mauser vs. lee enfield?

I need some help in making a decision..
I have an 8mm mod98 mauser, factory 42 and 1939 stamped manufacture.
Is all matching except butt plate and forward stock ring around bayonet lug area.
Has nazi markings and codes intact, 80-85% bluing, NO rust, stock in great shape - no cracks
or dings. Nice bore and shoots great. Value???
My delima - another collector wants it badly and has badgered me for some time now.
He knows i have a weakness for Lee Enfields!! So he just offer me a 1942 Long Branch
No.4Mk1* in just as good condition/or better (all matching, etc.).
Clearly on monetary value, would this be an EVEN trade????
On a mauser vs. lee enfield, would this be an EVEN trade???? Help Please..

i dont know the value on the rifles but i keep the mauser because of the history but the enfield has history too but i keep the mauser thats just me.

I would think your friend would have to kick in a couple of bills to make that trade even

to NRA agree

Not having seen either rifle, but if the descriptions are correct, I would guess that the Mauser is worth about 2x the value of the No 4, but the No 4 is a much better rifle. And has a proud, as opposed to shameful, history.

Well, since we're here in Canada, the dollars aren't quite as long on these. You can't compare the value from other countries. Personally, I've seen many of these trades that rely on how you feel. Do you want the LE more than the Mauser? Then trade. If you feel like he's getting the better, then ask for a sweetener. If you collect LE then you don't need the Mauser. The 1939 mauser would be a bit scarecer than a wartime LE but does that matter to you? Back to the sweetener. The only unusual thing there for around here is the good barrel. Most Mausers had rough or worse barrels.

Go by feel. Maybe just a bit...maybe ammo thrown in? From him? I see these go at par at the Calgary show...

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Originally Posted by RobD

And has a proud, as opposed to shameful, history.

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None of which is the rifle's fault.

I am no fan of the NSDAP or its actions, but consider this: which otherwise civilized country was the first to use the concentration camp against civilians in modern times - a hint, the guards would likely have had 303 ammuntion on them.

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Originally Posted by Maxwell Smart

I am no fan of the NSDAP or its actions, but consider this: which otherwise civilized country was the first to use the concentration camp against civilians in modern times - a hint, the guards would likely have had 303 ammuntion on them.

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I'm assuming that you don't mean the one that having deliberately starved political inmates to death, went on to expand the system to murder millions of innocent men, woman an children.

I'm no fan of concentration camps either.

Hope this doesn`t become a political forum!
Collecting is just good sport and great fun..
Here`s something: My dad was an allied combat soldier during WWll, but for
all that he still admired his opponents` superb weaponry (K98), as do i.
I just admire Lee Enfields more!!

I feel that Jim's (browningautorifle's) advice rings best. Just go by how it feels. If you think you are getting a fair trade and would be happy and have no regrets about it then by all means take the trade. However, if you are not quite comfortable with the trade then go for something to make the deal more favorable to you. Haggling really can be fun :)

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Originally Posted by enfieldman

Hope this doesn`t become a political forum!
Collecting is just good sport and great fun..

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No, I wasn't looking to start a political debate.

I suppose that the point I was trying to make is that war is a dreadful business for all concerned, and we should not assume the "our" side was always good, while "theirs" was always bad.

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Originally Posted by Beerhunter

I'm assuming that you don't mean the one that having deliberately starved political inmates to death, went on to expand the system to murder millions of innocent men, woman an children.

I'm no fan of concentration camps either.

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Having been educated in a school system which still extolled the virtues of hard work and fair play, and still held British ideals in very strong favour, I was horrified to learn later in life of the tactics used to control the Boers. It was the beginning of my understanding that "our" side were not necessarily always the good guys.

My great-great uncle fought in the Boer War, for the British of course!!!
It was indeed a very dirty business, but there is a silver lining here at least for me...
In my collection i have his Long Lee Enfield rifle, which he used down there.
The bore is shot, but still works fine. Now there`s a piece of history for you.

You may be fishing in the wrong pond here Enfieldman. That is just to say, that being an Enfield guy, you are more conversant with their relative values....maybe what you really need to do in an effort to better condition your decision, is get an up-to-date reading on the Mauser's value (since that is what you would be surrendering) from that forum / thread (forgive me if you already have, I haven't checked !). Then, you would be better situated to deal on the '42 LB....which, as we know, is a sterling rifle, right.
Best.

