ZIELFERNROHR 4, THE ZF-4

"my journey to get my hands on a original ZF-4 for my Gewehr43 rifle"
   
The webmaster of this page has been looking for a mint condition Gewehr43 for several years. Here in Norway they are, for an unknown reason, very hard to get. It is much easier to get at stg44 in mint condition. Finally I got my hands on a 'blm', berline lubecker maschinenwerke, rifle with durofol handguard. This rifle was not registered and had been hidden since the end of world war two here in Norway. That says that no one has been replacing parts and destroying the collecting value of the gun. This rifle was used by special forces here in Norway and later dopted by the homeguard. Mek-soldaten or marine einzats kommando used the during the war. Once a collector buys something new, he suddenly need the accessories. I wanted  Zf-4 for this rifle and as they also are rare here in the country I started looking in the international collectors market. I was terrified of all the camouflaged attempts to pass on copies and modified versions. Some pictures displayed in this section comes from items from auctions and dealers so they are not mine. They have all been tried to sell as "original ww2" so if you own the picture and want i removed, send me an email and i will put your or your company name in instead.....
This particular item was found on e-bay and tried to sell as "original ww2 scope with mount". The first one I met on my steep learning curve on fake Zf-4. I didnt know much about this collectible item when I started looking for one. This is in a way a good fake because it is easy to tell it is a fake. The mount is waa135 stamped, wich is mauserwerke oberndorf proving mark. No scopemount was produced there It also seems to have rusted in a hurry to make it look more authentic. The scopebands are to blue and new to be original. If we could see the bottom we also would have seen stripes on the bottom. The scope also look suspiscious, look at the indicator arrow beeing badly removed and with fresh corrosion. Probably a post war zcech scope the seller has tried to make ww2. (click on picture for larger view)

Closeup of the markings on this rig.(Click to open in full size)
Here is the same type of scopemount, but his is sold as a reproduction. It is the same type as the above. You can also see the waanumber going in a straight line instead of a curve as they should. Reproduction scopemounts are quite ok as long as they are sold as reproductions and not poored vinegar over and buried in the backyard for two weeks. If you have a G43 and an original Zf-4 you can mount the on the reproductions until you win the local lottery or gain enough knowledge to purchase an original mount for your rifle.
Another scope tried to sell as "100% original ww2". This is not a fake, but a postwar zcech production wich really looks nice and is a collectible item. But when they try selling it as ww2 german scope it is not good. But again it is time to do some homework. I wouldnt mind owning this particular piece but not for ww2 item price. As mentioned above it is a nice item to put on the rifle if you want to shoot with a scope on it and cant afford a real ww2 item. It is marked "meopta" inside cirkles indicating it was made for the commercial exportmarked. Also note the 6digit serial number.

(click for larger view)
Another photo of the same scope. Note the arrow instead of the triangle on the elevation knob. Also the finish on the postwar is different from the original ww2 german production. This is shiny, glossy finish, the german is more rough and not as blueshined. A lot of people (and military dealers) do transform postwar into ww2 scopes. You can see the grinding marks where they have removed the original markings and you can see the new waa marks making a dent in the steel. See the first picture up above where they simply has removed the indication arrow trying to fool the collector and earn money the dishonest way. Why dont they just smuggle drugs instead....

Another picture showing the shiny finish(click for larger view)
Another suspicious Zf-4 from a american dealer located in Europe. It is marked "Gw Zf4, serial number and triangle for temperature tolerance". Look at the shiny finish. Look at the selfmade corrosion compared to the paint on the triangle indicating temperature tolerance. The paint and colour is as new but the arrow is corroded. Also if it was an original scope there should be a triangle, not an arrow. It is presumed to be a modified zcech Zf-4. Text from the dealer :

"This is a very rare DOW BZZ scope used for FG42 Falschirmjäger assault rifle and also used for G43. This was intended for Falschirmjäger only. Scope is fully marked DOW with BZZ which has not been crossed out by the Czech army after the war. Scope is in excellent condition, very rare scope to find".

Again it is time to do more homework before my rifle is equipped with an original Zf-4 scope.

(click on picture for larger view)
Another scope sold as "original german ww2 in vgc". Also a remade czech scope produced after the war. Look at the shiny finish, the rounded edges, the font on the letters in the markings and the scratches in the bluening above the production marks. Compare this sight to the scope presented as post war zcech production above and the similarities asre obvious. Another scope that has no place on the G43 rifle in my collection. The seller doesnt show the top of the scope in the pictures, but it would probably show an arrow as used by the zcechs.
  To be continued as the search for scope for my rifle goes on!! Thanks to the G43 forum for much interested and needed information!