help with my mauser

[Danielk]

Hey there, so i bought a ww1 mauser a month ago and spent some time researching trying to figure out what i had. My best guess is that i have a gewehr 98 carbine but im just going off google images since im new to the milsurp community. The reciever reads spandau and is dated 1906. if anyone has information about it please comment. Anyways where the end of the sporterized stock meets the barrel there is some separation and movement away from each other. I need some help figuring out a solution. idk if its safe to shoot this way, or if i could equip a handguard. I also want an original unsporterized stock but am not sure how common or uncommon or the price of them. If anyone has information please comment.

Information

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[Sarge]

Original stocks will be a bear to find AND Expensive. We could better help you IF we knew What you had! Your photos are generic photos of what appears to be some 98 variant.
WHY NO photos of the markings, both on top and on the left side of the receiver??? Maby also on the left side of the bbl between the rear sight & the receiver.
Do all of the numbers match?
Sarge

[bob q]

It is very clear what he has , he has stated everything that I need to hear to tell him what it is. The rifle is a 1906 Spandau Gew98 that was updated in the 1930's with a different rear sight . Then someone chopped the barrel , bent the bolt , chopped up and filled the stock to make a sporter out of it .

[Danielk]

Thanks for the clarification a d information. Like I said near the top of the stock where the barrel meats the stock there's some separation between the two. I don't know if there's a possible fix. And how much do you you think something like this would cost. The bolts smooth since I cleaned and oiled it, it looks to have nice tiger striping in the stock (I heard that tiger striping is good), bores ok but could be better, not matching numbers though.

[Aragorn243]

Only two real possibilities. It started life as either a KAR98 or a GEW98 and it should be identified on the side of the receiver which is why this area was suggested by Sarge. Odds are it is a GEW98 as the KAR's are small ring and it "looks" like a large ring but this is hard to tell from your photos in a definitive way. It may have been modified by the Germans at some point of time to bring it into K98 standard. Now for the bad news. In either case, the rifle has zero collector value. The barrel has been cut and short of replacing the barrel, you can't restore it to original configuration without spending much more than it would ever be worth in the end. The good news is that it is an attractive shooter as is and does have value in that regard. I don't see an issue with the stock separation, sounds normal to me, previous owner may have bedded the barrel. Sporterized rifles that can't be restored typically sell for $150-$250 in my experience. If the bolt is a K98 bolt, that's good, it's supposed to be bent. If it's a GEW98 bolt, that's bad, they aren't. If it's a K98 bolt, you might get more parting it out but if not, not much there to part out. Individual parts on the bolt and the trigger, magazine assembly. I'd just keep it as a shooter. Make a good hunting rifle out of it.

[Danielk]

thanks, i only payed $100 for it and the bolt handle is bent. In regards to the barrel and stock separation, I can actually move the barrel and the stock away from each other with my hands, not much but defiantly some movement to be felt. Just want to shoot it, but may end up wanting to trade it eventually (to try and get a lee enfield) and to make sure it takes *mm mauser right?

Thanks again

[browningautorifle]

Just check to see if the screws are tight holding the receiver together, the slight split you describe won't affect anything. This rifle has been a sporter for decades and has probably shot it's share of game and ammo like it is. I'd not try to change anything, it's now what it should remain as. A sporting rifle in a military caliber.

[bob q]

It is clearly a sportered Gew98 . First the op said the was Gew . Second it is a larger ring and is in a Gew stock . Both eliminate the Kar 98 . The bolt is a bubba bend , not K98k . With the GEW98 stock and the Gew98 m rear sight and no K98k bolt , it is not a Gew98 updated to K98k .

[mmppres]

you got a good deal at 100.00 I could tripple that money buy parting out the good stuff

[Aragorn243]

You know Bob, you may be knowledgeable about a few things but you need to learn to express yourself in a more positive manner. You assume much from blurry photos and an inexperienced new milsurp owner (he GUESSED it was a GEW98, he didn't say it was one, he also called it a carbine which doesn't fit that description). Bubba mixes stocks bolts, sights, barrels etc, so without seeing the actual markings which were asked for, we DO NOT KNOW FOR SURE. There are others here, myself included who own K98's, GEW98's and KAR98's and are unwilling to simply jump in with an OPINION without more substantial evidence than the above. I personally am not going to say something is a small ring or a large ring from a distant photo. The difference is not that large.