Israeli Mausers? Educate Me Please!

Travis Bickle

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Been eyeing up an Israeli Mauser in 7.62mm NATO.
All the awesomeness of the tried and true Military Mauser action and none of the annoyance and pain of sourcing and buying 8mm Mauser ammunition! :rockOn:

There are none on the EE right now. Was one but I hesitated and lost her.

What is the going rates these days for them? I understand they are relatively cheap.
Not looking for a collector grade one, just a good solid shooter with a decent bore.

What is the low price value to high price value on them in Canada these days from Poor to Excellent condition?
And anything I should be looking for to spot out potential problems?

Educate me please!
 
Roughly 350-450$ is the range I would be looking at.

The cool thing about them is there is so many different little variants as you can get them with Czech crests, Romanian crests, German markings, Israeli crests etc.

Some still are in 8mm Mauser, however the majority isn't. Basically it will have a big 7.62 on the receiver, and on the stock as well if it is in 7.62 NATO. Otherwise common things you look at on a rifle, stock condition, finish condition, and bore condition.
 
FWIW, I have never seen an Israeli Mauser chambered in 7.62x51 with a poor bore. The conversions were done long after Israel was declared an independent state. Lots of reasons for the conversions but mostly their Mausers chambered in 8mm were well used and in definite need of an FTR. Israel decided to go with the new NATO chambering for ease of procuring parts and ammunition as well as standardizing their front line ammo requirements. During their previous wars they had a huge problem with firearms chambered in various cartridges and many immigrants that could only speak their mother tongue but no Hebrew etc.

Luckily many were familiar with the Mauser system so retaining the K98 was a good idea, especially as reserve war stocks which many were relegated to.

Very quickly after they became a state Israel moved away from Mausers and Lee Enfields onto FNs and many other systems. Eventually they made their own and produced the excellent GALIL chambered in 7.62x39 and the UZI in 9mm to name a few.

There are some Israeli Mausers chambered in both 8mm and 7.62 that bear very rare makers marks and dates. I have seen more than one being used as representative pieces in collections where the only thing about them that is incorrect are the Star of David stamps on the receiver rings. They bought those rifles from whomever would sell or give them to Israel. They also captured thousands of Mausers and Lee Enfields from the Arab States and later Soviet made firearms/ammunition/tanks/aircraft/vehicles and supposedly thousands of pairs of discarded boots left on the battlefields.

All of this needs to be taken into consideration. I have a Czech Rampant Lion crested model in 8mm with all matching numbers with a small Star of David stamp on the left side, beside the serial number. Everything else is original. It is still full of what may or may not be the original Czech grease. The other is a very well worn SWP45 conversion in 7.62x51. Not one number on this rifle matches another but it does have the SoD stamp. The stock is very dark and bears lots of dings and scrapes. For some reason, it has an excellent bore and shoots better than I can hold it. I love shooting this rifle. Recently I sold a Belgian made post war 98 made for Israel in 7.62x51. I have no idea if it had been issued. It looked perfect, was full of grease and had the Israeli Shield with sword on the receiver. I couldn't bring myself to shoot it.

Israeli Mausers, like Carcanos and South American Mausers are the Rodney Dangerfields of the milsurp collectors field. They are steeped in all sorts of violent history, including blockades, insurrections, political agends, racism and religious affiliations not to mention many hard and bloody battles. About the only Mausers less sought after are the Chinese versions which saw just as much use.

Anywhere from $250-$600 depending on condition and maybe desirability of certain manufacturers and dates.
 
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FWIW, I have never seen an Israeli Mauser chambered in 7.62x51 with a poor bore. The conversions were done long after Israel was declared an independent state. Lots of reasons for the conversions but mostly their Mausers chambered in 8mm were well used and in definite need of an FTR. Israel decided to go with the new NATO chambering for ease of procuring parts and ammunition as well as standardizing their front line ammo requirements. During their previous wars they had a huge problem with firearms chambered in various cartridges and many immigrants that could only speak their mother tongue but no Hebrew etc.

Luckily many were familiar with the Mauser system so retaining the K98 was a good idea, especially as reserve war stocks which many were relegated to.

Very quickly after they became a state Israel moved away from Mausers and Lee Enfields onto FNs and many other systems. Eventually they made their own and produced the excellent GALIL chambered in 7.62x39 and the UZI in 9mm to name a few.

