Can someone tell me what's up with RC K98's?

davemccarthy707 said:
Simply put, the Chilean Mausers from Tradeex are a much better deal. In my opinion.
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In what sense? If you want a gun to shoot, but history means nothing, get one of the new Savages, or a Tikka for more money. If it's history, the Chilean has some, but a movie will never be made with a Chilean mauser playing a part. Now if you're Chilean.....
 
Oh, I dunno - the 1909 Argie was well represented in "Evita" ;) There's hope for the Chilean Mauser yet...

If Hollywood would just expand its horizons beyond American-only stories a bit, I'd like to see a movie made about the Chilean Navy's capture of the Huascar. IT would make a much better film than the drivel coming out of California...
 
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Claven2 said:
Oh, I dunno - the 1909 Argie was well represented in "Evita" ;) There's hope for the Chilean Mauser yet...

If Hollywood would just expand its horizons beyond American-only stories a bit, I'd like to see a movie made about the Chilean Navy's capture of the Huascar. IT would make a much better film than the drivel coming out of California...
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I'm not really at all interested in American guns, so I'm happy that people buy what they see in movies!
 
I believe the RC's with the peened dirty birds and straight bolts are the way to go when buying for the following reasons.
The Russian peen is a mark just like the Nazi dirty bird. To Peen or not to Peen is the question as not all RC's are peened.
It shows that Ivan was taking out his frustrations post war on an inanimate object which is part of RC history.
Ivan also believed a bolt is a bolt, straight or bent. As long as it worked.
Mathematically, Entropy and maximum randomness are the key factors in RC K98's that make them what they are.
 
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Andy said:
In what sense? If you want a gun to shoot, but history means nothing, get one of the new Savages, or a Tikka for more money. If it's history, the Chilean has some, but a movie will never be made with a Chilean mauser playing a part. Now if you're Chilean.....
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If you want a K98 "specimen" without paying 800 bucks for it. Thats all. I have a M695 Tikka in .300WM topped with a Leupold scope. It is boringly laser accurate.
 
Claven2 said:
Except if you like axis guns, the movies have made them equally popular.
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What movie has made axis guns popular besides the MP40, MG42 and Luger, P38 (the ppk is popular because of 007)? All of which except the P38 is unobtainium to the common gun owner besides guys over 40 (at the youngest) with prohib status.
 
smellie said:
And there is also the element of lost glory or whatever attached to the weapons of the losing side, some aura which seems to raise them up above the rest, at least when it comes to pricing. It is much the same with the 98s from the Ostfront as it is for Civil War Enfields.

Just for yuks, let's imagine a rack holding a bunch of '58 Enfields. They are all a bit beat-up, more or less, and they all have a story to tell. It is how romantic the world sees that story which determines how the specimen will be regarded in the marketplace. That..... and how much can be proven or, at the very least, inferred about them.

So the first one was picked up at Gettysburg, about 100 yards short of the Northern trench line. It is fully attested and provenanced, including a letter from Colonel Norman J. Hall to the effect that it was taken from the body of one of Armistead's men following the repulse of Pickett's Charge. The stock is punched on the butt: CS. The discolouration on the woodwork around the lock is blood of the Confederate soldier who carried it. Value? $35,000

The second one is a little better condition but the wood is drying and it has surface rusting from standing too long in the barn. All that is known about it is that it was bought from Bannerman's in 1906 for 2 dollars and that Great-Grandpaw used it for killing pigs on the farm. It has US punched into the butt. Value? $650

The third one stayed in England and was converted into a breechloader in 1866 with a funny trap-door mechanism marked "Snider's Patent" and then it was sent somewhere else to continue in military service. It is about as rusty as you would expect of something which has been neglected for most of the time since it was sold off for scrap, although there is not much evidence of outright abuse. There are funny stampings in the wood (M&D in one sport, DC in a diamond in another spot and there are letters and numbers punched into the butt tang. Value? $4000 ( maybe more, as it seems rare from the markings?)

The fourth one is just like the third except that it is marked on the metal NSM with a number, the trap-door has a little latch and the lock is dated 1867. But it has no M&D or DC-in-a-diamond. Value? $2500

And the fifth one rightly can't be called an Enfield because it is marked TOWER 1857. It, also, stood for most of a century up in the rafters of a barn and it has the rust to prove it. It is still a muzzleloader. Bubba got at it once but didn't do anything which can't be undone in an hour of careful work (little bit of damage at the muzzle). Value? $1000

Let's see what values people come up with for those ones.

Then ask yourself where that beat-up Russian Capture Kar 98k came from. Velikiy Luki? The Kettle? Stalingrad? Kursk? Warsaw? Berlin?

The more which can be substantiated the better.

The more which can be inferred directly, the better. A late-1943 rifle will not have been a Stalingrad capture because it hadn't been made yet..... but a 1937 certainly could have been captured in Berlin on the last day of the War.

But good or evil, popular or unpopular, politically-correct or otherwise, they all are remnants of a Lost Cause. In many cases, they are all that remains of that cause. They have an aura about them which the weapons of the winners don't have because they represent the what-might-have-been as opposed to the winners' weapons which represent the what-is. As collectors and practical historians, we have taken upon ourselves the duty of preserving them all for the future.

Gentlemen: your comments kindly.

(And your values: I'm curious!)
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There you go I played your game Smellie. Please don't laugh as I did some research but didn't check any prices etc.
 
supply and demand. WWII was the single largest event in history and it is within living memory. few among us where there but a 98 is a form of souvenir.
 
Well I picked one up, at AF .. out of 30 they got 2 weeks ago they had 2 left.
one had a pretty significant stock repair and obvious weathering on the metal due to exposure.. and the bore did not look sharp.. but the wood was nicer and overall the rifle "looked" nice

the other has a nasty rough stock ( though no repair ) but very clean metal and a sharp bore .. it looked like crap due to the stock but was the better of the two.

I had been looking for a K98 for a while, so I grabbed it.. I have been seeing RC K98 bump up in price by $200 with every cache that is released. Say what you will about these rifles, but there WILL be guys who will pay $1000 for them in the future. RC just adds to the history ..
 
Thanks Bentleg for the honest evaluation. I would love to see detailed pics and description of this last batch of K98 rifles.
You are right, RC k98 rifles are a historical variation, which I would like to own for my collection.
 
As an Aside, I had never handled a K98 before, it's a very nice rifle, and very well balanced and handy. not light, but well balanced. I expect it to be an excellent shooter. I'm also studying Close Combat Techniques of the German Army as part of my ongoing study of Western Martial Arts, and I needed a rifle to bash about with. This RC K98 will be an excellent beater. I'm still on the lookout for a prime quality original as well.
 
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