Hi I'm looking at buying a 1940 Russian captured Mauser k98 all matching serials but I have a concern. The serial numbers are also hand etched into the bolt ( more then once ) and barrel. I was told that the Russians did it when they captured the weapon but I've never seen this before, is this common? Or did they even do that? It's a pretty rifle, but the hand etching takes from the esthetic of it, unles of course it was etched when captured in which case it may add. Thanks in advance.
Captured K98 question
- Thread starter Kev70
- Start date
- Location
- Leduc County, Alberta
The Ruskies Electropenciled the serials on the guns during refurbishment to "force match" the now, unmatching K98's.
Make sure you pick up a nice looking one and enjoy!
Make sure you pick up a nice looking one and enjoy!
Is it really worth or make that much of a difference if it's matching or is that simply for purists? I haven't taken it, or asked for it to be taken apart to verify the numbers. Aesthetics or matching? Which is preferable or does it as always come down to preference? New to Milsurp but find these older rifles to be more pieces of art then weapons df death, is that odd lol?
If it's electro pencil marked, the gun itself is totally mismatched. The electro pencilled and stamped on the side stock will be the only "matching" parts. They aren't considered matching k98k by any means. But a matching russian capture.
RC's are still German k98's and pieces of history, they were in the thick of things even if they are mismatched. Vet bring backs and all matching are very pricey. For $600-$700 a decent RC is cool to me, like I say pieces of history.
The RC's are a great piece of history and collectible in their own right. They are not matching original rifles, as pointed out by others but rifles put together from parts bins and force matched by either stamping or electro penciling new serials to match the receiver/barrel. These new serials are part of the rifles history and refurbishment by the Russians. They are what they are and if you find them interesting, I say get one or two or three or 35 of them.
Just for reference, view the K98k sticky in this forum. It has many examples of what an original matching K98k would have looked like before it was captured and reworked.
Just for reference, view the K98k sticky in this forum. It has many examples of what an original matching K98k would have looked like before it was captured and reworked.
RC's are great and can be left alone or cleaned up (schelac removed) and can look very presentable. They have also provided a lot of knowledge for purists as the receiver, barrel markings and rear site information can provide important information for trending production etc.
There are some very scarce RC variants out there.
JBMauser, the Desert Faux know of a CGN member that does have 30+ of these rifles and some all matching examples. This way agentcq was able to secure at least one rifle from each maker and one rifle for each year of K98 production.
Doing this with all matching rifles would be very difficult.
There are some very scarce RC variants out there.
JBMauser, the Desert Faux know of a CGN member that does have 30+ of these rifles and some all matching examples. This way agentcq was able to secure at least one rifle from each maker and one rifle for each year of K98 production.
Doing this with all matching rifles would be very difficult.
Not to mention absolutely horrendously expensive and time consuming.
Yes, agentcq does have a fantastic RC collection with some really neat variations and depot builds.
I disagree with you on removing the shellac to make the RC's more "presentable". To me this ruins the collector value in them and takes away from what they are. The black paint and refinished stock is part of the history and part of the Russian refurb. I like them left as they are from out of storage. Same with original K98k's. If you take an untouched original and clean the stock, you've just cut the value severely and ruined the collector value for many collectors.
Removing the shellac from a RC Mauser 98 is as bad as the folks that used to remove the shiny finish on the Norwegian Capture reworks to 30-06 and 7.62 Nato.
Yes, the Norwegians did both conversions. The 7.62 Nato chambered rifles have about 1/4in shorter barrels than their 06 counterparts.
Yes, the Norwegians did both conversions. The 7.62 Nato chambered rifles have about 1/4in shorter barrels than their 06 counterparts.
This is a falsehood and rumour about RC K98's - (the melting down of cleaning rods/site hoods/and capture screws). The first few batches simply didn't come with the darn things because the darn Ruskies kept them. Collectors simply came up with a logical explanation of where they all went - little did we know they were sitting somewhere in ex Soviet States.
This theory was proven false by the last few RC K98 imports (last 2 1/2 years) as these imports were delivered with a set of original WWII K98 Pouches, WWII expedited 91/30 Oilers, Late War K98 cleaning chains or WWII 91/30 cleaning pulls, Site hoods, capture screws and cleaning rods. Now some dealers didn't include all these goodies; as they decided to keep them or sometimes devious importers kept them for resale at a later point in time.
This theory was proven false by the last few RC K98 imports (last 2 1/2 years) as these imports were delivered with a set of original WWII K98 Pouches, WWII expedited 91/30 Oilers, Late War K98 cleaning chains or WWII 91/30 cleaning pulls, Site hoods, capture screws and cleaning rods. Now some dealers didn't include all these goodies; as they decided to keep them or sometimes devious importers kept them for resale at a later point in time.
i personaly find the RC k98 rifles very interesting,the last batch did come with the original ammo pouches and other goodies although i did not get a sight hood or cleaning rod or capture screws with mine,some dealer adds state without assories so who knows where this stuff goes.maybe someone in the know can shed a little light on this subject
