K98

catapult

catapult

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Vancouver Island
Hi,

looking at those K98 rc listed on many web sites and wondering which ones is the best pick ? laminated or hardwood ? any particular years of manufacture to look for ? markings ? any other details that I need to know beofre I pick one ?

thanks
 
Just pick one with a bent bolt and the nicest bore possible. They are all mix-matched rifles and one is not really more collectible than any other. Some people prefer certain receiver codes, but on non-matching guns, this is not a big factor.

All the stock types are functional. I prefer the cupped buttplate walnut stocks personally as walnut cannot de-laminate and the cupped buttplate eliminates the possibility of chipping the toe of the stock - it was a design improvement.

That being said, most laminate stocks will never delaminate and unless you are abusing the stock, you are unlikely to chip the toe either, so just get whatever tickles your fancy aesthetically.
 
Pretty much what Claven2 said except that I would personally try to find a more unusual or hard to find code. I think that some of the more rare/hard to find codes could be worth a bit more than a standard RC in the future and possibly even now to the right buyer.

Cupped buttplates are my favorite stock configuration. Besides being more durable they just look better to me. I do like walnut better as well but that wouldn't necessarily be the deciding factor if I was shopping for a RC.
 
FWIW, there are three really rare codes at Lever Arms right now (on their site):

A 337, a S/147/G and a BSW. The last two are priced high for an RC in the $900 range, but they are very rare codes these days.

The 337 is a sleeper - it's a really rare code that not a lot of people even know about. Only used 2 years with low product totals, ultimately became Gustloff's bcd code.
 
Wow. 900. Quite a bit for a RC even if it is a rare code. I would pay that for a swjXE though.

What year is the BSW? Also 337 is a pretty cool code that doesn't get a lot of attention. Low production numbers.
 
Well I checked it out for myself as suggested.

That dual code bnz is also pretty darn interesting. The 337 is probably a pretty good deal considering how scarce the code is. The BSW would be nice but its pricey.
 
$900 for an swjXE rc would be a steal!

I don't think any fell into the russians hands.
Just like bnz45, steyr was liberated by the americans. Hence why there are so many exceptionally nice bnz45s in the US.
337 1939 production numbers are under 10k I believe. Partially as most 39 rifles were bsw iirc. 1940 was low but not that damn low.
 
337 production for 1940 quoted as roughly 130,000 by Law and 145,000 by Jensen and Kuck in the old KCN articles. It is true that a 337 dated 1939 is one of the rarest K98's - with production probably around 10,000 and very few known in existence. I know it is regarded as the 'holy grail' of K98's on the k98kforum.

BSW for 1937 produced 25,000 rifles and in 1940 50,000 rifles, again not common rifles to say the least. However, more BSW 1937's pop up than 1939 337's. I have yet to see a 337 dated 1939, but I have a 1937 BSW dated 1937, ordered a BSW 1937 from Lever on behalf of my friend and now they have another one in stock. So, within two years at least 3x BSW's dated 1937 have been on the Canadian market; all of which in RC format. For some reason they seem to have a decent survive-ability.

The rarest of the rare is the lone BSW 1936 (held in a Russian collection) with only one reported.

Lever does have nice K98 rifles, but sadly for buyers, they knew what they had and requesting maximum profit. Heck I bought a swp45, S/27G and that BSW on behalf of my friend all in one morning from lever. We paid a hefty fee, but ended up with some rare-uncommon rifles. I know that on the K98Kforum there are only 17 reported S/27G's, so that is pretty cool, especially as production was only at roughly 3-4000 rifles, even if RC format.

I have another two cool rifles to unpack from Lever sitting in a box, hopefully I will have time to enjoy them today.
 
These guys forgot more than I know. That being said, find the best condition stock, (most likley will be a mixmaster) best bore condition for the money. Sadly the only relatively cheap imports are long gone. As the others have mentioned, spend some time on the K98 forums to learn a bit more about them and what to look for etc...

I picked up mine from a private seller, though the rifle was a RC mixmaster, it had all the parts including the action capture screws, sight hood and cleaning rod as well as having been rebarreled at Suhl after WWII, so the bore is excellent. FWIW, you may also consider a Yugo M48, it is in 8mm and can be had in very good condition.
 
Thanks for the infos guys. I think I will pass on those rc and wait the right deal after ive seen threads like this one: http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/foru...s-the-ULTIMATE-CGN-K98k-picture-####-post-(-)
 
Agreed. $1700 for a bringback in Canada is a pretty good deal in today's market. Seriously. Assuming it's comparable to the stuff in that thread.
 
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