Gewehr 98 -- Am I Crazy?

Amandil

Amandil

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Alberta -- body in Edmonton, soul in the shortgras
As a grad present from my father in law, I got some cash and was told to go and buy the Mauser K98 I always wanted. But Marstar's sold out, even out of the Yugo 98s (and I'm not excited about them anyway).

So I went down to the gun shop two days with my daughter (She said "gun, wow!" pretty good for 2 years old) and they had just finished selling their K98s, but the guy said "Hey, I got a Gewehr 98." It's got 1918 stamped on it. For $350. I ask him how good the rifling is, and he says it's "Okay." I'm too dumb to be able to tell for myself, but I've heard all this horror stuff about the corrosive primers that were used, etc.

But what's okay? I want to go hunting with the gun I buy. In the bush. Is "okay rifling" going to be okay when I'm trying to kill an animal that outweighs me 3 to 1 with one shot? With a gun from 1918? I don't suppose I'll know how it (and I) shoots unless I buy it and then try it out. Which sucks.

And is it a travesty to go hunting with an old beaut like that? Should I just hold out for a K98 (apparently there's a few for sale at P&S, unless they've not updated their site in a long time)?

In sum, holding that G98 threw me for a loop and now I don't know what to think. Any thoughts from y'all?
 
A complete intact G98 with a good bore is worth the price. You don't see too many of them for sale. Should shoot well enough for bush hunting, maybe better than that, but a G98 is a loooong rifle for the bush.
 
Or, just watch the equipment exchange here, or buy a nice K98k from Jean at P&S Militaria - they are former Marstar guns as P&S stocked up before they sold out.
 
Claven2 said:
Or, just watch the equipment exchange here, or buy a nice K98k from Jean at P&S Militaria - they are former Marstar guns as P&S stocked up before they sold out.
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What Claven2 said......P&S still has some good ones.....think Riflechair had a nice Erma advertised on the EE forum
 
It would be interesting to know all the markings on this Gew 98. They were made by several different plants during that war and most of them can tell a tale or two.

For hunting, the length of the Gew 98 might be a little excessive, but when it was built, the 8x57 cartridge actually wasout performing the .30-'06 by a considerable margin. Problem is that Americans have the idea that the 8x57 must be loaded down to accomodate the older 1888 model which had a significantly smaller bore diameter. In a solid 98 rifle, the 8x57 can be stoked into a very respectable hunting round that will outright flatten anything in North America.
Just in case somebody mentions that 98 rifles were made with the smaller bore diameter, I will admit that this is so..... but NONE were made after 1904 and, here, we are dealing with a 1918 rifle.

There are thousands and thousands of 1918 SMLE rifles out there, being used successfully as hunting rifles. No reason at all that one from "the other side of the trenches" can't do the same thing. If I were a hunter myself, I would think it quite fun to bag a jumper with anantique such as this...... maybe get some of the other guys to take notice just a bit.

Have fun!
 
Is "okay rifling" going to be okay when I'm trying to kill an animal that outweighs me 3 to 1 with one shot? With a gun from 1918?
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my gramps killed two leopards and a lion with a klunker .303 he bought for 5 pounds, so yes, it should be more adequate to kill most large animals in Canada.
 
Lee Enfield said:
Is the barrel 29" long? Many GEW 98s were converted to K98 status after WWI (24" barrel).
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I think so, although I didn't measure it. It did feel really long when I picked it up. Which is why I hesitate, what with me thinking of using it for a bush gun.
Claven2 said:
Or, just watch the equipment exchange here, or buy a nice K98k from Jean at P&S Militaria - they are former Marstar guns as P&S stocked up before they sold out.
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I am keeping an eye on the EE, but Riflechair's sniper is a bit too much for me (I don't need all the fancy sniper stuff). P&S wants $500 bucks for theirs, which is a fair bit more than what Marstar was selling them for, but I guess that's how it goes. Worse comes to worst, I'll get some more cash out of pops for my gift. ;)
smellie said:
It would be interesting to know all the markings on this Gew 98. They were made by several different plants during that war and most of them can tell a tale or two.
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I wish I'd have brought a pad a paper with me, I could have written some of it down. But I noticed that right at the back end of the action (nearest my eye) were some pretty darn big letters saying something like "Mauser Werke Oberndorf 1918" or some such (I'm totally going on memory).
smellie said:
For hunting, the length of the Gew 98 might be a little excessive, but when it was built, the 8x57 cartridge actually wasout performing the .30-'06 by a considerable margin. Problem is that Americans have the idea that the 8x57 must be loaded down to accomodate the older 1888 model which had a significantly smaller bore diameter. In a solid 98 rifle, the 8x57 can be stoked into a very respectable hunting round that will outright flatten anything in North America.
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I am indeed looking forward to hunting (and reloading) with the 8mm Mauser cartridge.

I think I'll keep looking for a K98. But if I had, say, even more money, I'd buy both! (I'm sure y'all can relate; more money = more nice guns!) :redface:
 
You might also consider one of the Sewdw Mausers in 6.5x55. Would make a good hunting rifle as well as being a collctible Milsurp
 
Bear in mind that the ones Marstar was selling at the end for $399 were not their better rifles. Those were the mismatched ones with only "good" bores. The earlier matching rifles with nice bores they had a few months back were more like $500+ so the P&S price isn't out of line IMHO.
 
You can find a nice Turk mauser for $150-$250......make a better truck gun shooter then a GEW.
MauserandMosin.jpg
 
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Claven2 said:
Bear in mind that the ones Marstar was selling at the end for $399 were not their better rifles. Those were the mismatched ones with only "good" bores. The earlier matching rifles with nice bores they had a few months back were more like $500+ so the P&S price isn't out of line IMHO.
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I wasn't aware of that, but it makes sense. Thanks for edjamikating me!
 
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