1943 K98k at Gander Mountain for $120

[HDCamel]

I was bored and I needed some ammo so I decided to poke around the ole' GM and I saw an absolutely beautiful K98k (about 90% finish) sitting on the rack without a price tag. I inquired the sales clerk and the guy went to the computer to print one up. Naturally, I was expecting it to be marked up to hell, especially considering the condition it was in (good bore and everything) but I figured "Eh, why the hell not?" Guy came back and told me it was $120.

Bought it on the spot.

Will post pictures when I can find my camera.

 

[Jonny V]

sweet......good score man!

 

[Murphy4570]

Holy crap that's a steal. You should turn yourself to the local PD for theft.

Great score man, you made out like a bandit.

 

[HDCamel]

Well... I DO have to buy a cleaning rod for it.

 

[godale]

a good deal at gander mountain thats a unusual thing. good for you post some pictures!!!

 

[BrocLuno]

Excellent - awaiting pictures

 

[bigedp51]

The most Gander mountain will pay for a used firearm is 50% of book value the guy who traded it in was lucky if he got $80.00 for it in trade.

 

[HDCamel]

Apparently it was transferred from another Gander TODAY because they had a hard time selling it where it was traded in. I assume this was after a few price mark downs. Probably why it was so cheap. They didn't have time to jack up the price again.

Still can't find my camera... I'd rather not use the crap camera on my iPod.

 

[hipoint]

one of my favorite guns of all time! I've got a "nice" sporterized one. I know that makes some folks sad, but they turned it into a pretty decent rifle and since it's already 'ruined' I don't have to worry about it as much. although I have had a bear of a time finding ammo for it lately, I used to be able to get that stuff at our local convenience store as well as any of our local gun shops, now NO ONE has any. I've been thinking of ordering some of the sellier and bellot ammo for it. Seen some posts that they are making it pretty hot, and I really like the semi wad-cutter tip, a flat nose with that much power should have some serious knockdown for these pesky deer on my farm!

 

[HDCamel]

I'll upload better pictures when I find my better camera, but here's a couple on the iPod.

It's definitely a Russian capture mixmaster but even those are going for $300 these days:


The receiver. I took pictures of the smaller markings, but the iPod camera isn't good enough and they just looked like blurs


Again. I'll try to post better ones later.

 

[nwilliams]

Wow you stole that for $120!

 

[Hizzie]

Did the toes come free? Nice score.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Nice steal, we expect a range report!

 

[7mmsavage]

Nice, at the GM near me that probably would have been about $400. Really, I have seen Nagants on the used rack for $179.

 

[madcratebuilder]

Good score, should be a good shooter for you.

 

[towboat_er]

You sometimes can find good deals there. Last time I was there I saw a CZ82 for $200, not a great deal, but not bad.
Then I saw a 5906 trade in for $500... lol.

 

[CraigC]

I try to tell folks not to completely discount Gander Mt. and have been called a liar for my trouble. This is the second or third such deal I've heard of in just the last week or two. You have to keep your eyes peeled because sometimes they have really good deals on used guns.

 

[Babarsac]

Very nice find HDCamel..which Virginia GM was it? The closest one to me is down in Fredericksburg.

 

[chez323]

1943 K98k

very sweet deal you walked into at Gander Mountain.......... congrats and thanks for sharing it with us poor unlucky soles. LOL

 

[HDCamel]

Very nice find HDCamel..which Virginia GM was it? The closest one to me is down in Fredericksburg.

It was Fredericksburg. It was behind the counter tucked away next to the ARs for some reason. I assume it's because they hadn't processed it yet.

I wouldn't go there for deals though. This is the same Gander that wants $1500 for a low-number Springfield M1903 and handguns are pretty outrageous most of the time. Like $100 over MSRP outrageous.

I mostly go there for ammo since our Wally World only has crap and when they get good stuff it sells out instantly and Dick's has crap selection as well.


On a different note...

Everybody I see complains that the trigger is too stiff on these things. I don't know what they're talking about. This is, by far, the best trigger I've ever felt on a rifle. You hear about the proverbial "glass rod". This thing feels like a Colt single action with more take-up.
I don't have a gauge, but I'd say the trigger is about 2lbs max.

I suppose the previous owner might have had a trigger job done.

 

[HDCamel]

Better Photos

Found my camera. Here are the better pictures.

Keep in mind, this thing is still swimming in cosmoline (thank you Russia) and I haven't had a chance to really clean it all off.

So the finish on the metal is about 90% (of the Russian re-bluing). No apparent rust, but I haven't looked under the stock yet. The stock itself is pretty banged up, but I like a stock with character.



Better shots of the reciever. Not really sure what all of the markings mean.
The eagles are pretty much intact, but the swastikas are all gone.



I'm really not sure what this 1 on the right side means...


And finally the bore. It's so shiny that too much light saturates the photo, but even with this low light the condition of the rifling is apparent.

 

[matt_s07]

The Fredericksburg store seems to get good stuff at good deals. I got my Nagant, which is beautiful, for $89 from there!

 

[Lazerbeans]

The Gander here Wichita had Nagants for $129. They seemed to be in good condition, concering the age. I came really close to buying one since it was a piece of history, a cheap rifle, and already was buying a Daisy .22.

 

[HDCamel]

So I'm thinking about refinishing the stock. Since this is a Russian capture mixmaster the stock has ALREADY been refinished and any REAL history the piece had was lost long ago. Also, I don't really intend to sell it unless I upgrade to a better one.

I'm sort of split 50/50 on it. The russian finish is pretty poorly done, but I think it might not get any better (or maybe even worse) if I refinish it unless I put a lot of effort into cleaning this thing up (filling dings and such).

I could just get another stock I suppose.

What do you guys think?

 

[Murphy4570]

I'd leave the dents and dings, part of the history of it. I like historic rifles with character.

You could refinish it, that wouldn't hurt anything.

What caliber is it chambered for? Did the Soviets rebarrel it for 7.62x54R? Or is it still 7.92x57mm?