7.62 Gewehr 98 question

FAQMAT

FAQMAT

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Hi all, a friend of me talked me about a gun he found today. The guy is willing to sell it and it might be interesting to buy for the novelty. It's a Gewehr 98 converted to 98k converted to 7.62 (israeli?). I have not seen it myself, yet, but it seems that it is in good condition and not sporterized. How much do you guys think it's worth. (I know that it miss a lot if info, but a ballpark price)
 
is there any Israeli or German markings. I have one and it has peened off German markings which were replaced with the Star of David. I think they are going for about $600.00 now. I bought mine 7 or 8 years ago for $120.00
 
Here we go. I manage to snag this beauty for 200 bucks. The bolt body match the receiver but that's about it. The rest is mixed S/N. The metal look real good and the laminated stock also. Here is some pics.





 
Thresher said:
Your rear band is on backwards ;) Nice rifle, likely been in three wars, two for sure, indeed, if only she could talk ........
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Yup, catch that too, i already turned it to the left side. It also miss a sling, the cleaning rod and the front sight hood. The capture screws are there thou.
 
Israeli's had their own slings and sight hoods with a cross pin in them (usually missing and instead have a hole there) so watch for those items to restore it back to original.

Neat rifle and a good price.

Oh, and the bolt would be force matched by the Israelis to the receiver.
 
Those Israeli 98s are really unappreciated. Some of them are almost pristine and some are beat to hell because they have been there and done that.

I haven't had one of the 7.62 barreled rifles that didn't shoot well, even with ho hum ammo. Even with worn bores they shoot better than most of their operators are capable of holding.

You will also find them in 8x57 Mauser and 7.65x53 and maybe other chamberings. In the late forties the Israelis were picking up all of the 98 Mausers and Lee Enfields they could buy/borrow/steal. Chambering didn't really matter as long as they could get ammo. Even then, they made barrels and tried to standardize with the 8mm and 303 Brit. Sometime during the 50s they started converting most of their rifles to 7.62x51 Nato because ammo was easy to obtain and they were using M14s and FNs. My dates may be a little off but that is pretty much it in a nut shell.

Back in the mid sixties while doing my summer job we got a big shipment in from Israel. They all came packed nicely in pine crates with different Iraeli markings for the units that owned them or stored them. Supposedly they all came in from the different Kibbutz compounds that were upgrading to standardized firearms. I remember some of the rifles were as new with Czech Rampant Lions on the receivers and stars of David stamped on the receivers over the serial numbers which usually matched. Most were in 8x57 but some were in 7x57, 7.65x53 and a few other chamberings. Most of the rifles were beat to hell but completed and functional.

I managed to pick up a beautiful 8x57 Czech still in its original wrapper and packed in grease. I still have that rifle and another that appealed to me because of its condition. Beat to hell, laminated stock, no finish except under the stock line etc. It is a sleeper and shoots better than I can hold. I bought it years later to take advantage of the cheap surplus ammo that was available at the time. It is chambered for 7.62x51. The rifle came with two crates of bright/clean brass cased South African 7.62 Nato for $300 all in at a gun show. I thought it was expensive. One crate of the ammo is worth more than that now.

Your rifle has been sanded down as well. Not a biggie for me because you are planning on shooting it regularly???? There will be a time when those rifles will be as collectible as their German issued counterparts. The problem is no one has recently made a movie depicting the brave Kibbutzum defenders using them to ward of the Arab hordes.
 
Thanks for the details BEARHUNTER. You are right, the stock look to have been sanded. I just dissasembled it and it is in pristine condition. The receiver and the rear sight base show some eavy pitting dating probably from WWI. It was stopped and reblued in the same time of the rest of the parts. The barrel look new. I can't wait to shoot it.

 
Great old rifle . You're holding something that was present for the major events of the 20th century , very cool . I've had a few Israeli 7.62 98's over the years , they all shot well for me . I think it's time to look for another . By the way , that was a good price too .
 
Be extremely careful that you don't lose the rear guard screw pillar. I have picked up more than one K98 that the owners felt were made poorly or worn out because the rear guard screw pillar had been lost.
 
bearhunter said:
Be extremely careful that you don't lose the rear guard screw pillar. I have picked up more than one K98 that the owners felt were made poorly or worn out because the rear guard screw pillar had been lost.
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I don't remember seeing this yesterday, so i remove the trigger guard this morning and yes, it is there. It is some kind of a metal sleeve in the hole in the stock. It don't look like it will fall off anytime soon. It's gummed in dryed grease.
 
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