Mag-Fed i think you`re abolutely right. I have been told from local sources here that this
Mauser would be worth about $700-$800 CDN. If you or others would refer to my original
thread on this Rifle for details and offer me an opinion, then i would be greatful for your
input. thanks

Enfieldman,
Although I own several K98s, I haven't purchased any lately, so am not so conversant with current pricing, etc.... I do note, however, that there is a thread on the Mauser rifles here which lists a "1940 code 42" rifle, if you haven't yet seen it. Two years ago the owner had it in the $400-$500 range. That's a start at least. At local auctions, I've seen the Nazi marked ones going btwn $450-$800....clearly, you know the rifle best and would have to assess the relative value in that bracket somewhere, I guess. Sorry that I can't be more helpful !
Cheers.

Don't trade. If you didn't make the decision to sell prior to his offering, you don't really want to get rid of this gun. If you trade off something good that you like for something else good that you like, your not really any better off are you. Keep the mauser and buy a good No4 and have both.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Maxwell Smart

None of which is the rifle's fault.
which otherwise civilized country was the first to use the concentration camp against civilians in modern times - a hint, the guards would likely have had 303 ammuntion on them.

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Well, I didn't know that the Spanish guards in Cuba used .303 ammo ! there yer go, learn something every day.

Not being a collector, I can only go by what I would like to own and what the market value might be. Here in Germany (where Mousers are two a penny), a really good Enfield might be about the same price (take a look through our largest web site: http://www.egun.de/market/list_items...cf9f0d0709530c). But maybe the Mauser might be slightly pricier. I no longer own a Mauser. I know that they´re much better quality than the Enfield, but the Enfield´s a lot better: the sights are better, the magazine´s better. And, above all, it handles better. Both my Enfields are keepers. They shoot better than most of the competition (even with me at the trigger).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by enfieldman

Hope this doesn`t become a political forum!
Collecting is just good sport and great fun..
Here`s something: My dad was an allied combat soldier during WWll, but for
all that he still admired his opponents` superb weaponry (K98), as do i.
I just admire Lee Enfields more!!

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I agree with you and my post was an ill-advised reaction.

However I disagree about the Kar98k. (I own one of them, as well as my Lee-Enfields.) It's heavy, slow and has too small capacity. The Germans had an opportunity to produce something better in 1935 and, for what ever reasons, decided not to.

For Villiers......... Patrick, I am sure that I have asked this before or have been meaning to ask, but do unlicenced ww2 weapons still come to light in Berlin/the big cities/Germany in general? I know that in Dusseldorf the new underground workings are breaking into old collapsed cellars etc etc that were never excavated but just built up over. What about those being found in old houses where old people have died or where weapons just '....appear as if by magic.....'

What happens if you suddenly find yourself the 'owner' of such a weapon? Are there methods whereby you can hand it in or to someone who cal own it? Or do people just stay shtumm and say nothing - like I suspect that do in England, the rascals!

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Originally Posted by Peter Laidler

For Villiers......... Patrick, I am sure that I have asked this before or have been meaning to ask, but do unlicenced ww2 weapons still come to light in Berlin/the big cities/Germany in general? I know that in Dusseldorf the new underground workings are breaking into old collapsed cellars etc etc that were never excavated but just built up over. What about those being found in old houses where old people have died or where weapons just '....appear as if by magic.....'

What happens if you suddenly find yourself the 'owner' of such a weapon? Are there methods whereby you can hand it in or to someone who cal own it? Or do people just stay shtumm and say nothing - like I suspect that do in England, the rascals!

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There have been several "amnesties" over the years. The last one backfired when those who handed weapons in were prosecuted. Not for owning them (covered by the amnesty) but for taking the weapons on a public highway to the police station! Many knowledgeable people here assume that illegal weapons are more common than those legally owned. It´s sometimes amusing to sift through e-Gun and see bits and pieces of the same weapon sold piecemeal over a period of time. As a member of several clubs, I get to hear of quite a bit of wheeling and dealing. And then of course, there´s the open Polish border just 50 kms down the Autobahn (and then a free run down to Kosovo).

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Originally Posted by Beerhunter

I agree with you and my post was an ill-advised reaction.

However I disagree about the Kar98k. (I own one of them, as well as my Lee-Enfields.) It's heavy, slow and has too small capacity. The Germans had an opportunity to produce something better in 1935 and, for what ever reasons, decided not to.

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What was that?

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Originally Posted by Homer

What was that?

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Sturmgewehr 44?

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Originally Posted by Homer

Originally Posted by Beerhunter I agree with you and my post was an ill-advised reaction. However I disagree about the Kar98k. (I own one of them, as well as my Lee-Enfields.) It's heavy, slow and has too small capacity. The Germans had an opportunity to produce something better in 1935 and, for what ever reasons, decided not to. What was that?

