WW2 Mauser, beautiful but cannot identify

[gecox]

Grandfather was a commander during WW2 and acquired several pieces of Nazi memorabilia.  He said he got this Mauser off a German paratrooper who "didn't need it anymore".  It has many markings and the gun itself does not look like any other pictures I have seen.  If it is familiar to anyone, I would love to get some help on identification.It has 98 (and 798) stamped on it several places, I suppose it's a model 98.  It's 8mm and has P.V (maybe R.V)  B.BLINDEE stamped on the barrel.  There is also an R.E. with maybe a little "w" in between the letters on the chamber.

[gecox]

another pic

[Stewart]

That is a custom sporter made by RwE most likely in the 1920s. The original M98 parts it was made from were probably produced during or before WWI. I have a 16ga. "Remo-II" 2-shot bolt action shotgun made by RwE during that period. RwE used Mauser military M98 components and made either shotguns or sporting rifles with them, usually for export.

You should be a little cautious about the bore/throat size in a model of this kind from that era. It likely has a .323 bore (8x57 JS) but it is possible that it's .318 (8x57J). Yours looks like a non-military custom barrel; most military barrels would've been converted to .323 but it's anyone's guess what every gunsmith in Germany did in the 1920s. They were desperate economic times for Germany.

The serial number is 798; it was customary to stamp the last two digits of the serial number on smaller parts of Military and Commercial Mausers. So the '98' on the bolt shroud is coincidentally just an abbreviation of your serial number, indicating that the bolt is original to that rifle. WWII K98k military bolt shrouds will generally have the last four digits stamped on them. The stampings on the barrel and side of the receiver are proof marks. "B. Blindee" is a kind of proof stamp also and likely means it was intended (at least) for export to Belgium or France (their war reparations overseers) again most likely in the 1920s. Balles blindee is the French equivalent of "spitzer bullets".

[Stewart]

A couple of additions and corrections. RwE was the stamped trademark for Reichswerke Erfurt a WWI era armaments factory that made the Gewehr M98. They made their Remo and Remo II shotguns from perhaps 1919-1930 according to a source I found on the net. They may have made their sporting rifles (like yours) up through 1941. They were primarily making sporting arms in the 20s however, as most munitions factories did, since military arms were forbidden at that time. Around 1930 the Germans began ignoring the Versailles Treaty restrictions and quietly began making military arms again.