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The
last K43 ac45's were of the so-called dual guide rib type. It appears
all G/k43's initially had this feature, but the right side rib was machined off during production citing ejection or jamming problems on
these rifles. Some say this was a production short cut, but I
don't think so. The extra guide rib added stability to the bolt which
could improve accuracy.
The dual guide rib type became common from the ac45 "b" block but is
also seen on earlier ac rifles.
 
The extractor location changed from 10 o'clock (right) to 11 o'clock
position (left). The cut for the ejector is wider too.
The retainer for the firing pin extension is spring-loaded - the
retainer is held by the curved depression in the bolt. This will keep
the bolt components securely in place if the bolt is removed.
Note the two half moon shaped cut outs at the rear of the bolt. To aid in take down with no hold open button. This bolt here is cracked at the top rear. A common failure.
Walther moved the cross lug about 18 mm forward to avoid cracks in the stock. An extra cutout in the receiver was made to match
the position of the cross lug. So this new receiver could be fitted to both the new and the old stock.
All this plus
slightly thicker barrel contours was an effort to
improve the rifle for the German armed forces.
The dual guide rib ac45 was the best they could do with
what they had in the final months of the war. |
Late war Walther
guns may also have the omission of a take down button at
the bolt carrier. This appears from ac45 "no letter"
block and is a
production short cut and no improvement
because it then was impossible to hold the bolt back
without a magazine on the rifle.
The omission of the bolt stop is mentioned in the last
issue of the "butt stock" manual from Nov. 1944.
Use following procedure if the bolt carrier can't be locked in rearward position:
All you have to do is press the button, pull the bolt back a tiny little bit, then lift the housing out.
And installing it did indeed take a while as there is just a tiny little sweet spot you have to hit to get it to drop down.
See a picture below and note the index lines at the stock for bolt removal. And the bolt carrier with mirror image "45".
See a video of how to take apart such a K43. In this case it isn't necessary to pull the bolt back.
The top picture shows the first type carrier without
bolt latch - the same casting was used as previously.
The picture at the bottom shows the rare "ground off"
bolt carrier. This type is especially seen on the "long
barreled test rifles". |
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An extra sear pin was inserted through the rear of the receiver. The purpose
was to restrict the movement of the sear, because there had been complaints of the sear sometimes travelled
up into the path of the bolt. This has been noted on Walthers production already from 1944 "m" block - that means
also on some "single guide rib receivers".
Below a right side close up of a long barreled K43 - 57
cm - compared to the standard 55 cm
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