RC German Mauser K98 worth?

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Mr. Farknocker

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I'm interested in purchasing a Mauser to add to my collection but know very little about them to make an intelligent decision as to what and how much I should pay. A local enthusiast has one that he's willing to sell to me for $450 and I'm just not sure where that number falls in terms of what I should expect to pay for a similar rifle. It's a BCD 42 (Gustloff Werke) and has a blonde stock, cupped buttplate and an excellent bore with a small spot of minor pitting near the muzzle end. The stock is in excellent shape with a small faint import mark on barrel. The rifle came from a large dealer that brought in 600. The dealer changed the parts around to be correct to the year of manufacture. It is a russian capture that has had its black paint and shellac removed by a prior owner. It has all the parts a BCD42 rifle should have and comes with a reproduction cleaning rod. No other accessories are included.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
 
Not sure why you want it but check out Mitchells Mausers. Rifles are completely restored, can be had with matching numbers, and inspected, with $100 dollars of
assesories for $500
 
no self respecting german soldier would have carried a mitchell mauser,to me even a RC german m98 mauser is worth 1000 times a mitchell abortion. eastbank.
 
There were no German soldiers carrying Mauser k98 when Mitchell was around. I have three and you don't know what you are talking about. They are far from abortions and beautifully redone. I am sure you heard from someone that has heard from someone that read that somewhere. I have three that I shoot constantly all year round and each is a perfect shooter. I was going to get another except for one thing....I already have three.
 
I bought a very nice RC last year for $350 shipped.
Classic Arms had some a while back that looked pretty nice, but they were pricey.
 
Where to start? Mitchell Arms LIES about their products, takes good, honest RC K98Ks and polish up the bolt :banghead:, restamp their own numbers, sand the stocks and sells them to unsuspected buyers as "matching" rifles. You think those makes accurate representative pieces of WWII Rifles?

And no, the crap Mitchell includes with their rifles are just that, crap, post war Yugo accessories that's maybe $10 in the collectibility market, stay away from those snake oil salesmen and get yourself a good RC K98k to start with
 
Thanks for the responses. How does the K98 compare in terms of quality, workmanship, ruggedness, value, etc. to the Mausers manufactured in other countries?

Samcoglobal.com seems to have nice selection of moderately priced Mausers from other countries. Unfortunately, many of their offerings are being sold with "cracked stock" which makes me hesitate to buy them.
 
Check out Simpson Ltd as well. They have a very large selection of various Mauser Rifles. Quality runs the gauntlet with Mausers. Some of the best are the South American Large Ring Mausers made around 1908-1910 or so. Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Columbia and Bolivia all used Mauser 98s. They are generally considered to have the best workmanship and quality of the Military 98s. Persian Mausers are also supposed to be very good. I haven't heard many good things about the Turk Mausers at all though. Most of the South American countries also had very nice M95 small ring Mauser designs as well. Not as strong as the 98, but very smooth and well-made rifles.

Mausers are a huge world. Get ready to have a rack full if you start buying.
 
I haven't heard many good things about the Turk Mausers at all though.
Click to expand...
Don't know why. In my experience(and it is lengthy)with Turks,they are very well made and of equal quality to most any Mauser.
 
Mr Rogers,

Prices quoted in this thread relate to RC aka Russian Capture k98s. These are mismatched parts and have the characteristics of being RC such as: blue/black finish, blued bolt, missing cleaning rod, missing capture screws, marked with X or crossed swords, may or may not have german waffen marks peened.

You are right...k98s that are matching and complete command a premium.
 
Sounds to me then that the K98 being offered to me for $450 may be sightly overpriced since the components were swapped to match the make of the rifle.

The general opinion seems to be that non German-built Mausers rate excellent in just about every department (as compared to the German Mauser) and are less expensive. This may pursuade me to go with something other than what is being offered to me.

Living out here on a rock in the middle of nowhere (Hawaii) is an added consideration in my purchase. The cost to ship a rifle from the Mainland will cost me around 100 clams ($65 for shipping plus $30 FFL). If you had a choice between a Argentinian, Chilean, Venezuelan, Brazilian, Peruvian, Columbian, Bolivian or Turkish Mauser in good condition for $350 versus the K98 being offered for $450 (in other words I would end up paying the same), which would you choose?
 
I think the reason Turk mausers are generally not that well thought of is that a good number of them floating around are mismatched and well worn. I got one for a steal (less than $100) about 18 months ago. The safety lever is loose enough that it flops around a bit when handling it. The firing pin spring was weak enough to not ignite some surplus ammo (light primer strikes). The bluing is mostly gone and the metal and the stock are pretty rough. Not going to win any beauty contests. Are they really nice Turks out there? I'm sure there are, but I typically see the beat up variety.

I'm no mauser expert but the k98 I have is cool for historical value but isn't as nice as some.

My favorite mauser is my Swedish M96. The metalwork is on a much nicer level than your standard k98. The checkering treatment of the safety and cocking piece, the fit of the metal hardware to the stock, the quality of the logo, numbers, etc all make for a nicer rifle.
 
