Should I get this K98 German Mauser?

[Kestrel]

Saw this in a shop today:

It was a German K98 Mauser, looked to be arsenal refinished or something, because it had a black finish with no wear. It seemed like it was in very, very good condition. Importer mark was Cole Distributing. It had an "X" marked on the receiver. 8mm caliber.

The guy at the shop said these were discovered (in Germany?) by the Russians and the Russians put an "X" on the receiver. (I have no idea if any of this is true.

They wanted $450 for it, which I thought was awfully high for a military Mauser, but I know nothing about Mausers.

Any help or input would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[ojibweindian]

They were rearsenaled by the Russians. $450? Waaaaaay too much.

 

[Beetle Bailey]

the price sounds way too high. You can try going straight to www.coledistributing.com or try www.aimsurplus.com .

there are other place that have these Russian Capture Mausers, and you would be buying sight unseen, but these two have good reputations and you can call to talk to them about what you want. There are a lot of the Russian Captures out there in a variety of conditions.

 

[Jack19]

What everyone else has said, $450 is WAY too much. I got a VG condition RC (Russian Capture) K98 from AIM for $109+shipping.

The X mark was placed there by the Russians; it's supposed to be two crossed rifles. An indicator that it was refinished by them. Some RCs have it, some don't, and it can alternately be found on the stock, and sometimes not at all.

Some good K98 sites:

http://www.waffeninfo.net/waff_98k_05.php
http://pub36.ezboard.com/bk98kpage

 

[Sydwaiz]

Another vote for "WAY TO HIGH!"

I got an excellent condition hand pick from FAC for $300. They made sure that the Nazi markings were still intact and not defaced. There are still cartouches (sp?) on the stock. Some of the numbers are force matched but the barrel and receiver match so I'm not too worried about the rest. The rifling is in excellent condition and the gun has been arsenal refinished. The prices are coming down and many places have cheaper ones since I purchased mine but I can't comment on the condition.

 

[telewinz]

Got my AIM 98K the first week they came out for $199. I cleaned it up and its about 95% condition now. A real piece of history, without the peening marks how can you prove its a russian capture? Thats an important part of this rifle to me and the built in proof of its wartime history.

 

[WonderNine]

Yea, they typically drilled out the swastika and put two crossed rifles over it then refinished the gun.

 

[Kestrel]

Wow, I feel like a sucker for even thinking about it. It irritates me that this shop would inflate the price like that.

Steve

 

[Bill Hook]

SOG (last choice, usually), JG sales, AIM, etc. have these. For under $350, you could get a handpick with a rare date or manufacture and a Exc. one would run less than $200.

 

[WonderNine]

Yes, you usually see the excellent condition K98's for $200 or so.

The Yugo M48's are basically the same gun (22" barrel) only they haven't been refinished and they're a bit less for the same condition.

Their are quite a few unissued M48's out there.

 

[Houndawg]

without the peening marks how can you prove its a russian capture?

You can tell it's a Russian capture by the electro-penciled serial numbers the Ruskies used to force match serial numbers. You can also tell be the mismatched stocks (wrong stock for a particular mfgr/date) and the sanded off and replaced serial numbers on the stocks.

The thought that the rifle and its parts could have been taken off of dead Krauts at Stalingrad makes it worth the mismatches to me.

 

[WonderNine]

The thought that the rifle and its parts could have been taken off of dead Krauts at Stalingrad makes it worth the mismatches to me.

That's a pretty nasty thing for you to say.