Range Report: New Yugo/German Mauser 98K (pics inside)...

[Rubber_Duck]

Hey everbody!

I picked up another Mauser a couple days ago, it looked eerily similar to a German Kar 98K so I though why not take her home?

This one was sold to me as a Yugoslavian 98K. It has a crest on top of the receiver with a torch with a star on top, and the left side of the receiver says "PREDUZECE 44" and "Mod 98". There is also a small, barely visible import mark on the right side of the barrel near the muzzle that reads "K98 GERMAN 8MM CAI ST ALB VT." on two lines.

It was advertised as Yugoslavian but the import mark says German, and it also says Mod 98 and looks exactly like a German Kar 98K. This confused me so I did a little research and it turns out this 98K was built in Yugoslavia from German parts after the war (if I read correctly). A little more info would be helpful though.

The metal is more worn-looking than my other 98K, and the stock doesn't look so brand new, however I think it looks even better than my other Mauser. Good condition overall. The serial number of the bolt, barrel, and stock match, however I can find no other serails on this rifle. Bore is shiny with sharp rifling, and the crown looks good.

My crappy cell phone camera doesn't do the rifle justice, it looks really good in person.

Here is the shooting range (informal range so no bench), with targets labeled for distance (excuse the small font size). Ammo for the day was Yugoslavian 197gr ball:

Yes, I tagged the small boulders at 550 yards multiple times.


200 yard target, 5-shot group. The smaller two holes to the right are from an AR-15, so ignore them:

300 yard target:

The group opened up significantly shooting at the 300 yard target, but in my defense it is hard to see the 3-inch orange sticker at the distance, it looks like a speck throught the iron sights. However I still feel that it is a deadly group, much tighter than I could do with a Mosin-Nagant at the same distance.

In only one day, this rifle has become my favorite bolt-action. It cycles well, and the sights are dead-on, unlike my other 98K which is shooting way high. This one also has that worn look that gives it a lot of character, and I'm excited about it's accuracy. I'm thinking of scoping this one with some WWII replica scope mounts (I just watched Enemy At The Gates yesterday).

I have some Yugo M75 sniper ammo that I'm hoping will shrink group size even more.

Looking forward to comments, info, suggestions, etc.

 

[amwdc]

wow u got a shooter there ,good shooting ,i would scope it .

 

[Duke of Doubt]

A shot of the receiver markings on the top and sides would clinch it, but what you probably have is an M1898. These really WERE assembled from German parts after the war by the Yugoslavians. Later, they built their own M48 and M48A rifles. The M48 and M48A are sold by a certain company as "German", more or less, based on some highly misleading advertising copy. But they are fine rifles in their own right, and served in Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia during the Third Balkan War, as well as elsewhere (long story there). Again, close ups of the receiver markings would clinch it, but it looks like you have a Yugoslavian M1898 made from German parts (and maybe refurbed with Yugoslavian parts) and imported by Century Arms International. The "German 8mm" refers to the caliber.

 

[Macgille]

I have been shooting my Yugoslavian mod 98 for about three years now. It is my favorite rifle for informal shooting. Very accurate out to 450 yd ( the length of my informal range.). I am not going to scope it but I did intall a set of MOJO sights. I can't use the original sights anymore.

A scope would improve things but I'm stubborn. Iron sights forever.

 

[Rubber_Duck]

Duke Of Doubt, I'm not sure how helpful these will be, but my phone camera is all I have.

The crest:

The left side where it says "PREDUZECE 44" and "Mod 98":

Here it is next to an actual German Kar 98K for comparison:

 

[Duke of Doubt]

Hard to see the photo detail, but based on what I do NOT see ("M48" or "M48A" on the receiver ring under the crest) I will call this as an M1898. That "Mod 98" was put there by the original factory under German control. The Yugoslavian crest was added later. You can probably pick out minor German markings underneath the wood if you take it apart. You may even find Waffenamt inspection marks, if they were not obliterated by the Yugoslavians. I nearly bought one of these years ago, but ultimately declined to add a parts basket to my collection. That is NOT to degrade their capabilities as shooters, which can be excellent. Also, some find their history interesting apart from any collectibility, and I would count myself among those.

