Should I Go?

Hello everybody,


today a guy near here sent me a few pictures of a Mauser K98 he'd like to sell.
He got my name from a common friend who also happens to be one of my shooting buddies.
The bore should be in pristine conditions, the rest looks wonderful.
The pictures are not the sharpest, but still quite ok.
All matching, WAA in all the right spots (from the little I can see here).
He wants 750 €, which is quite a steal if the rifle is what it promises to be.
Anybody finds something suspicious?

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

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The bluing looks too good to be true. The barrel ring is almost a mirror... The wood should be almost presentation grade to reflect the condition of the metal. I'd still go have a look. If it's bore looks like the outside it would be sweet... You guys DID have those people around for a while and one of them might have set his brand new rifle down for a minute. Maybe...

I must go home and check a recent arms magazine. They had an article about the Mausers sent to Portugal and then built locally. That might be one of the first batch, which was sent with all the German markings. That could also explain why it is in such a good condition. Many were not even issued.

Looks great. For me, the deciding factor would be the matching number on the capture screws. As mentioned above, the finish on the wood and metal is just too perfect and the white inlay indicates someone understood the importance of highlighting those symbols and how it would "look." I think it was probably refinished at some point. 750 euros sounds like a pretty fair price for any Kar98k these days, especially an all-matching rifle even it has been refinished.

Ovidio,
As Jim says the bluing looks unbelievable, and finished as if it came straight out of the factory in 1942 which I doubt, however, I knew a collector in Luneburg, who did that to his whole collection regardless. The numbers and lettering look correct.
If the price is right and it shoots straight would be worth a punt IMHO, good luck, and let us know what you find.

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Originally Posted by Singer B

750 euros sounds like a pretty fair price for any Kar98k these days, especially an all-matching rifle even it has been refinished.

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I agree...specially if the bore is about perfect.

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Originally Posted by Gil Boyd

I knew a collector in Luneburg, who did that to his whole collection regardless.

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That could be done if the whole affair was soaked in citric acid to remove all finish and then hand polished with fine paper and oil. The round parts are spun in a lathe and hot blued with strong salts and you get that...right there... Been there.

everyone already said it..the bluing looks re-done. If the bore is great and it's a shooter, than I'd go for it...looks like the value of a Euro is on a 1 year low right now so that is even better for you :)

For comparison, I saw several cut up sporterized, frankenbolt, Mauser k98's at Cabelas gun library the other day with 900-1200 on the tags...the 1200 one didn't have metal that looked half as good as yours, but had a pretty high gloss and checkered stock...with plenty of dings.

Ovidio, the clue to evaluating such items is consistency of wear.

Take a close look at the photo of the trigger guard and magazine cover. The slightly scrubbed edges of the cut-out do not match the pristine state of the metalwork. I.e. the wear pattern is not consistent. So it is not an "as issued" rifle - but the vast majority of WW2 rifles are not "as issued" - they were used, maintained, repaired, rebuilt, etc. etc. - which is why you find so many posts in these forums of guys wanting to "restore" their guns to be "original" - which for me is usually just falsification.

The metal refinishing is of a standard that would be senseless for any arsenal refurbishment and uneconomical for a dealer. Someone did it privately, so I would not waste any time on trying to think up fanciful explanations involving Portugal or anywhere else.

Accept it as it is. As has already been pointed out, if the bore is good, it's worth the €750.

Get it, shoot it, enjoy it!

Patrick

Thanks all. I talked to the guy on the phone. It is a German issue, not Portuguese. The guy lived a few years in Germany and bought it. I’ll look at it sometime in the coming few weeks. I had a good gut feeling with that guy, I think he’ll tell me how things are or how he thinks they are. But I’ll certainly take a good look.

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Originally Posted by Ovidio

Portuguese

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Now I remember those, we got them in wrapped in newspaper in the grease in about 1979 or just before. I had one with matching number bayonet...they were clean and perfect. This one has better finish though, and worse wood.

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Originally Posted by Ovidio

Thanks all. I talked to the guy on the phone. It is a German issue, not Portuguese. The guy lived a few years in Germany and bought it. I’ll look at it sometime in the coming few weeks. I had a good gut feeling with that guy, I think he’ll tell me how things are or how he thinks they are. But I’ll certainly take a good look.

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Yes, even if it was one of the original batch for Portugal which were diverted from standard German military production, it would still have the Portuguese crest with 1937 under it stamped on the side of the butt behind the take down disc.

As said by others it has been refinished, because of the blueing and the white highlighted codes etc., which was not done in the Mauser Oberndorf factory in 1937.

However, the codes and stamps look good, and as SInger B wrote, the matching capture screws are what stands out as being a good sign.

You really need to see how good the the stock markings are in comparison which will so how refinished it is or not. If the stock has been heavily sanded it will be a huge shame if all the metal is matching and genuine.
Remove the butt plate and see if there are any ink stamps on the butt end, should have makers code and date, although not all are thus marked.
If you remove the stock, the serial number should be stamped into the barrel channel, plus makers codes and date made.

For that money, if all matching metal parts and not heavily sanded original stock, its an absolute bargain.....:thup:

I'll go pick up this rifle Tuesday.
That guy is really ok.
Worked on the AWACS in Germany in the 80ies, and bought the rifle from a collector.
Almost never used it since.
He told me he can't swear about it, but the rifle might be 100% in original conditions.
I'll see soon.
I add the pictures again.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ovidio

I'll go pick up this rifle Tuesday.
That guy is really ok.
Worked on the AWACS in Germany in the 80ies, and bought the rifle from a collector.
Almost never used it since.
He told me he can't swear about it, but the rifle might be 100% in original conditions.
I'll see soon.
I add the pictures again.

Attachment 123953Attachment 123952Attachment 123951Attachment 123950Attachment 123949

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Capture screws matching which is a good sign, bluing looks almost too good, but not impossible to be this good.....there are similar condition rifles in similar near perfect condition in collections.
Only question mark I would put is the white infill to the markings, which isn't factory, but was commonly done by old collector types decades ago, so the numbers would stand out in b&w photo's etc.
Check the stock though, it looks quite light in colour for a walnut stock, which most still were in 1937, prior to the introduction of the laminate stocks. It could have been sanded, and if the stock markings and numbers don't match the rifle, or are very faint and stampings are not commensurate with the blueing and rest of rifle, then maybe a question mark over it.

I would buy it in a heartbeat these rifles are harder and harder to come by with that price tag. Even if it was refinished, only the collector cares about that. The rifle will always sell for more than you bought it, its not a bubba job..

A UK deactivated K98 in not nearly such good condition would cost more, from a dealer, in the UK.