KAR 98 conversion to .22 Trainer- In service for over 90 years and working great

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freedomintheskies

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Hello all,
Being very new to the Mauser world, I just want to find out as much as possible about a rifle I picked up on the weekend.
I just picked up a Kar 98 downturned bolt handle rifle that was at some point converted into a .22 trainer rifle. It now resides in a K98 beech stock without the bolt disassembly hole and the barrel is marked Remington.
At some point, the receiver ring was milled to allow for easy single insertion of cartridges and the bolt now carries a multiple piece firing pin assembly, allowing it to strike a .22 rim. To accomplish this, the the original hole was filled and a new one drilled.
THe sights are WWII with Waffenampt acceptance and are calibrated for .22cal use.
The safety flipper and rear of the bolt are likewise from Nazi era.
It was placed in the current stock probably in Israel where the barrel was also replaced with the Remington one. Since the stock is stamped with SS it was likely from one of the Swedish K98's that were brought there around 1948. I believe the rifle had a different stock until then, because the rear sight mount has been lettered with setting corrections for the rimfire trajectory (in yds and meters) and is partially covered by the K98 stock.

The receiver has the original maker and year cut away as described above but is now stamped 1920 (Treaty of Versialles?) there is a number 5 within a circle which I believe is a factory overhaul mark. Can anyone verify?
The bolt and receiver appear to be force matched, as the original receiver S/N has been struck and a new one stamped in. The bolt and receiver numbers currently match although some newer parts have been installed. The receiver, bolt handle and stock have all been marked .22 and -0.22- as the case may be.
There is no bayonet mount installed and I'm not sure if it had one, but perhaps someone can speak to this?

Looking for all the info I can uncover to feed my OCD streak. LOL
 
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Old and showing signs of lots of use...
37332735334_382cfa119c_b.jpg
[/URL]20171030_121512[1] by Dave Hanson, on Flickr[/IMG]
Barrel and stock are similarly serialized. Reciever and bolt are matched but not originally paired.
1920 Restamp into service is there, the 7.92 is scrubbed along with another marking.
Star of David from Israeli service is there too, along with a circled 5 (overhaul stamp I believe)
37333074404_37ec78aae1_b.jpg
[/URL]20171030_121612[1] by Dave Hanson, on Flickr[/IMG]
 
Looks to me like the cartouche is SS, and may have been mated with the receiver in Israel since they imported Swedish Mausers after WWII.
37988308196_51378c405a_b.jpg
[/URL]20171030_121649[1] by Dave Hanson, on Flickr[/IMG]

Note the 0.22 stamped on the receiver and bolt handle. The trigger guard is a stamped cold weather one and the receiver incorporated a machined piece to stabilize the bolt, since the receiver shroud had to be milled away in order to feed cartridges one at a time.
24189778358_7eab434ece_b.jpg
[/URL]20171030_121710[1] by Dave Hanson, on Flickr[/IMG]
 
israeli conversion of probably a wwi k98a. Some isreali trainers were k98 rebuild with a remington barrel, some other bought new from belgian FN
 
These .22 trainers are great and one day I'd love to own one. Cool that it's built on a small ring kar.
Stock marks aren't ss, sorry and the stock is actually Israeli built, not swede.
Curious how it shoots, most claim really good accuracy.
 
philhut said:
I'd love to have it. Nice unique gun. I am curious to see the action open etc. How many rounds will it hold? Single shot?
Click to expand...
Here is a shot of the open action. It is single shot and each round must be inserted into the chamber by hand. The fixed floorplate is too low to allow loose rounds to feed.
38010735252_659df1d41b_b.jpg
[/URL]20171030_121900[1] by Dave Hanson, on Flickr[/IMG]
And another showing the detail of the chamber.
24189485458_83c56747cc_b.jpg
[/URL]20171030_122013[1] by Dave Hanson, on Flickr[/IMG]

The rack number is stamped at the base of the stock as well and matches the barrel s/n. It's difficult to see here, but it's just below the carved rectangle near the butt plate
20171030_121541[1] by Dave Hanson, on Flickr
 
Remembering said:
These .22 trainers are great and one day I'd love to own one. Cool that it's built on a small ring kar.
Stock marks aren't ss, sorry and the stock is actually Israeli built, not swede.
Curious how it shoots, most claim really good accuracy.
Click to expand...
Yes, I knew it was not "that" SS .
Something I just surfed into was this: Swedish Arms before and during the second world war had the condition disk imprinted with the branch of service that the weapon belonged to. This stock also has the remnants of the yellow tag seen on many Swedish Mausers. -
SSInfanteriskjutskolanThe Infantry Musketry School

I don't know if this whole gun was in service with Sweden, but I am beginning to believe the stock was... And - Seeing how SS is the musketry school, I would think a .22 training rifle might be a good spot for this rifle. I'd sure like to find some proof that the rifle was converted to .22 before it ended up in Israel. -The Israelis were reported to have purchased about 2000 Mausers from the Swedish in or around 1947/48.
 
This is a typical IDF .22 training rifle. There is nothing to do with Sweden . When the stock picture is enlarged it appears to be 88 ,not ss. Nice rifle overall.
 
The Israeli trainers are really neat.

I'm really curious about the safety. I blew up the pic and it looks like WaA63? That's a really odd marking. Maybe fake although why someone would bother is beyond me.
 
jbmauser said:
The Israeli trainers are really neat.

I'm really curious about the safety. I blew up the pic and it looks like WaA63? That's a really odd marking. Maybe fake although why someone would bother is beyond me.
Click to expand...
Wow! Nice find.
I've been busted. I replaced the original one (not matching) because the original had a lot of wear and was not tight. (I still have it though)
What is the signifigance of the WaA63. Not period?- I'm new to Mausers, so please educate me.
 
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That style of acceptance (eagle over swastika over WaA) was never used on small parts in actual German production as far as I know. I'm about 99% sure it's a post war addition using a fake stamp. Probably someone trying to make the safety more valuable or maybe they just wanted a more nazi looking part. Who knows. I once bought a Yugo refurb K98k that someone had stamped fake waffenamts all over for some unknown reason.
 
I have one but it has a bayonet lug and is marked Mod 98 where your gun is marked 1920.
I also have two of the purpose built FN manufactured Israeli K98 .22s.
I like the .22 military rifles they aren't usually cut like the rifles.
If you are really interested in Mausers buy the Mauser Military Rifles of the World 5th Edition book by Ball.
It doesn't mention your model but its a good reference book on them.
I had a great collection of Mausers but my wifes current health issues have reduced my interest in collecting and I sold some beautiful pieces.
 
albayo said:
I have one but it has a bayonet lug and is marked Mod 98 where your gun is marked 1920.
I also have two of the purpose built FN manufactured Israeli K98 .22s.
I like the .22 military rifles they aren't usually cut like the rifles.
If you are really interested in Mausers buy the Mauser Military Rifles of the World 5th Edition book by Ball.
It doesn't mention your model but its a good reference book on them.
I had a great collection of Mausers but my wifes current health issues have reduced my interest in collecting and I sold some beautiful pieces.
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear of your wifes' misfortune.
Can you post pix of the guns you mention?
Does your Mod. 98 have Israeli acceptance stamps too?
 
They are fun rifle's! I have 6 or 8 of them. Some are shooter's, some are part's gun's. Was planning on parting with some this winter, I have enough 22's
 
I have one each of the converted 98 type and the newly built FN. The convert shoots accurately. The FN is a very nice rifle.
 
I will try to dig out my .22 collection and get some pictures when things settle down around here.
I just started using Snapagogo but haven't figured out how to transfer pictures to CGN.
 
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