RC K98's - Need help deciding - plez share your knowledge

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mhowarth

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So I was able to check out a few of these this morning at a local shop and two really caught my eye. I'm having a difficult time deciding between these two rifles and would like some input as to which one (if any) is worth it. I'm looking at $700 all in for one of these.

Which, or none, would you choose for $700 all in (no cleaning rod included)?

1 - 1940 dated "243" - numbers on barrel/receiver/stock match - bent bolt with electro pencil force match numbers - wood in good condition and shows one sign of repair behind the receiver - no refurb "X" present anywhere on rifle - one original nazi stamp on receiver and one on barrel

2- 1939 dated "42" - numbers on barrel/receiver/stock match - STRAIGHT bolt with electro pencil force match numbers - wood in very good to excellent condition - no refurb "X" present anywhere on rifle - covered in original nazi stamps

This is my dilemma - the straight bolt one is gorgeous but AFAIK the straight bolt is not period correct?

Please help! Thank you.

Mark
 
Straight bolt is not correct. Also the numbers you claim to be matching on the stock are, not, its a soviet stock marking.

Id get the one with the bent bolt, assuming the repair on the stock isnt in a structural spot.
 
"straight bolts come from vz24 or the various German variants "

Both are true. I remember years ago quite a few Imperial Gew 98 and Polish Gew 98B rifles with nazi stamps came out of Turkey, story at the time was they were taken from retreating German troops that had crossed into Turkey rather than surrender to the Russians. Better to be interned in Turkey than end up as forced laborers in Russia. Naturally, most Germans troops were to far from the Cacausus to have that option.

P.S. Remember when the Russian/Ukrainian armorers were rebuilding these rifles, they were not thinking of future collectors and used any part that fit to get a shootable rifle.
 
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straight bolt is not corect like Canadian Ar told you its to be on a VZ 24 choose the firts one.... bent bolt and 700$ its seem the price is goes up in the last month.....
 
Straight bolt is out of the running now.

I suppose I'll have to see if the stock repair is nasty or not and base my decision on that information.
 
See which one has the nicer bore. If the straight bolt rifle is in better shape get it and source a proper bent bolt for it, then reload for that chamber.
 
The Russian "X" is not an "X".

It is a very poor pictograph of a pair of crossed Moisin-Nagant rifles.

It is the Russian "captured and accepted for REISSUE" marking.

In the actual military Service, the Armourers swapped around parts with incredible abandon. They were not thinking of collectors halfway across the world, in 70 years' time. They were thinking about getting another hundred WEAPONS into the hands of the Fighting Troops RIGHT NOW.

If you want to see just how far they would go, drop by for coffee and I'll show you my Soviet reissue Luger.

It would give nightmares to a Collector or brain-explosions to a Historian, but it was done that way to give 124 grains of headache to an invading "Fascist".
 
Smellie-

Just curious but do you have any reference material to the crossed mosin theory. I've heard this as well, but I've also read the contrary. No one can support either with fact.
 
Take a good careful look at several of them, using a decent grade of very expensive magnifying glass. I got mine for $2 at Princess Auto.

Just because it's not in a BOOK means nothing.

I WRITE books, so I can say that.

Look carefully: it's 2 crossed Moisin-Nagant rifles and it has been around (in larger size) since the Tsar bought the Luger as the OFFICIAL Imperial Russian pistol..... in 1913.

It was the Russian equivalent of the Broad Arrow, although generally not applied to Russian-MADE equipment but certainly to captured REISSUES.
 
Personally, I wouldn't pay $700 for either one, that is robbery for Russian/Yugo capture 98's. Seeing as they are already mixmasters, I would buy the straight bolt if in better shape and find a proper K98k bolt for it.
 
@ Travis Bickle:

The 5 out so far are under my real name.

I suppose I should use a pen-name for the Sidney the Profound series, perhaps also for the technofiction and historical 'what-ifs'. But then I would need another for serious gun books, wouldn't I?

So very many things which must be written.... so very few years from retirement to the grave in which to get them written down. I find myself working almost as hard now as when I was a fulltime journalist, just catching up with things which MUST be written down, sometimes working on 3 or 4 unrelated projects at the same time, using one as a break from another.

If you dislike fantasy fiction with a solid cultural, historic and technological base by all means steer clear of Sidney the Profound. He is a retired Wizard, a practising Doctor and he learned Navigation from Bjarni Herjolfsson..... so what could he tell you, anyway?
 
FWIW, and in case anyone takes my word for anything at all, Smellie is right - the "X" found on Soviet captures (including things like P38's, Czech-overhauled K98k's for East German use, RC K98k's, etc.) is, in fact, a stylized set of crossed rifles. I'm not sure I'd say crossed mosins though - more likely crossed Berdan II rifles due to the timeframe in which it was introduced.
 
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