Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Looking for help find info on Mauser

If it's not a model 21, how would I find out what model it is? If you look a couple posts down there are some pics from someone else that looks almost identical to mine. His shows a 42 where mine is a 43. It has the same mint mark as mine. Also his has butter knife handle and mine is bolt. If you look in post below his, the pics there are mine listed by another since I couldn't get them to load from my computer.

Ian- it's closer to a 21 than anything else, but realistically it might be that it wasn't produced with a model number in mind. It might have been built to a particular persons specifications, or not. The stock is not what is normally seen on a 21h, but it could be a replacement. Could be someone requested a heavier stock, the normal stocks are VERY light. what is the overall weight of your gun? My stock was numbered to my 21h, in the barrel channel. It will be worth checking that. Does the butt plate show a CZ insignia? Just bear in mind the BRNO guns don't all necessarily fit neatly not model numbers. It's a very cool gun, close to a 21h, but quite unusual in being produced during the nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia.

If you need tips on taking the barreled action out of the stock, let us know, it's not hard, but the right screw driver, and I mean the EXACT right screw driver is KEY> If you don't have a good variety of screwdrivers or tips, best to hold off on that.

IMO, I believe you and Whitebird basicly have the same rifle. The big difference is Whitebird has a pretty much original and your's i think has been modified by a gunsmith at a later date.

I have been doing some research on a BRNO ZKW 465 over the last few days and have found some interesting stuff concerning BRNO's. From what I've read sporting rifle production was supposed to have been stopped during the Nazi occupation but there have been more than a few sporting examples found from the war years. Some claim they were produced for the upper Nazi party members. While very interesting there is no proof of it.

The 21h line is said to have designed by Josef Jelen with input from Otagar Galas (designer of the ZG-47) and was called the 721 and 722 originally. These two rifles are so close to the 21h's and my guess is they are pre mass production examples.

Now, the reason I think your's has been modified is A. The bolt handle looks a little long and it has a dog leg shape. Most bolts from this era rifle the bolt stops before the bottom or even with the floor plate. Your's looks like it will hang a little lower than that when closed. It also has a dog leg shape which would be very uncommon for a rifle from this era. And B. The stock. I just don't believe that stock is era correct. I don't think the raised cheek piece came into vogue until the 1950's. Still a very nice and desirable rifle. I would be proud to own it.

Now keep in mind this is just a guess on my part. Like I said in an earlier post, a lot of these rifles have been modified over the years. Whitebird's rifle looks to be original I might be a little suspect of the jeweling but it wouldn't bother me if that wasn't original.

I think TC1 is most likely correct but I think it's worth checking out the barrel channel to see if it numbers, but he makes a very good point, not only does the stock not look like original- it really doesn't look period correct. Still worth checking the barrel channel to see if it numbers, unless of course the butt plate says Bishop or Fajen, which wouldn't surprise me.

TC1- since you mentioned ZKWs- heres one-

That's it! I'm getting one soon. Beautiful rifle.