(Almost) all-matching K98: LOTS of pics.

stevebc

stevebc

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Hopefully this won't start another K98 shytestorm :D

I'm thinking of trading my K98, and would like an assessment (value) from the experts here. It’s a Vet bring back: my grandfather (who was in the REME) brought it back from Germany, gave it to my Dad, who gave it to me. The stock is not original: Dad told me he thought it had a Czechoslovakian stock, which doesn’t have the bolt disassembly plates or hole. Stock was steelwooled and Tru-oiled. Mea culpa.

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byf 44
- matching #’s on: rear sight, receiver, bolt, extractor, safety, bolt stop, sear, trigger guard, & floor plate.
- eagle w/swastika firing proofs on barrel left side, receiver left side, and the rear square face of the bolt lever.

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- stamped trigger guard with set screws, milled floor plate.

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- matching WaA stamps number 135: 2 on trigger guard below the front guard screw & lock screw, 2 on receiver- one above the byf, one on the right side in line with the extractor, and on the barrel where it joins the receiver, under the wood, below the barrel serial number.

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- WaA (looks like number 40) on underside of the bolt lever on the bottom square face near the bolt, and underneath. I know the 40 doesn’t make a lot of sense, but there it is. :)
- what might be crossed rifles, or an incomplete x stamp on the curved steel where the bolt lever joins the bolt.

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- barrel has a different serial number (43R210) from the receiver, yet the rear sight serial number's last 2 digits (31) match.

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- stylized R in a W on bottom of barrel, opposite the sight hinge, also found smaller on the bottom of the receiver.
- upper case J on receiver bottom.
- Stock: upper case P stamped into the inside of the stock, under the barrel, about 3” aft of the rear band
- walnut with a nice tiger stripe ripple on the left stock face.
- MK-2 stamped on right face of stock, above butt plate.

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- cupped butt plate stamped 544. (not matching)

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- no markings of any kind on either barrel band: stamped not milled
- small eagle w/swastika on the front face of the front sight base
- bore is bright with strong rifling:

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- Sling: through the butt, looks German, presumably Czech, as there is no diamond pattern to the smooth surface, no numbers or stamps on metal bits. Old with a few cracks, but still good.

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- 12 inch cleaning rod
- no markings on either band (late war)

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Nice rifle mate. :D Too bad the barrel wasn't restamped when it was replaced, what was the standard for this anyway? If it was done by the military would it have been restamped?

If it was me, I couldn't part with it given it's special keepsake value.
 
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Sorry no help on the value of that nice rifle, but why would you want to trade it if it was Gramp's trophy from the war? Nice piece of family history. My Pops got tired of lugging around his pick ups an had stated he tossed them in a river before he came home!!!:eek: Haunts me to this day what goodies he had in that bag... Come to think of it, that bugger traded my Firebird for a decent vehicle for going back an forth to work in.;)
 
Looks good to me, besides the obvious stock, shame about that. That barrel might be original to the reciever, that 43R210 sure sounds like a barrel batch number, not a serial.

I'd say it's worth around $400-600. Bolt mismatched K98's seem to pull in more cash than stock mismatched ones.

I'd keep it if I was you though considering it's history and sentimental value!
 
I can't measure the factor of sentimental value in the price for that. Your grandfather brought it home from the biggest, most important war in history. What do you need to trade it for?

If money is short, don't you have some kids you could sell for medical research? (I know, they probably have sentimental value, too, but your grandfather can't go back and get you another K98 because they don't make them anymore, whereas kids, you could...)
 
steve1973 said:
Looks good to me, besides the obvious stock, shame about that. That barrel might be original to the reciever, that 43R210 sure sounds like a barrel batch number, not a serial.

I'd say it's worth around $400-600. Bolt mismatched K98's seem to pull in more cash than stock mismatched ones.

I'd keep it if I was you though considering it's history and sentimental value!
Click to expand...

