New K-98?

[CPLofMARINES]

Looking for a K-98. Mitchell Mauser Type. Saw one at Gander Mountain
for $399. Tag said it was an M48. Never heard of a M48. Markings on
the barrel looked like from the armory and Yugoslavia was marked on
the barrel. On the top of the receiver it looked like it had a date stamp of
1943. I know these are refurbished firearms, but the stamp on the barrel
I never noticed before. Is that stamp from the importing armory? Any
help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You.

Semper Fi!

 

[Scimmia]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M48_Mauser

 

[mookiie]

A great rifle!

 

[gun addict]

not worth $399, and even if it does, not a single cent out of my pocket will go to Michel's Mauser, ever

 

[CPLofMARINES]

Gun addict, what's going on with Mitchell Mauser's ??

 

[Cal-gun Fan]

Some people don't like them because they refurbish guns or something like that. Me? If I wanted a shooter I'd get a Mitchells. But I wouldnt pay that much for a Yugo.

 

[shotgunjoel]

what's going on with Mitchell Mauser's ??

They have a long tradition of misrepresenting their products, ripping people off, and refurbing guns therein killing collector value. They are generally considered by the firearms community to be a company best avoided. If you want a Mauser check out Wideners.com, samcoglobal.com, jgsales.com, southernohiogun.com, or others that someone else will chime in with.
Almost everything on the market now is Yugoslavian, either the M24/47 or the M48. The differences between them is rather minimal. The M24/47 has a straight bolt handle and standard sling swivels. They were originally M24s built before the war that were refurbed after WWII starting in ~1947. The M48 has a bent down bolt handle (while not bent as much as some like the German K98k) and has a hole cut in the stock for the sling to go through like the K98k and some others. The M48s were built from the late 40's til the mid 60's. They were exported as well. The M48 also has an elm stock while most M24/47s have a walnut stock. Most people think that the M24/47 has a little better fit and finish than the M48.
There are some variants of the M48. The M48 has all milled parts, the M48A has some stamped parts, mainly the magazine floorplate. The M48B (they were still stamped M48A for some reason) had more stamped parts including the barrel bands and trigger guard. The M48BO is the same as the M48B, but has no marking indicating origin. These were made for export to countries like Israel since the Yugoslavs wanted to sell them guns (sales are always good), but wanted plausible deniability.
Generally the going price for an M48 is $250-300, and the M24/47 is ~$200, though most of them now are being sold with accessories like bayonet, ammo pouch, and cleaning kit. $400 for an M48 is pretty high, but you did say that it was at Gander Mountain where prices tend to be about 15-25% higher than normal.

 

[shotgunjoel]

Also that 1943 date in the crest is the date of Yugoslavia's founding, not the date of manufacture. That rifle was likely made in the 1950's.

 

[Kiln]

Somebody else said it before but I find it odd that, if you buy an antique car and fix it up it becomes worth tons of money...but do the same thing to a firearm and it kills the value.

I just don't get it. All original yada yada but why is it different with firearms and almost anything else that you restore to mint condition?

 

[madcratebuilder]

Mitchell Mauser's is notorious for it's deceptive advertizing. They earned this by selling Russian captures as collectable "Original" German K98's for big bucks.

Some of their Yugo Mausers are very nice, like new, but way over priced.

 

[AethelstanAegen]

Yugo M48 Mausers are great shooting rifles (I have one of their older cousins, a Yugo M24/47). The M48 Mauser you're looking at is not a K98 or new (thus how Mitchell's gets a bad rap for misrepresenting their products and charging a huge mark-up). It is similar in some design to a K98 (in that it's a Mauser 98 action with a bent bolt, but of intermediate length, unlike the full length of a K98) and it was probably made in the 50s. An M24/47 or an M48 will generally run in the $200-300 range and are almost all excellent shooters. There's little to no point in paying Mitchell's for a refurb job, as all the M24/47s were rearsenalled post-WW2 and the M48s were manufactured in the late-40s into the 50s and then put in storage. Basically those Yugo Mausers tend to be a 60 year old brand new Mauser (a few exceptions can be found that saw hard use in the Balkans in the 90s).

Long story short, get an M48 from Samco Global, J&G, AIMSurplus, SOG or one of many other reputable C&R sellers and you'll get it cheaper than from Mitchell's in fine shooting condition in it's original form. You'll also know what it is you're getting and won't be paying Mitchell's to make up a fairy tale about the origins of your gun.

I highly recommend the Yugo Mausers if you're looking for a good shooter at a great price. Here's my M24/47 (though it wears an M48 stock from when it was rearsenaled post-WW2). I love it...it's a tack driver, in great shape and only cost me $200 from Samco Global.

 

[lobo9er]

400 for a working and functional bolt gun, usable for any big game walking creature in the US sounds about market price.

 

[Kiln]

$400 is too much for that gun.

 

[Bojangles7]

Samco has some K98's with German markings intact. I just ordered one of the ones advertised on their website last week and they called to tell me they were out of them, but for 50 more dollars ($300 shipped) I could get one with markings intact. We'll see what condition it's in when it gets here (they said very good) but I thought that sounded like a good deal. You'll have to call them if you want one since they're not listed on the website.

 

[shotgunjoel]

Bojangles7, those rifles were assembled from parts after the war by the Czechs. They weren't ever used by the Germans. The Germans never used the winter trigger guard. Still a nice rifle it would seem.

 

[CPLofMARINES]

Thank you to everyone for their advice. I think I'll keep my
money in my pocket for now.

Semper Fi!

 

[tahoe2]

mausers

I have a German M98k GI bringback, an M24/47 and an M48A.
The yugo action is 1/4" shorter than the M98 but they all shoot about the same.
My 24/47 is sporterized with a scope and shoots 1-1/4" to 2" @ 100 yds with my handloads. My M48 is a mitchell's and shoots great, like the others. Despite all the "bad press" and "false advertising", the rifle doesn't know any better and shoots great anyway. $400 seems to be the going price for entry level bolt guns, but you could have a mauser for even less, that's the rifle, all bolt rifles aspire to be!! It may be old and antiquaited, but can be updated for a few bucks more(trigger,safety,springs, etc...)

 

[ssyoumans]

Spend $50 and buy a Timney trigger for it. Available from MidwayUSA. The one that came with my M48 had to be close to 12 lbs. The Timney trigger is the best upgrade you can do for that rifle, and it is very cheap. Does take a little work to get it in though, you have to dremel out some of the stock to get it to fit in, but well worth the effort. Trigger breaks at just under 3 lbs now.