School me on RC K98's

St Pauli

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
15   0   0
Location
Durham region
As of late I've been thinking of getting one. I'm new to these and don't want to pay too much
or get ripped off.

Online they all seam to cost around $900

What do you look for when buying one? I know they are a dogs breakfast of parts but are there
any that are more collectable or desirable than others. Say I have a choice out of 4 or 5 rifles. How would I pick the
one to buy? Non-pinned? Best bore? Early made action?

Give me your 2 cents.
 
Go to the local gun show, pick one with better bore, pay less and no taxes. Check it is all complete (RCs don't have cleaning rods and sight hoods - it's normal) and action works fine and you'll get yourself nice shooter.
 
They are a mixmaster rifle with various condition of bore, various different types of stocks and hardware. In addition to the cleaning rods and sight hoods, they are also usually missing the capture screws. That and they have this yucky shellac on the stocks and soviet blueing.

I got mine years ago but the code and year matches all of the other hardware, stock, buttplate, milled parts etc. Obviously not numbers matching. Millage varies with these but good shooters.
 
saw a couple in chinatire the other day, they were priced at $999 and they were hideous. I mean really rough, I would be embarrassed to give one of these away let alone try to sell. I don't know about you guys but my expectations are a little higher if I'm expected to cough up a grand.
 
Get yourself a Yugo M98/48 and don't look back.

Sure, to start :)

You need the set; RC, Israeli, Yugo, Czech and mismatched German are the easy/economic ones. Then you need a matching WWII German, East German, Norwegian, French, FN Israeli and CZ. After that, you can start on specific receiver codes, Polish proofed parts, that kind of thing.

I'm sure I'm missing some but don't limit yourself to one!
 
Last edited:
Sure, to start :)

You need the set; RC, Israeli, Yugo, Czech and mismatched German are the easy/economic ones. Then you need a matching WWII German, East German, Norwegian, French, FN Israeli and CZ. After that, you can start on specific receiver codes, Polish proofed parts, that kind of thing.

I'm sure I'm missing some but don't limit yourself to one!

I lean towards the South American contract Mausers myself. Got a WW1 & a WW2 german K98 / M98 and quite frankly they suck compared to the surplus from South of the equator...weather is better there anyhow.
 
I lean towards the South American contract Mausers myself. Got a WW1 & a WW2 german K98 / M98 and quite frankly they suck compared to the surplus from South of the equator...weather is better there anyhow.

Totally, especially if you put a ratty old RC next to an unissued Brazilian or Argentine rifle. Different thing though, more of a "that's pretty" rather than "imagine where this thing has been".

1904/39 Vergueiro is another must have.
 
Totally, especially if you put a ratty old RC next to an unissued Brazilian or Argentine rifle. Different thing though, more of a "that's pretty" rather than "imagine where this thing has been".

True; I recall acquiring a WW2 Luger and thinking that it's " Seen some things ", the same as my Canadian WW1 wheelguns. But the quality is sure better on the contract pieces... can't deny that.
 
Also known as locking screws. A second small screw that fits into a machined relief on the action screws to keep them from backing out.

Usually missing from Post war reworks like the Russian Captured rifles
 
The missing parts such as the screws, cleaning rod, etc can be bought easily on eBay. The ugly oil on Russian captures comes off with products available at any hardware store. Oven cleaner strips the stocks clean .
 
True; I recall acquiring a WW2 Luger and thinking that it's " Seen some things ", the same as my Canadian WW1 wheelguns. But the quality is sure better on the contract pieces... can't deny that.

Modern condition is better on the contract pieces. When new they were both pretty impressive. Look at the unissued Portuguese K98k you see on occasion to get a idea what they looked like new, or look at the used contract pieces to get a idea how they look once they have been used.

Quality is a different story, as quality isn't determined by condition rather how it was made. Originally both were high on quality, time and usage took the condition away.
 
Sure, to start :)

You need the set; RC, Israeli, Yugo, Czech and mismatched German are the easy/economic ones. Then you need a matching WWII German, East German, Norwegian, French, FN Israeli and CZ. After that, you can start on specific receiver codes, Polish proofed parts, that kind of thing.

I'm sure I'm missing some but don't limit yourself to one!

I can absolutely get behind that.

But my wallet...
 
Back
Top Bottom