1941 Portugese Contract rifle

kjohn

kjohn

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SE Sask.
Received a 1941 Portugese in the mail today. I had phone conversation with the seller before buying it. Although I plan to keep the rifle, I was somewhat disappointed in the condition of the stock. Seller alluded to the fact that the rifle was in "pristine" condition, that a dealer who looked at the rifle told him so.

I am wondering if anyone wants to put a value on a rifle such as this. The bluing is like new, all numbers match, and it has nice clear cartouches. The bore is excellent. The stock is banged up, but no serious gouges or scratches.

I am not selling the rifle, and I don't need to be told to quit whining. I am just simply asking what a reasonable value for these rifles is. I would put the rifle at a G-VG overall. It has a very neat serial number: Gxx000.

Thanks in advance. Any comments about these rifles are welcome. I have gone to the milsurp library for the excellent info there.

** Also, it is not a Mitchell's fake.
 
Hi Kjohn,

These Portugese contract rifles are a popular subject here in Canada. Most don't have any battle history, but nicely represent German craftsmanship from the period. Many of these rifles were imported in the country as surplus firearms, and most were unissued and near mint when they arrived and were first sold. There are many nice examples in collections across the country, and they are still somewhat regularly available with a bit of patience.

Unfortunately doing a rifle appraisal without detailed pictures is difficult. You would really need to show very detailed photos for a proper assessment of any kind. Based simply on what you have stated, I would *guess* $800 to $1100 unless it also retains the original matching numbered bayonet as well, which would bring a nice premium. It sounds like the damaged stock is probably due to improper storage at some point.

If you are happy with the rifle, and have no plans to sell, who really cares what we *think* the value might be? Only way to find out would be to sell, there's no Canadian blue book of prices written in stone.

-Steve
 
Thanks for the good input. :)

I realize that, for an deadly accurate appraisal, I would need to post pics. I ask for your opinions simply to be able to put the rifle's approximate value on the info I record regarding condition, markings, etc.. It has found its home for now.
 
The Portugese K98's are addicting!

Port.jpg
 
Eeeee!!!!!! :eek: Mine has a cupped butt plate. Also a nice Portugese crest cartouche on the left side of the butt stock, with a "1941" below.
 
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Oh, quit whining, KJOHN!

(Sorry: HAD to do it!)

These things are awfully scarce now. There never really were all that many and I know for a fact that a lot of the ones that did get here got Bubba'd.

They are absolutely superb rifles, both the CONTRACT ones and the later gift rifles from Hitler to Salazar (all of which were FTRd to new before they were shipped).

Portugal was NEUTRAL during the Second War but the little country was armed to the teeth and a hotbed for spies even worse than Switzerland. The rifles would have been carried and used for guarding installations, but they would only rarely have been shot. When Portugal finally set up and made the 8x57 cartridge, they made some of the nicest ammo ever made for any military: absolutely NOT junk!

Is yours a Walnut stock of laminated? No matter, really. Dents, if not too bad, can be steamed out with a hot clothes-iron and a wet wash-cloth. If the actual GRAIN of the wood has not been broken, you can minimise a lot of dents nd even remove completely a few of the more shallow ones.

Last Portuguese I saw was about a year ago. It was not-too-bad, nice metal but the wood banged about. It was also slightly over a grand.

I didn't buy it!

I have, however, shot with a Port Mauser and can say that the one I used (which was armed with a Leupold 16x scope) was superb.

Hope this helps.

BTW, BUFFDOG tells me that you guys had a good time at the Brandon show. Sorry I couldn't make it: car trouble, being corrected today. I still have your magazine, too! S.
 
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Boom! smellie scores a direct hit! V:I: Okay, whining session is over. As is the case with most of my "good" stuff, I stumbled over this one. It was advertised as an "8mm Mauser rifle", and I only opened the ad because any sentence with "8mm" in it is like a powerful magnet. Further, it stated that the rifle was a "1941 German army rifle". Good so far. I phoned the seller, and in our conversation, he mentioned "crest". Hmmm. Being rather slow-witted, I still hadn't twigged. After I hung up to await pics, it dawned on me! "German army rifles" didn't have crests in 1941.... Holeee! Could it be?

The rest is history.

Buffdog told me that you were just too shy to come to the Brandon show, and that you used "car trouble" as an excuse. That's not rue, is it?:p
 
Blew the contents of the radiator all over Number 1 Highway.

Today: new antifreeze, new thermostat, brakelines checked, brake-fluid, plugs, filter, 5w30 oil, brakes bled, possibly line replaced.

(singing)
"Oh, I'll be broke for Christ - mas!
No expens - ive junk for me
So I'll have a cry
And a whimp'ring good time
Under the Christ - mas tree!"

Your mag is still here!

Glad you got a deal on the rifle. They are truly FINE, likely the best Mausers built after WWI.
 
I think the 1941 Portuguese Mausers were the last commercial contract that Mauser did before Germany stepped up to wartime production.
I bought five from Tom Bongalis in the 70’s, at $150.00, unissued with matching bayonet.
The best price I got when selling them was $1600.00 for one through a US auction site in 2000. That was when you could ship to the states.
 
Portugal was one of the last European Nation to get a semiautomatic/automatic rifle for the army, the HK G3, and the the varous war in Africa ( Angola and Mozambique) in the '70s they still used Mausers or Vergueros like first line weapons. When the Indian Army conquered the last Portuguese colonial land in India of Goa the european and colonial troops still have also some Kropatschek Model 1886 in use.

regards
 
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