zbigniew Gwóźdź and Piotr Zarzycki 7. Uzbrojenie w Karabiny i Karabinki Powtarzalne, Korpusu Ochrony Pogranicza w Latach 1924-1939 by Tomasz Juszkiewicz 8. Karabin Mauser 98 by Roman Matuszewski and Ireneusz Wojciechowski 9. Wrzesień 1939 Tom. 303: Karabinek Wz.29 by Jędrzej Korbal
One question that it has been bothering me. During the german invasion was the long Wz.98a or the short K wz.29 the standard rifle of the polish army? and if so, how common would the other rifle in the front lines?
The Wz.98a long rifle was the standard firearm of the Polish infantry. The Wz.29 was mostly relegated to support roles for machine gun crews, artillery, sappers, signal corps, etc. However I am not sure if this was the case everywhere. I am sure infantry units still had the Wz.29 short rifle in use, given how many were produced vs. the Wz.98a, however it is unknown how many Gew.98’s were reworked and reissued.
Hello Jerry unfortunately RUclips doesn’t allow people to post personal information in the comments. However, you can find me with a similar username on the K98K Forum or GunBoards. By the way I also have a PFK Warszawa K98 carbine made in 1927!
Love the detail you put into these videos! Been doing a lot of research on a K29 8MM I inherited. It seems the stock has been modified to be more of a hunting rifle. Would love to pick your brain on it sometime if you have the time! Thanks!
Sure thing. I do have two videos on my channel about the Wz.29/K29 short rifle, in case you haven’t seen them.
@@mkruk2 Good to know. I've watched the variations video you have done and that narrowed it down a bit more. ill have to watch the other one! Its definitely a scrubbed Polish K29 but it has Y-100 on the left and what looks to be some Korean/Japanese lettering next to the serial number. I am assuming from wherever it was exported to.
@@kmanglass427 Are you a member of the GunBoards or K98k Forum? You can create a post showing photos of your rifle there and I can comment/weigh in on it there
@@mkruk2 I was thinking about doing that as well! ill do a post this weekend on GunBoards!
In 2002 I was notified by a friend who worked at SARCO that they had a number of Polish long rifles from CIA that they had obtained from Albania. They had been scrubbed GEW 98 and only had a rounded triangle with a "a" on the receiver. Front sight had been modified to take a sight hood. Mismatched and "rode hard and put away wet". I later found one in great condition at a local gun shop and it did not have import marks. Check out history collectors forum on RUclips to see a Warsaw W98.
The PFK Warszawa Wz98’s are the “grail” of Polish collectors. Glad to see yours on that video!
Well done. I always appreciate the detail, professional quality and content of your videos, including the additional photos
Thank you Doug. It is a labor of love. Also, I do not believe in the practice of “squirreling away” information and not making it publicly available.
I got 98a, just like yours (#25XXX), also manufactured in 1937. It also has a two-piece stock. I suppose that could have been common for those made in 1937.
Thanks for sharing this information!
Beautiful collection, why exactly did you decide on a theme about Polish rifles? I myself have a wz. 29 RADOM. 38year. Greetings!
Good question. Partially my heritage, and I like to know as much as I can about the firearms in my collection. Polish pre-WWII firearms history is somewhat of an information “black hole” requiring a bit of research, and there really aren’t too many videos out there about these rifles. I decided to make these videos to share the information I came across to date. If I am proven wrong in the future, great! That means more information was discovered. Congrats on the 1938 Wz.29!
All,
With regards to my question towards the end of the video, I recently had a discussion with another collector which may shed some light. In two publications (one is the Polish Mauser book I reference and the other is an article published in the dobroni.pl website), they both state that in 1939, it was documented that the Polish military had in their inventory just above 300,000 Mauser 98 long rifles. With the understanding that only 22,000 Wz.98’s were produced and let’s say 44,500 Wz.98a’s were produced, that leaves a SIGNIFICANT quantity of other “Mauser 98 long rifles”, which we may be able to assume are Gewehr 98 reworks. Given the (assumed) huge disparity between domestic produced long rifles and reworked German long rifles, it would make sense that more “Gewehr 98” looking rifles show up in period photos. Something to consider/think about.
This video gold mine of knowledge for me :) If you would be so kind, could you give any good reference books for Polish Mausers?
Thank you, for your work!
@@krzysztofmokosa3902
I wish I could tell you of a single book to buy…the truth is, there are “nuggets of knowledge” interspersed amongst various references out there on Polish Mausers, and it is not all in one place. By your username, I assume you can also read in Polish.
1. Karabiny i karabinki Mauser 98 w Wojsku Polskim w Latach 1918-1939 by K. Haładaj and P. Rozdżestwieński
2. VIS Radom by William J York
3. Wrzesień 1939 Wojski Polskie 1935-1939 Zbiory Muzeum Wojska Polskiego
4. Wrzesień 1939 Tom. 10: Karabiny i Karabinki Mauser by K. Haładaj and P. Rozdżestwieński
5. (Very outdated at this point) Mauser Military Rifles of the World by Robert Ball
6. Polskie Konstrukcje Broni Strzeleckiej by Zbigniew Gwóźdź and Piotr Zarzycki
7. Uzbrojenie w Karabiny i Karabinki Powtarzalne, Korpusu Ochrony Pogranicza w Latach 1924-1939 by Tomasz Juszkiewicz
8. Karabin Mauser 98 by Roman Matuszewski and Ireneusz Wojciechowski
9. Wrzesień 1939 Tom. 303: Karabinek Wz.29 by Jędrzej Korbal
One question that it has been bothering me. During the german invasion was the long Wz.98a or the short K wz.29 the standard rifle of the polish army? and if so, how common would the other rifle in the front lines?
The Wz.98a long rifle was the standard firearm of the Polish infantry. The Wz.29 was mostly relegated to support roles for machine gun crews, artillery, sappers, signal corps, etc. However I am not sure if this was the case everywhere. I am sure infantry units still had the Wz.29 short rifle in use, given how many were produced vs. the Wz.98a, however it is unknown how many Gew.98’s were reworked and reissued.
@@mkruk2 thanks for the fast responce
@@mkruk2 one last question, would the Wz.98a in german service post invasion be able to use the german bayonets?
Yes they would be compatible.
@@mkruk2 Thanks for answering, you have helped me much in a personal project
Well presented. If there is a way to post your email address I'd like to send you pics of my 1927 warzawa carbine
Hello Jerry unfortunately RUclips doesn’t allow people to post personal information in the comments. However, you can find me with a similar username on the K98K Forum or GunBoards.
By the way I also have a PFK Warszawa K98 carbine made in 1927!