 

[Ohio Gun Guy]

That is a Yugoslavian "Capture" rifle (Or likely bought from the russians after the war). It is a german gun, the recievers were ground, stamped with the yugoslavian crest (Has a torch) and marked PREDUZECE 44. The parts will be all mis-matched, they then ground the bolt handle and re-numbered the bolts to the reciever and also the stock. I have owned one of these rifles for almost 15 years now and it is my favorite shooting surplus rifle. I reasearched it for a while too. In my humble opinion the yugoslavs did a good job of refinishing these rifles. Most I have seen are nice looking, good wood and deep blueing. The down side is, they were really good at hunting out all of the nazi markings, codes, etc. except for a few hidden waffen-ampts there are no original markings. They also seem to have completely disassembed the rifles down to every part that is removable. Everytime I look at a Yugo - 98k it seems no two parts will match. On the russian capture rifles I have looked at you can find nearly intact rifles, except the bolt, mostly.

I can see the ghost of a "42" on my reciever in the same location as the date stamp on other mausers, so I believe my reciever was made in 42, but that is all I know. They did miss a nice big "Dirty Bird" on the stock, it was somehow left intact, swastika and all, just below the bolt take down ring.

 

[Rubber_Duck]

Interesting. I took a closer look at mine and the bolt take-down discs on both sides of the stock still have the Waffenampt eagle with the number 18 underneath.

 

[FMJMIKE]

That is a fine looking and shooting rifle Sir !!!!

 

[Nugilum]

To verify that you have a German Kar 98k and not a Yugo made Mauser, take the bolt from your actual 98k and see if the bolt will close in the Yugo. If it does, it's a true German by birth. However if the bolt is just a bit too long and it won't close for anything, you have a post-WWII Yugoslavian manufactured Mauser.

Visually, I'd say it's a Yugoslavian captured German. I've got one too, and I really like mine.

Interesting: I own several rifles made to protect the sovernty of a nation that doesn't exist anymore.

Ironic?

 

[Ignition Override]

Mr. R. Duck:

Sir: At the risk of flattery, your second photo, with the gun showing the angle from above the jeep/truck out to the rugged terrain is very good.
Your combination of elevated perspective and the rifle offset from the center makes it much better than many others on the 'Inter(gun)nut'.
Is it dusty enough with a low sun angle to see where each shot goes?

And your rifle has a really nice appearance. Let's not forget that.

Sincerely,
A combat (or -styled) rifle nut.
You might need a shiny Mosin Nagant, in the spirit of 'Glasnost' or 'Ostpolitik'. Auf Wiederschauen.

 

[Rubber_Duck]

Nugilum,
The bolt from my German does indeed fit and close in the Yugo-captured 98K. The way I see it, once a German, always a German.

Ignition Override,
Thanks, I like that photo too. I took photography in school so I try to make my photos look decent but that one was just a quick and dirty snapshot.

You might need a shiny Mosin Nagant

Check one of my other threads. I have two M91/59s.

 

[krs]

Hey Rubber duck, what's that you're driving?...

 

[Rubber_Duck]

krs, it's just a run-of-the-mill TJ wrangler, nothing special. Nice one in your photo. What model is that?

Here's another group from today (best one so far), using Yugoslavian M75 Sniper ammo, at 100 yards. For reference, the orange sticker is three inches across.

 

[Rubber_Duck]

UPDATE:

I decided to put a scope on this since it is such a good shooter, I have yet to see how nicely it shoots though but I will probably do a 200-yard zero and start shooting long distance with it.

The mount is a repro LSR (long side rail, WWII-style), and the scope is a Bushnell Elite 3200 10x40mm Mil-Dot.

And FYI, I absolutely HATE the large turret knobs on the scope, they don't look right on this rifle but oh well.

Anyways, here are the pics:

 

[Ohio Gun Guy]

Dug this one up, but want to know how it shoots. I've ordered the scout mount set up for my yugo "Capture" 98k.

Anyone else have a scout mounted 98k?

 

[Rubber_Duck]

It seems to do around 2 MOA with Yugoslavian M75 "sniper" ammo (best ammo for this particular 98K of mine), and about 3-3.5 MOA after the barrel heats up, it gets really hot, even after just 15-20 rounds, at which point it begins to throw the bullets high and left. So best practice is to take five or ten shots, and pick up and shoot a different gun to let it this one cool down.

 

[Ohio Gun Guy]

I'll hope for 2", thats not bad for an old war horse.

 

[Macgille]

Mine will hold 2" all day long. Hot or not. I love it, it is my favorite plinker. If I had to get rid of all my guns and keep three, The Mauser would stay, along with the M1 Garand and the Mossberg 46M. Although I would hate to lose the FN Mauser in .270.

 

[Macgille]

Mine will hold 2" all day long. Hot or not. I love it, it is my favorite plinker. If I had to get rid of all my guns and keep three, The Mauser would stay, along with the M1 Garand and the Mossberg 46M. Although I would hate to lose the FN Mauser in .270.

Where did you get the scope mount?