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A Garand?:madsmile:

But seriously: Mag Fed made an excellent point - you tend to place a higher value on things you understand - whether it is a painting, a piece of music - or an old gun. And there is, of course, the effect that sellers will tend to set a higher value on something that they possess themselves than on an identical object possessed by someone else.

When my Mauser 1871 needed a higher foresight blade, to hit the black at 100 yards rather than 300, I simply fitted a K98k tall blade. No problems. The Mauser V-backsight plus "roof" foresight did not change from beginning to end. So what was OK in 1871 was seriously out of date when the K98k was introduced. The regular Enfield/Swedish Mauser/other Mauser match organized by the BDMP has produced clear statistics that the order of shooting accuracy is precisely that: Enfield/Swede/Mauser.

But serious Mauser fans can get very enthusiastic about things like rare date codes, and for obvious historical reasons, a Wehrmacht K98k with a pristine barrel is very much rarer than an Enfield in such a good condition, which in its turn is rarer than a Swede - they are almost always in good condition, and a lot in what most of us could describe as an excellent state.

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Originally Posted by Patrick Chadwick

But serious Mauser fans can get very enthusiastic about things like rare date codes, and for obvious historical reasons, a Wehrmacht K98k with a pristine barrel is very much rarer than an Enfield in such a good condition, which in its turn is rarer than a Swede - they are almost always in good condition, and a lot in what most of us could describe as an excellent state.

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Yes, but time and space...here in Canada, it's hard to get the kind of cash the same rifle may get elsewhere in the world. We don't seem to have the cash backed collectors that you see elsewhere. Maybe it's our laws...

That`s true Jim, but here in Canada the damned long gun registry did serious damage to the
collecting of these relics. What`s being sold through retail outlets here is priced too high for
what you`re getting. People gave them away for fear of going to jail or hid them in their closets, then rich collectors gobbled them up for next to nothing.
In the U.S. you can get anything you want at a reasonable price. No cross border shopping
though!!!

Agreed.

By the sounds of it, the K98 described by the thread starter may be a correct VBB, as it doesn't sound like a typical forcematched electro-pencilled "Russian capture" jobbie. Plus, it is a pre-war or early war variant, so will be higher quality machining, etc. I am no fan of the NSDAP either, but consider what action this Mauser would have seen...... Canadian values do vary from US ones, and I prefer the LE myself, but reality is reality. An original non-messed with WWII Mauser is still worth 2x plus what a good LB LE is, . There are (for now) truckloads of nice LB LE's kicking around; you can buy one a day on CGN EE and still not get them all. Pre-war or early war Mausers that haven't been belt sanded, shellacked and restamped by the Eastern block? Whole different story. For that matter, believe it or not, even the forcematched so called Russian Capture stuff is going for stupid prices these days. Assuming your description of the Mauser is accurate, I don't think it is and even trade, speaking as a LE and Mauser collector, but ultimately, I agree with browningautorifle in that if you feel it is an even trade, go for it.

Ed

Being a Lee Enfield enthusiast I will say the gun being offered would be tempting, HOWEVER it appears he possibly wants the Mauser more than yoiu want to get rid of it.

I wouldn't do the deal for what he is offering no matter how much I love Lee Enfields. The Mauser as described will be much harder to replace IMO than a LB seeing as this is Canada.

If you want a LB put it up on WTB and I bet you will get one at a price that will be reasonable compared to the value of the Mauser.

The main thing is will you have "traders regrets" ten minutes after the deal is done? If you think you might walk away.

Thanks Ed & Enfield 303t, I have decided NOT to make the trade. I know i will be sorry if i do!!
I will keep looking for a `42 or `44 LB, perhaps i`ll get lucky. Had the Mauser to the range on
the weekend & it just shoots too damn nice to part with.
There is a number on the left side of the steel roundell which passes thru the butt of the stock -- N 33934 k -- do you know what it means?
best
Phil.

That's ok, glad I could help.

mausers, especially german mausers are much mroe expensive and much more difficult to find in original condition. from a monetary standpoint there is no comparison. the longbranch enfield is worth less than half of the mauser however I am a bit prejudiced. I prefer cock on close designs so unless we are talking about a swedish M38 then I prefer the mechanics of the enfield hands down. they are great and are my absolute favorite of all milsurps. but again, with the huge difference in price I wouldn't make that trade just because he could turn around and sell your mauser and buy a pair on enfields in the same condition as what he's trading.