which mauser?

[coosbaycreep]

A cheap 8mm mauser has been on my wish list for awhile, and the only kind I ever see that are cheap enough that I'd consider buying them is the yugos from big 5, and turkish mausers.

I know nothing about either. I'm not buying for collectability, just whatever is the safest/most accurate. So which is the best mauser for the money?

thanks.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

You really can't go wrong with either that you have listed but I would choose a good K98 Russian capture. The RC usually sells for just a little more than the other two and has history to boot.

 

[wankerjake]

I had a yugo mauser that i sure wish I still had. Nice rifle, but I got the impression from others that it was a nicer one than most yugo mausers.

 

[XxWINxX94]

Depending on your definition of "cheap" I will have to agree with jimmyraythomason that the K98k is a great contender for an 8mm rifle. I own one and its a great, reliable bolt action. There are a few things to look for on them though: Matching serial #'s and good bores. Its a WWII-era rifle that has more than likely seen combat or other such activity, so there are going to be rough and dirty ones out there. The Mauser design is almost unbeatable when it comes to reliability and possibly accuracy. You also cannot beat the historical backround of these rifles. Most were made during the Nazi-Era and are proofed all over so you get the history with it. The Nazi-Era has been dead 64+ years, but if you go with the K98k, it lives on in your gun safe.

 

[Float Pilot]

VZ-24 There are some very interesting stories that go along with the Czech made contract Mausers or the 1920s and 30s...

 

[cz85cmbt]

Well I opted other because the yugoslavian workmanship just isn't as nice as others and the turkish mausers have been beat up and are hard to find good bores and matching, plus they are big. I like the 24/47 and samco has bent bolt 24/47 for 179.99. He is reputable although I hear he has gotten a little slow sending guns out. Also classic arms has some straight up 24's these do have collectors value and although you say that doesn't matter, resale value never hurts either. The 24's are the same the 24/47 with the major difference being the crest is the original royal arms and therefore you'll own an arm that could have fought in the resistance against the nazis or italians. They are going for 250 but classic claims they are very nice. A nice, accurate, clean russian capture 98 will be expensive even if the swazi's are peened. Check those websites out.

 

[Ignition Override]

Although this is only for long-term planning (late '10), is the workmanship of Czech or Yugo Mausers as good as the German rifles built during the hectic conditions at the end of the war, or possibly as good as those built earlier?
Also curious about how much the Russians banged around their "RC"s.....

What history is involved with many Czech Mausers?

 

[Speedo66]

Depending on what your idea of cheap is, the Israeli FN Mausers may be one of the best. Of course, there are also the Swedish Mausers, again some of the best.

Neither are 8mm though, but perhaps arguably better, i.e., .308 and 6.5x55 Swedish.

 

[Olympus]

Yugo 24/47 is about the slickest action I've seen on a stock Mauser and they're plentiful and cheap.

 

[Ohio Gun Guy]

+1 on the Russian Capture.

All the fun with a lot of history.

 

[Brimic]

I voted 'other.'

IMHO, Turks and Yugos (M48s) are at the far left end of the bell curve when it comes to quality.

Better: German K98s, VZ-24s, 98/22s, RC K98s, Yugo 24/47s
Best: Swedish M96 M38, BRNO 98/29, 1909 Argentines.

 

[Smokey Joe]

Cheap Mauser...

Coos Bay Creep--You said

A cheap 8mm mauser has been on my wish list for awhile

You don't want to spend a lot of $$ but you want an 8mm Mauser. I'd respectfully beg to differ with the posters who downgraded the Yugo Mausers--I got a dandy M-48, decent workmanship, all matching numbers, and of course that classic, solid, Mauser design. Bolt is bent down which looks nicer, not straight out like most military Mausers. Didn't cost a pile of $$, either. Worked it into a nice pseudo-scout rifle. Accurate enough for a hunting rifle--it'll put 200 grain Accubonds in 1.5 inches at 100 yd, and into 3 inches at 200 yd, all day long. No target rifle, to be sure, but you don't start with a milsurp if you want to have a target rifle.

You'll pay more for a k98K of any sort--and as pointed out, the k98K (hushed voice) has HISTORY behind it (/hushed voice) so if you want to modify it in any way, you're messing up what somebody wants to collect.

The Swedes are the nicest in workmanship and accuracy, but cost the most, of the "common" Mausers, also. They ARE sweet, if you have the necessary coin.

I'm no Mauser maven--there are a bunch of others out there, some better, some worse, some rarer than others and more expensive, and all of them going up in price every day because they're not being made any more.

So, I voted for your getting a Yugo. M-48 would be my first choice; if you can't locate one of those (and they are getting scarce these days) get a 24-47, which is also nice but has a straight bolt handle.

 

[dogngun]

The Yugo is a bit more expensive now, but I will tell you a secret-

The Turks almost always have great bores, and can be fine shooters with just a little trigger work. I have just seen a few for around $140, including one that used to belong to me - I sold it several years ago, and I KNOW that it is a good shooter.
Might just buy it back.

mark

 

[5whiskey]

The thing with yugo mausers is you really need to figure out what you want more.

Do you want a piece of history, with a story behind it and engineered by top arsenals of the time? OR do you want something that will shoot, be very accurate for a mil-surp, and will run alot cheaper than most others.