I suspect the barrel is original, but I can't prove it.
Anyway, the reason I'm considering trading it is because it's a safe queen. The last 3 years, I've taken it and my No.4 Mk.2 out on November 11th and put some rounds downrange, and that's about it.
I'm into target shooting, not hunting, and if I did hunt, I'd want to throw a scope on it anyway. I know I can get a no-gunsmith mount, but I'm not into messing around with the original sights.
I'm not exactly going to be target shooting with the existing sights, either (ditto for my No.4 Mk.2), so all in all it's just taking up space in my safe.
 
Wow, that's a nice example. Who cares about the non-matching stock. It will last for many years anyways. If any of these guys are more concerned about an all original matching 98, then they can go look at one in a museum, where they can't handle it.

Yours looks fantastic! I really like how crisp the Nazi stamps are. Wish mine was like that. I had a Mosin once that was marked with Nazis stamps.....too bad I let that go for like $60 about 15 years ago!

Now there's something to show off to your kids/grandkids. Lot's of stories behind that rifle I'm sure.

Thanks for posting your great pictures.
 
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I would have to check out how the bolt functions on the rifle, but I don't see why this rifle couldn't sell for $600. It's absolutely gorgeous. It must be known how well the rifle functions though, some Mausers like to complain about their job!
 
"Wow, that's a nice example. Who cares about the non-matching stock. It will last for many years anyways. If any of these guys are more concerned about an all original matching 98, then they can go look at one in a museum, where they can't handle it."

I dont need to go to a museum. Just down to my safe. I have more than one 100% Mint 100% Matching K98k
On another note the guy that steel wooled and linseed oiled the stock was an idiot. The only thing germans EVER did to their stocks was to coat them in beeswax. THATS IT.
 
If there is even a 25% chance that the history of that rifle is true.

you would be absolutely evil if you were to part with it.

I can just imagine some grandson in the future yelliing how gramps sold off an important bit of family history.
 
Whats worth more to you, dollars and cents or keepsakes. Your grandfather served in the war, and wanted something to prove it and remember his service. He smuggled the rifle home (which is not easy to do) as gave it to your father, who gave it to you. Who cares if you do not shoot it, its a family heirloom. I am sure your kids would love to have a rifle that their great-grandfather brought back from the war.
Keep the rifle, as a memory to your Father and Grandfather.
 
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I'd have to agree with many others here, I'd be reluctant to get rid of this. I agree with Steve1973 that what you are looking at on the barrel is really the barrel batch #. Also, it was not uncommon to use milled parts with stamped parts in later war rifles. Also, the barrel bands, being stamped, are correct. Even with the additional hole this can be a correct wartime variant. The early k98 rifles used a barrel band spring, where the rear hole was needed. Later war examples (called kreigsmoddels) required a screw directly into the stock, rather than the barrel band spring. But I think Mauser stopped numbering the barrel bands around the "c" block, and this is an "a", so should be serialed?? About the "40" on teh bolt, it may very well be a WaA140, which I believe make sit an FN manufactured bolt, which is correct ((i am struggling here a bit without my reference books handy). That is why we see two holes in the front band. Of course Israel aquired many of these barrel bands with two holes after the war.
I would have to look much more closely at the fonts, to see the serialed parts to make sure they match known wartime examples. I agree as well this is a very nice rifle, regardless of the history. At first glance, I would suspect it as being a Czech postwar-manufactured rifle using original wartime parts, but I won't argue with grandpa LOL! Thanks Steve for showing:)
 
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staman said:
On another note the guy that steel wooled and linseed oiled the stock was an idiot. The only thing germans EVER did to their stocks was to coat them in beeswax. THATS IT.
Click to expand...

That's not entirely true,
while they didn't use linseed or steel wool, they did stain stocks at the factory, especially early in the war.

Later on it's uncommon to see a stock that was stained at the factory, but early on when they weren't quite as concerned with saving time the Germans stained the stocks a darker brown before sending them into the field.
 
That's a East German refurb. The MK-2 stamp gives it away. Late batch refurb. Bands are replacements. byf44's all had numbered bands.
 
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