K98 Mauser

[sxs]

Ok guys. Sold my Mitchell's Mauser a few years back and been looking for a decent Russian Capture or something similar since. I came across 2... for $400 and $500...decent guns with pretty decent bores....parts are mixmaster on one, matching except bolt on the $500 deal (not sure about the stock). However, the same seller has what appears to be an all matching K98 I very decent condition a few small dings, some metal finish wear but over all pretty good, a very good bore with some very light frosting....but otherwise clean. It does have waffens. It's missing the cleaning rod and has a repro sling. It's priced at $895. What do you all think about the one that appears matching? What should I look for besides what I can readily see. Aren't K98 stocks serialed to match the other gun parts? Does it sound like it's worth $895? Unfortunately I don't have pics. I haven't been looking hard for a K98 lately so I am not sure. If I had come across the Russian Captures by themselves, I would have had more interest in them, but the all matching clean condition gun has piqued my interest. Thanks guys.

 

[303_enfield]

It's only money. While I think the price is high, you like it. You never over pay, you just bought it early

If you don't buy it another will come sooner or latter. Maybe even a GI duffle cut bring back for cheap.

 

[sxs]

It's only money. While I think the price is high, you like it. You never over pay, you just bought it early

If you don't buy it another will come sooner or latter. Maybe even a GI duffle cut bring back for cheap.

I thought it sounded high to me....but I also know Russian Captures have jumped quite a bit in just the last few years.

 

[SWO Daddy]

I probably don't have to tell you that fake matching # K98s are everywhere...be careful

 

[Vile Shadow]

Ok guys. Sold my Mitchell's Mauser a few years back and been looking for a decent Russian Capture or something similar since. I came across 2... for $400 and $500...decent guns with pretty decent bores....parts are mixmaster on one, matching except bolt on the $500 deal (not sure about the stock). However, the same seller has what appears to be an all matching K98 I very decent condition a few small dings, some metal finish wear but over all pretty good, a very good bore with some very light frosting....but otherwise clean. It does have waffens. It's missing the cleaning rod and has a repro sling. It's priced at $895. What do you all think about the one that appears matching? What should I look for besides what I can readily see. Aren't K98 stocks serialed to match the other gun parts? Does it sound like it's worth $895? Unfortunately I don't have pics. I haven't been looking hard for a K98 lately so I am not sure. If I had come across the Russian Captures by themselves, I would have had more interest in them, but the all matching clean condition gun has piqued my interest. Thanks guys.

Duffy's has a K98 with a straight bolt handle, probably an RC gun.

 

[MilsurpDan]

Ok guys. Sold my Mitchell's Mauser a few years back and been looking for a decent Russian Capture or something similar since. I came across 2... for $400 and $500...decent guns with pretty decent bores....parts are mixmaster on one, matching except bolt on the $500 deal (not sure about the stock). However, the same seller has what appears to be an all matching K98 I very decent condition a few small dings, some metal finish wear but over all pretty good, a very good bore with some very light frosting....but otherwise clean. It does have waffens. It's missing the cleaning rod and has a repro sling. It's priced at $895. What do you all think about the one that appears matching? What should I look for besides what I can readily see. Aren't K98 stocks serialed to match the other gun parts? Does it sound like it's worth $895? Unfortunately I don't have pics. I haven't been looking hard for a K98 lately so I am not sure. If I had come across the Russian Captures by themselves, I would have had more interest in them, but the all matching clean condition gun has piqued my interest. Thanks guys.

Long Post, so bear with me.

Russian Capture values have been on the rise lately, but I'd find it a little hard to pay $500 on one now unless it was a rare code or unique. For example, I think I paid $550 for my SSZZA4 marked BNZ 43 and didn't think twice about it. I also personally won't buy any Russian Captures that have had the shellack finish stripped off of it.

Do you remember what codes and dates they were? That would greatly affect which one to buy in my opinion.

You say that the $500 Russian Capture is "all matching except the bolt" does that mean that the electro penciled number on the bolt body doesn't match? Or is it not electro penciled at all?

K98k's are one of, if not the most faked or dicked with rifles on the surplus marked now, so I'd do a lot of research before I spent $895 on an "All matching" rifle.