Many, nay I say most of the yugos were re-arsenaled (many were older vz 24s) and used very little after being re-arsenaled. They weren't carried to war. Many of them weren't even issued. The bores will be bright and shiney, and there will be little bluing wear. Most of them will be shooters, my 24/47 will hold 2-3 moa with light ball surplus ammo. I'm thinking heavy ball would be even more accurate. The only downside, is the rifles aren't sought out heavily by collectors because there really is no story line to them. They were made, some were issued, and most were crated with little use. And they're very plentiful (which makes them really a non-collector, but also makes them very cheap).

Russian recaptures have some history, but are fairly plentiful so they will be a little more expensive, but not much. Also, many of the Russian recaptures were rode to hades and back. Most of the late production K98s were not fitted very well (some not even having sights). Early K98s were fine rifles, but many of them have been through a war. VZ 24s (Czech arsenal) are regarded to be some of the best, but many of the ones that weren't rearsenaled have also been rode hard and put away wet.




The other rifles are fine rifles, but IMHO there is a big selling point to a yugo. They are very cheap, and there is a better chance of getting a good shooter.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

If you just want a good shooter,ignore the "all matching numbers" syndrome. That only matters if you want a collector piece. If you find a K98k Russian Capture with matching bolt,you have a rare bird indeed. Almost all Mauser 98s are good quality so just inspect each individual gun on it's own merit.

 

[Mr_Pale_Horse]

I voted Turk mauser. In the Dictionary, Turk mauser is defined as a cheap mauser.

The 93 and 1903 are mostly german made receiver with who knows what for barrels and such. 1938's are mostly Turk made. Many are large ring, small shank barrel thread (98 size receiver, with a pre-98 barrel thread) making the receiver very beefy. The also have longer that normal receivers on many since the used a receiver flange to retain the handguard.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

The 1903 Turks are typically Gew.98s of WW1 vintage just reworked and re-stamped. I have a 1938 receiver which I built a .280 Remington sporter on. Removing the receiver flange is very easily done with a grinder and files. All things considered the Turks are pretty decent guns.

 

[Brimic]

The Turks almost always have great bores, and can be fine shooters with just a little trigger work. I have just seen a few for around $140, including one that used to belong to me - I sold it several years ago, and I KNOW that it is a good shooter.

When they were importing and selling the M38 turks about 10 years ago, they went for about $39-59 ea, maybe 1 out of 10 had a good bore, most were worn out. The 1903 turks are much better.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I bought a 1903 about 5 or so years ago. It was a reworked Gew.98. The metal was very good and the wood was excellent. It was an excellent shooter which I traded off for a pristine No.4 "Longbranch" SMLE.

 

[doctorxring]

.

Deals are where you find them.

But if I was going to be taking a shot in the dark
and wanted a nice mauser rifle with an excellent bore,
I would go straight to SAMCO's webpage and
order a Yugoslavian M24/47 rifle in excellent
condition for $179. These guns have new barrels
and matching bolts.

This is a stonking deal for a quality rifle. I have
many mauser rifles, K98's, Yugos, Turks, etc.
The Yugo M24 action that is on these rifles is
a quality action. It may not be quite as finely finished
as a pre-war K98 action, but it still has the "goods"
and is still high quality.

Here's a few of my favorite M24/47 rifles. Some may
even say they are nice looking as well as good, solid,
and accurate rifles.


P.S. I would have to agree that these rifles are not highly
sought after by ALL collectors. Lucky for me I'm not one
of those guys. Their loss, my gain.





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[coosbaycreep]

thanks for all the excellent info
When I get the money, I'll probably just buy a yugo from big 5 since they're local and stock them, unless I find a better deal in the newspaper or something.

 

[zoom6zoom]

I recently got a 24/47 from Classic Arms and it's absolutely pristine.

 

[Gelgoog]

Unless its a Yugo M48 then I say neither. I have owned alot of mausers and the Turks are garbage compared to the others. The yugos can be decent rifles but they are not the quality that other mauser breeds are. The M48s are as close as your going to get to a K98 except for that fact that you can typically find them in unissued condition. I would much rather have a clean M48 then a beat up warstock K98.

However if you have a budget of around $500 you can do much much better. In the 400-500 range you are getting into south american contract mausers which are fit and finish the top of the breed and leagues above all other mausers.

Basically the critea goes

Tier one: Swedish, Argentine, Persian, Venezuelan, and all other small contract rifles. a usual rule of thumb is that export mausers tend to be very nicely made. Also anything made prior to WW1 is usually very well made ( with exception to the turks and spanish)

Tier two: Post war contract rifles ( carbines), Latin America mauser, General issue rifles (this is the bulk of the mausers).

Tier three: Late war production mausers, spanish mausers, turkish mausers, japanese arisakas, some yugo mauser variants, israeli mausers, etc. Tier 3 mausers are usually in the lowest position because of quality control issues, poor metallurgy, or just badly designed.

However nearly all mausers are better in my mind then say a mosin nagant, carcano, or other some other bolt action war rifles, so take it for what you will. However I urge you not to limit your choices to what only surplus warehouses are selling. Often times they charge 200-400 for mausers in which you can go onto auction sites and find Tier 1 and 2 mausers in great shape for those prices. I have nabbed many south american contract rifles for well under $300 on gunbroker.