Mauser Questions

I have had my K98 mauser for quite some time now but had some questions. I know from the thin style buttplate, the cutout barrel band and other features that its a prewar mauser. I also know that it was russian captured but still retains a few of its eagles. I refinished the stock but had a question about the action. It seems like the action has a black powdercoating on it. It doesnt feel nice and smooth like it should. It seems rough to cycle. My question is how do I remove that finish? Would I have to sand blast it? Did the Russians do that or what?

You seem quite intent on removing the rifle's history from the piece. It is/was a Russian capture. The Russians be-built them appartently using Grman POW's. They have mis-matched parts or forced matching parts. They have their own history. They were re-blued and put away. Don't try to re-blue it you will only further damage a collectors piece. Go out and try to find another rifle you like even better. Sell the RC rifle. Good luck.

Depends on what you call the rifles history I suppose. I personally prefer them to look like they were supposed to when issued and used by those that built them. That does not include the Soviet rework. But everyone has their own preferences and opinions. Whether something is a collectors piece again has various opinions and the Russian captures again are pretty low on this spectrum in most views. They are simply another rebuild and not one done by the nation of issue. They obviously have value and even some collector value which may increase with time.

As for the finish, no idea if it is original or not. Removing it would be as simple as a very fine sandpaper but I wouldn't remove it until you find out exactly what it is and who put it there. The RC's were re-blued. Could be it was sandblasted to remove rust prior to them re-bluing but again, I am only guessing.

I thought the Russians used black paint instead of rebluing.

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Originally Posted by howasan

I thought the Russians used black paint instead of rebluing.

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occasionally. they mostly hot dip blued the rifles though. it's actually more black than blue.

My RC has a very nicely blued finish, looks like a brand new rifle. Drawbacks were an unsightly shellac finish which I removed and electropenciled serial numbers but to be honest, these aren't that noticeable unless you look for them. Mine was a 1944 and too new to be shot out as the bore looks brand new. Definite mix-master as the stock is an early one not found on a '44. It had it's cleaning rod which is unusual but was missing the locking screws and the front sight cover which is common for these.

The only black paint I've found on my Russian rebuilds was on the metal caps on the handguard of two of my 91/30's, both which turned out to be brass underneath.

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Originally Posted by Aragorn243

The only black paint I've found on my Russian rebuilds was on the metal caps on the handguard of two of my 91/30's, both which turned out to be brass underneath.

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i have a 1938 Borsigwalde RC that has Russian paint on the receiver and barrel instead of bluing

I have to agree that the RC Kar98ks are part of the weapon's history- It might not be a particularly glorious portion, but it is history nonetheless. I have an RC 98 sitting right next to my matching k98 in my safe and all I have done to the RC is pull off some of that lacquered stock though not all of it- just enough to get the goopy clumps out(and its a very pretty piece of wood under there too!). I have always been of the opinion that an RC 98k with a great bore is a good rifle to shoot because, as already pointed out by more than one person, they tend to command a good bit less than almost any other variant of Kar98k and so why not have some fun with them. They are typically just as accurate as any other (bullets could care less about matching numbers) and you don't feel too bad about putting several hundred rounds through it as opposed to firing that matching bet bring-back.

As for the refinish, I have seen some with paint, some with only blue and some with both paint and blue, and very very few that were done neatly. Whether or not they were done by Reich POWs, they were certainly done by an unmotivated workforce and it's a typical sort of quality. Also, the rough action is more or less characteristic of the 98k action anyway. That was one of the first thing I noticed about my very first k98; the action doesn't feel like it has the same "slick" feeling as other milsurp bolt guns. Most of them aren't "rough" but many are a big... blocky... if that is an apt way to describe it... probably not...

Anyway, if you seek to slick up the action, perhaps some lapping compound on the bolt where it rubs on the receiver might do the trick- just pull out the magazine follower and work the action for an hour or so while you watch TV or something, like you would with a pistol slide or something.

A final note here- As much of a purist as I am (and BELIEVE me, I can get very anal about milsurps being "correct") the RC 98ks DO present a good platform for a burgeoning restorer to flesh out some skills. Cleaned up or not, they are still 98ks and will still be worth a little bit of money in the future. A 98k that was lovingly and honestly restored is very respectable in my book and is worthy of applause if done well. There are still enough RC 98ks floating around out there that it doesn't break my heart too much and what a great weapon to love on and learn about. Could be worse- they could be chopping them down for Bubba's Bambi Blaster... and remember, for all you hardline purists out there- every time someone "de-values" a rifle, it just makes yours worth more ;-)

I my opinion, the rifle was devalued when the Russians rebuilt them and scribbled all the electro pen numbers, sanded/numbered the stocks and painted the barrels/actions. I think a little cleaning and linseed oil can do wonders along with removing the paint on the painted ones. On the ones I have that were painted a little stripeze takes it right off and the ones I have the paint actually protected the blue underneath. I got one from RGuns that has no electro pen marks on it! I actually looks like a K98 less the horrid X mark. They make terrific shooters and reenactors. Clean the filth off the stock with a little DA and rub in some linseed oil and there is a decent rifle under there! Regards, Rick.