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Mr. Farknocker:

What is your purpose in buying the rifle? To have a piece of history? To have a shooter? Do you favor a particular cartridge?

If you want a piece of history, I think the k98 you are considering is a good option. Especially if has clear waffen marks (nazi marks). This adds to the features, and the fact that it was an RC means it was there and saw action. That makes for some cool history even if it's not as collectible as an all matching non-RC mauser.

If you would prefer 7mm mauser, then yes, look at the latin American mausers that are usuallly chambered in 7mm mauser.

For a really nice mauser and a fun round to shoot (6.5x55), consider a Swedish M96.
 
A lot of the perceived quality of these rifles comes from how they were treated by their respective services, and what kind of life they experienced. The South American Mausers didn't see war service, hence many of them are still in very good condition. In contrast, most of the Turkish Mausers I've seen were beat to heck and had definitely seen better days. The Swede M96 is probably by and large the most commonly found Mauser in Excellent condition, and the 6.5x55 makes a great round to shoot. However, it is a Small Ring Mauser design like the M95 Mausers that I mentioned before.

Another factor to take into consideration is when the Mausers were produced. A lot of the K98s were wartime production, and shortcuts were made, particularly towards the second half of the war. The rifles are still serviceable, but the fit, finish, and polish of the earlier Mausers is lacking. The South American guns were peacetime manufactured by Mauser in Germany prior to WWI. They weren't manufactured in South America, they were manufactured by Mauser and shipped overseas. If you find one in good condition, the fit and finish is a work of art, and the actions are very smooth. Most of them came in 7x57, although some were produced in 7.65 Argentine Mauser, and others are out there were made later on in .30-06 and 7.62x51 (some were conversions from earlier rifles).

Long story short, condition is usually a lot more important than the locale of service. From what I've seen, Mausers produced in Germany or Sweden during peacetime are the best examples. From there, pick your caliber, and start searching. Like I said, Mausers are a BIG world.
 
Also, if you plan on shooting it, bore condition is a large consideration. Most of the earlier Mausers saw extensive use with corrosive ammunition. A lot of the South American Mausers I've seen had darker bores, but still shot very well. Just watch for pitting. In contrast, a lot of the Turkish Mauser bores I've seen looked like sewer pipes. Again, Swedes are probably at the top of the tower, because they didn't see war service, were cleaned meticulously, and were valued for their accuracy by the Swedish troops.
 
I'm kinda in the middle of the road with the collectibility aspect. I'd love to own a bit of history but I'm not the kinda guy to acquire firearms on account of their value or "collectible-ness". I use what I buy. If it doesn't get used, it gets tossed to make room for other rifles I plan on using. So yes, I like to own a bit of history but for the most part, its shoot-ability is just a tad-bit more important.
 
If you aren't looking for a WWII collectable but a shooter, then the Yugo M48 in 8mm is a great deal. They were built after the war and were almost immediately put into storage. You can buy them relatively cheap and in very good condition.
 
That price seems awful high to me, but I'm not a Russian Capture fan.

I would look for a Yugo capture K98, the MOD98/48. These do have the receiver ring ground and rolled with the Yugo crest but they retain most of the original markings, particularly below the wood line. Cost of the MOD98/48 can be half of a RC K98.

Yugo MOD98/48
pix3309944890.jpg
 
Not sure where you all find these nice mausers for $200. The market commands a whole lot more nowdays. Do a google search. I collect the mausers for the crests myself and have most of them. Good luck.
Good luck finding ammo too...
Click to expand...

Nobody claimed they were getting Mausers for $200 at current prices... It was said that you could find Turks for less than $300, and nice 98s without German war history for ~$350, which is very much on par with today's prices.

As far as ammo, that's one of the benefits of having something that's not in .308, .30-06, or .223 right now. 7x57, 8x57, and 7.65 Argentine are still in stock at the major online retailers. I'm sure they'll run out eventually, but I imagine it will be about the time that ammunition supplies start showing back up again. Now, if for some reason they stop importing ammunition from overseas, you'll be stuck with using the low-powered American loadings, but that's just an excuse to get good brass and start reloading.
 
IMO $450 would be top dollar.

There are many available and I see them from $250-$400 regularly.

I got one from Gunbroker maybe 2 years ago for $265. I wanted an unmolested example with all markings intact. As usual it was missing the capture screws (and the story behind why they removed them is hilarious and shows the folly of "arms control") but I got a set for $10.


standard.jpg
 
Turkish Mausers can be excellent, but you need to know what you're looking at. Most Turks are large-ring Mausers, but they use the small barrel shank design of the small-ring Mausers (called large-ring, small-shank). K. Kales were arsenally refurbished before and during WWII and are usually great. However, keep in mind that they took several different models they had over the years and modified them to be consistent, effectively taking many variations and standardizing them. The rifles stamped K. Kale were these refurbished rifles. An original 98 action stamped K. Kale with a good barrel will be excellent. However, there also some older cock-on-close Mausers that were also refurbished.
 
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