Find out what the code is on the receiver and look over every little part to see if it's matching. Look for scrub marks on the numbered parts to see if they've been restruck. The stocks will be serial numbered on the inside of the stock channel and under the handguard. Or sometimes below the wrist of the stock depending on the year or manufacturer. A lot of reworked rifles will have serial numbers on the sides of the stocks. Look for the correct parts corresponding to that manufacturer, like correct waffenampt markings on small parts or barrel bands, and stamped parts. For example, welded barrel bands and stamped floorplates won't be correct on a AX 1940 rifle.

In order to do a good evaluation, pictures are an absolute must.

 

[sxs]

Long Post, so bear with me.

Russian Capture values have been on the rise lately, but I'd find it a little hard to pay $500 on one now unless it was a rare code or unique. For example, I think I paid $550 for my SSZZA4 marked BNZ 43 and didn't think twice about it. I also personally won't buy any Russian Captures that have had the shellack finish stripped off of it.

Do you remember what codes and dates they were? That would greatly affect which one to buy in my opinion.

You say that the $500 Russian Capture is "all matching except the bolt" does that mean that the electro penciled number on the bolt body doesn't match? Or is it not electro penciled at all?

K98k's are one of, if not the most faked or dicked with rifles on the surplus marked now, so I'd do a lot of research before I spent $895 on an "All matching" rifle.

Find out what the code is on the receiver and look over every little part to see if it's matching. Look for scrub marks on the numbered parts to see if they've been restruck. The stocks will be serial numbered on the inside of the stock channel and under the handguard. Or sometimes below the wrist of the stock depending on the year or manufacturer. A lot of reworked rifles will have serial numbers on the sides of the stocks. Look for the correct parts corresponding to that manufacturer, like correct waffenampt markings on small parts or barrel bands, and stamped parts. For example, welded barrel bands and stamped floorplates won't be correct on a AX 1940 rifle.

In order to do a good evaluation, pictures are an absolute must.

Definitely not electric pen on the bolt. Stamped numbers on bolt don't match the action, etc. I did not look at the inside of the stock on the any of them but would look at the 'all matching' gun if I were inclined to make some sort of offer. Did not see any obvious signs of scrubbing on that gun. Supposedly, all three are on consignment from an estate that had quite a number of Mausers. For now, I'm probably not going to worry about it. A good friend of mine from my club, Stoney Creek, is a Milsurp aficionado who is much more knowledgeable than I knows were a nice k98, all matching (at least the external numbers are...he didn't look inside the handguards and stock) that tempted him for $400. He said he would have bought it but he already has 8 of them. He will look at it again soon (presuming it's unsold) and if it is what his impressions were, I will see if the dealer will ship to my C&R. Part of why I was asking is that I do know from threads on this forum that RCs have climbed greatly in price recently. I thought maybe all k98s have climbed similarly since I looked very recently at Gunbroker and saw prices all over the place. Saw quite a few guns $400 and even $500+ that looked kind'a crapppy, quite frankly (and who knows what the bore is like without seeing first hand). The RC's I saw in person were much better than those I saw on GB. The gun that is supposedly as all matching is better than most I've seen. Not as clean as reworked guns along the lines of, say, a Mitchell's like the one a sold a while back....but definitely pretty clean for an obviously used gun.

I'm well aware of fakes. Hell, Mausers are far from the only guns faked. I was had to 'edumacate' myself greatly when I looked for a P08 a couple years back. Ended up with a nice all matching (except the magazine which is nevertheless a German p08 mag) Commercial P08 from Scott's Gunsmithing.

The code was CE (Sauer and Sohn), but damn....forgot the date! I think it was a 1939...but I could be confusing it with one of the RCs. I know all 3 guns had dates that would put them in use during WW II and there were waffenampts present on all although peened on the lower cost RC. (along with the requisite 'X' stamp usually seen on RCs). I'm not, FWIW looking for the most high end collectable k98...really just a decent clean shooter. But I was impressed with the condition of the one referenced as all matching. The RCs weren't bad either

At this point, I'm gonna wait until my buddy gets to look over the k98 he saw (it's in a shop near his vacation property). He will be in that area next weekend.

Thanks guys!