There are some Israeli Mausers chambered in both 8mm and 7.62 that bear very rare makers marks and dates. I have seen more than one being used as representative pieces in collections where the only thing about them that is incorrect are the Star of David stamps on the receiver rings. They bought those rifles from whomever would sell or give them to Israel. They also captured thousands of Mausers and Lee Enfields from the Arab States and later Soviet made firearms/ammunition/tanks/aircraft/vehicles and supposedly thousands of pairs of discarded boots left on the battlefields.

All of this needs to be taken into consideration. I have a Czech Rampant Lion crested model in 8mm with all matching numbers with a small Star of David stamp on the left side, beside the serial number. Everything else is original. It is still full of what may or may not be the original Czech grease. The other is a very well worn SWP45 conversion in 7.62x51. Not one number on this rifle matches another but it does have the SoD stamp. The stock is very dark and bears lots of dings and scrapes. For some reason, it has an excellent bore and shoots better than I can hold it. I love shooting this rifle. Recently I sold a Belgian made post war 98 made for Israel in 7.62x51. I have no idea if it had been issued. It looked perfect, was full of grease and had the Israeli Shield with sword on the receiver. I couldn't bring myself to shoot it.

Israeli Mausers, like Carcanos and South American Mausers are the Rodney Dangerfields of the milsurp collectors field. They are steeped in all sorts of violent history, including blockades, insurrections, political agends, racism and religious affiliations not to mention many hard and bloody battles. About the only Mausers less sought after are the Chinese versions which saw just as much use.

Anywhere from $250-$600 depending on condition and maybe desirability of certain manufacturers and dates.

Thank you Sir!
More than excellent information.
Now to just find one :(
 
I have one also in 7.62 with fantastic (I think) Israeli made barrel.Whole rifle is a mix of parts,some wartime,some pre-war,few new made.Every rifle originating in Czech Republic I have seen is like that.
Mine shoots just great.3 inch with 308 ammo is a norm and on occasion I shot much tighter grups with casts.
IMO this is really good rifle to get into cast bullet shooting.309 to .311 bullet molds from Lee are inexpensive and work really well in 308/7.62x51.
 
It is my understanding that the 7.62s (some? all?)came here from Guatemala; Israel had supplied a large number. The Guatemalan army uses the 5.56 Galil rifle; saw some when I was there a couple of weeks ago. Also saw Galils in Colombia.
 
The 7.62x51 mauser mostly came directly from Israel. There was also parts and accessories,which went to the
parts dealers in America
 
I'm looking for one for the same reasons as TB. There was 2 of them in the EE a few days ago, but seemed a little steep to this cheap SOB.
 
Part of buying an Isreali Mauser is the path it took... If you're just calibre specific 98 shopping they are fine examples of a 98.

Aye, the search continues then :(
Will be looking for a Chilean Mauser as well now.
I've seen a few Spanish Mausers in 7.62mm for sale right now but can't find much info as to their quality or accuracy.
Anyone speak to these variants?
 
The Spanish mausers are converted two lug rifles that were intended to be used with the 7.62 CETME round which was loaded to significantly lower pressures than the 7.62 NATO from what I have read. Most advise to stay away from full power .308 loads in them. Quality is not equal to the Czech, Belgian or German produced 98's.
 
Not all Spanish Mauser 7.62 conversions are done on M93 actions. Some were done on M98 actions and are perfectly safe.

The M93 as mentioned are a subject of debate. 7.62 Nato does have higher pressures than 7mm Mauser, however if they were half the death traps people claim they are, how come we haven't heard of any blowing up. Personally I don't know where I stand on it, I need sufficient evidence (not hearsay) either way to sway me.
 
Not all Spanish Mauser 7.62 conversions are done on M93 actions. Some were done on M98 actions and are perfectly safe.

The M93 as mentioned are a subject of debate. 7.62 Nato does have higher pressures than 7mm Mauser, however if they were half the death traps people claim they are, how come we haven't heard of any blowing up. Personally I don't know where I stand on it, I need sufficient evidence (not hearsay) either way to sway me.

Large ring Spanish mauser in 7.62x51? Cool, hadn't known they existed, but apparently you are correct.
 
Would any one know what make of scope (s) and power(s) would be used in a Israeli sniper configuration 98k in 7.62x51? If they were infact used?
 
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