Mauser 98 guys, a question or two, please.

[SaxonPig]

I just received a K98 that I purchased off Gunbroker for $250. I know it's a "Russian capture" example and I have read a little about these. It's stamped duv with a date of 1941 so I was able to find the manufacturer. All of the German markings are intact and I was really surprised at how clean this rifle is. All the metal looks very good (of course it was refinished by the Russian armorers and has a dark, almost black color which is actually sort of cool looking) with no pitting or corrosion evident (have not looked under the wood, yet). Even the bore is shiny and clean with no darkness. Maybe not ever fired at all since even one shot with the corrosive primers of the era would leave some corrosion in the bore, no?

This one does not have the electro-pencil markings that are apparently common on these. The laminated stock is in almost as good condition as the metal with only a couple of minor scuffs and dings and is stamped with the matching serial. Was the serial stamped on the stock by the manufacturer or by the Russians? It does have the red varnish on it that the Soviets applied but it seems like a very light coat compared to some I have seen. Perhaps because the stock was in such good shape whomever was doing this just gave it a thin splash of coating? The front band has a different number.

Should not the bolt be stamped with the serial? I can't find it. On the underside of the bolt is an eagle over a swastika but no number. Where am I missing this? I assume it will be mismatched as most of these are but I can't find the serial on this part.

How does Berlin-Lübecker Maschinenfabrik stack up compared to the other manufacturers of these rifles? Any known problems I should be aware of before shooting this rifle? Any other opinions or comments are welcome as I try to educate myself on this piece.

I bought this as a shooter and because I thought it would be interesting from a historical standpoint given its associations with both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. I have heard the story of how the Russians removed the cleaning rods and capture screws so they could claim to have disabled weapons during the 1980s when negotiating with the U.S. over disarmament.

I realize this rifle is not rare and serious collectors would not have any interest in it, but I think it will be fun to have this and share its history with others who see it. I believe that given its very clean condition the $250 price was a fairly good deal. Agree?

 

[Moose458]

Great gun at a real good price. They are fun shooters, you're going to really enjoy it. Good buy!

 

[Bear70]

I'll answer your first two questions and let someone else chime in on the remaining. At $250 you did slightly low to average on the purchase. Just because it has a shiny bore does not mean it wasn't shot with corrosive ammo. With a 1941 mfg date there would be no way it was never shot with corrosive ammo and has certainly been fired. If you had a 1945 (rare) or even 1944 there is the possibility of it never being fired. Corrosive ammo is given a bad rap. It all depends on the battlefield conditions the rifle was in and how the soldier took care of it.

You have a lot of questions and if you are getting into the k98's a great book that you should purchase is BACKBONE OF THE WEHRMACHT by Richard Law, revised edition. It is a complete history broken down by year and model numbers and has more information than you could ever imagine. I had a 339 1939 k98 that I knew was rare but didn't know how rare until I read the book. It turns out that it is the rarest year/mfg combo with (if memory serves me) less than 1,500 made. Of course it was a russian capture so it's value was severly lowered. A dealer bought it from me and kept it in his personal collection. Good luck with your rifle. They are great rifles and the history behind them makes them very interesting collectables.

 

[Slamfire]

This one does not have the electro-pencil markings that are apparently common on these. The laminated stock is in almost as good condition as the metal with only a couple of minor scuffs and dings and is stamped with the matching serial. Was the serial stamped on the stock by the manufacturer or by the Russians? It does have the red varnish on it that the Soviets applied but it seems like a very light coat compared to some I have seen. Perhaps because the stock was in such good shape whomever was doing this just gave it a thin splash of coating? The front band has a different number.

Should not the bolt be stamped with the serial? I can't find it. On the underside of the bolt is an eagle over a swastika but no number. Where am I missing this? I assume it will be mismatched as most of these are but I can't find the serial on this part.

I examined a rack of Russian Capture K98's. Having a decent barrel is rare. Most of the barrels I saw were heavily pitted. Parts did not match.

Most of these rifles had a serial number etched on the bolt. Who put that there is unknown.

Major arms importers have huge bonded warehouses and what goes on in these places is out of view of the public. You rifle could have been rebuilt by the Soviets, or it could have been rebuilt in one of these bonded ware houses. We will never know as "image" is an important selling point for surplus rifles.

You can assume that there was a huge bin of bolts, a huge bin of stocks, a huge bin for every part on that rifle. The emphasis, whether it was rebuilt in a bonded warehouse, or in Russia, would be cost. Get the thing assembled as quickly and cheaply as possible.

 

[GD]

I have several Russian capture K98k's. Many collectors pooh-pooh these rifles but I think they are still part of the history of K98k's. Yours, being a 1941, was surely used and seems to have been decently treated.
The number stamped on the stock was done by the Soviets.
Pretty much all Russian captures are parts guns. The Soviets did not worry about keeping matching parts together. They examined the bores, reblued the metal, and shellaced the stock. On several of mine, I removed the shellac and found a nice laminated stock with cartouches on it.
These are great conversation pieces and several of mine are great shooters. 3-4 MOA is common with these rifles. I have used one of mine for deer hunting and it always brings interesting comments from the guys I hunt with.
For the new collector, it is an affordable way to start the collecting fever.

 

[SaxonPig]

I have heard that the wood finish comes off with solvent and the wood usually looks better without it. I'm still thinking about whether I will remove or leave it as part of the rifle's history. Who knows, 20 years from now perhaps capture 98s with the red finish will be rare because so many people removed it?

 

[Birdmang]

Are the K98's with all the Nazi marking still clearly visible worth anything significant?

 

[SaxonPig]

I think intact markings adds to value. I searched for several weeks to find one that was under $800.

 

[Birdmang]

I just inherited a gun collection, it included two mausers. One 98k w/nazi markings. One 7mm carbine sporterized with no markings. My Mauser book leads me to believe that it is a model 93 built by DWM in Berlin for either Spain or Brazil.

I should post some pics to get some more information on them,

 

[Dragk913]

Go Here.
There is a lot more info on K98's there, than on THR.

Good luck.

 

[zoom6zoom]

Nice score. Classic Arms has repro cleaning rods for about ten bucks.

 

[dscottw88]

I dont mean to thread-jack, but I was just wondering, I have a non-russian capture K98 made in 1940. What would the vaule of the rifle be? I'll post some pics soon.

 

[SaxonPig]

Got a photo.

 

[dscottw88]

I apologize for the quality of the 2nd and 3rd pic, the camera phone doesn't do the rifle justice. The Swastika and Bird are still very intact on the left side of the barrel, receiver, and on the muzzle end of the front post sight.

 

[Birdmang]

You should use the macro function on your camera for clearer pictures.

 

[Rubber_Duck]

SaxonPig, I picked up a nice RC 98K for $250 from a private collector, and it is similar to yours. Mine only has the "x" on the receiver and no other Russian marks. The swastikas and Nazi eagles are intact, with Waffenampt marks on almost every part of the rifle. For some reason the bolt is polished though. The previous owner also removed the shellac and applied an oil finish, much nicer without the shellac IMO.

This particular 98K is from the year 1939, manufacturer code 239. There's also some interesting hatch marks on the right side of the receiver:

 

[lionking]

I was bidding on a nice RC 98 last night,with a Portuguese crest,rather uncommon.But some guy was determined for it and kept up bidding me to the point I let it go,it was becoming too expensive,he got it for $450.