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H071358 Gw ZF4 SHARPSHOOTER'S SCOPE WITH MOUNT ASSEMBLY & PROTECTIVE COVER. (Gewehr-Zielfernrohr 4-fach mit Fernrohrhalter und Schutzkappen)
BACKGROUND: Although development of a Selbstladegewehr, (Semiautomatic rifle), had been undertaken by German armament factories as early as 1908, it wasn’t until the invasion of Russia in 1941, when the Germans came up against Russians armed with the quick firing Tokarev semiautomatic rifles that the Heeresfeldzeugmeisterei, (Army Ordnance Department), issued an urgent request for a comparable weapon. This led to the development of the Selbstladegewehr 41 in 1941 which, with modifications, evolved into the Gewehr 43 and eventually the Karabiner 43 in 1943. The Gewehr 43 and Karabiner 43 were basically improved modification of the Selbstladegewehr 41, and were designed with an integral "T" shaped scope mounting base. This design allowed the rifle to be converted to a sharpshooters rifle with the ease of sliding on a preassembled, mass produced scope assembly. Of Note: As early as 1928 personnel of the Reichswehr High Command decided that the marksmanship efficiency of the individual German soldier had advanced to the level that the development and expense of producing sharp shooting scopes was unjustified. After Hitler’s rise to power the confidence in the marksmanship ability of the German soldier still held sway but due to discord and infighting within the OKH, Oberkommando des Heeres, (High Command of the Army), the development of sharpshooters scopes was officially approved in mid-1939. As a sign of the internal discord the HwaA, Heereswaffenamt, (Army Ordnance Office), a sub-section of the OKH, responsible for testing, evaluation and eventual issue of all army ordnance items, advised development of a four power magnification scope, but mysteriously this advice was overruled and the development of a one and one/half power magnification scope was approved. Eventually in 1943 the Voigtländer optical firm, with HwaA approval, developed the four power magnification ZFK 43, scope, also referred to as the Gw ZF4 sharpshooter’s scope, designed for use with the Gewehr 43 and Karabiner 43 semi-automatic rifles.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: The four power magnification, blued, machine tooled, steel and sheet metal construction scope is roughly, 6" long with a 1 1/8" diameter at both the ocular and objective ends and a squared centerpiece. The centerpiece features a raised, milled, range elevation adjustment dial with variable range adjustments from 100 to 800 meters in increments of 50 meters. The centerpiece also has a raised windage adjustment dial that is internally set and fixed. The scope and the steel side rail mount assembly both retain about 95% of their original bluing with small spots of wear to the base metal. The optics are still quite crisp and clear and have the typical single, vertical and dual, horizontal side bar reticle pattern sights. The range elevation adjustment dial raises or lowers the reticle pattern as required. The scope is well marked with impressed designation, "Gw ZF 4", indicating Gewehr-Zielfernrohr 4-fach, (Rifle-Telescopic sight 4 power), the manufacturer’s three letter code, "dow" indicating manufacture by Opticotechna G.m.b.H. of Prerau Czechoslovakia, a triangular lubricant code, signifying the lubricant was effective to temperatures of +122 to -40 degrees Fahrenheit and the serial number, "31324". The removable, black rubber eye-guard and the blued, sheet metal rain shield are both included and in overall very good condition. The scope comes with a blued, cast and machine tooled, steel, side rail mount assembly. The mount assembly consists of two, horizontal bars and two, vertical bars all of a one piece casting. The top horizontal bar has a tooled, semi-circular, cut-out to one side to accommodate the scope while the bottom horizontal bar has a tooled, dove-tailed, groove designed to slide onto the integral "T" shaped mounting base on the rifle. The bottom horizontal bar also has a tooled, movable, pressure lever and auxiliary locking clip to secure the mount assembly to the rifle. The pressure lever has impressed script to each side, with "fest", (fast/locked), to one side and, "lose", (loose/unlocked), to the other side. The mount assembly has a faint, stamped waffen-amt mark and a hand etched numeral, "6468". The mount is attached to the scope by two, blued, tempered spring steel retaining bands with corresponding screw threaded steel securing dowels. Also included is a protective lens cover which consists of a 1 3/8" diameter, blackened leather cap for the objective end, rivetted to a thin, 10 1/2" long, blackened leather strap. The strap has a slid able, retaining strap with a single snap closure and a carved wooden plug to the ocular end for inserting into the rubber eye-guard. All the protective cover components are intact and the leather is still quite supple. Nice, complete example.
GRADE **** PRICE $5,355.00
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