Hello all,
Like many of you I have heard many stories on Mitchells Mausers, and I think they are getting a bad rap in general. That said I have a friend who purchased one recently (a K98 not the M). It came packaged very professionaly and during the ordering process he was specific about what he wanted. For example, no arsenal repairs on the stock, a good blue job on the metal, polished bolt, etc. He paid right at $500.00 for the rifle and it looks great. It is a earlier model so it does not have provisions for a site hood (no groove), but the "appearance" is worth $500.00. It also shoots lights out even in the hands of an average marksman (me). When I compare what I recieved in the past from SAMCO, IOC and the other importers for around $200.00 to $250.00 you get a lot for your money. You are basicilly paying for someone else to do the restoring job for you.
So far as historically correct I'm sure there is some issues, but every gun show I have been too (I live in Augusta, Georgia so I attend shows that are close to me) the vendors that sell Mausers are all "supposed" experts with over priced examples, the furniture usually looks ratty, the bluing is coming off or gone completely and you have no idea if things like the headspace or the grooves and landings are good or not, so you still have to take it to a gunsmith before you fire it. The matching number thing is another joke. Having lived in Germanyicon for a better part of 10 years and spoken with ex german soliders at length you can argue almost any fact of the manufactoring process based on the fact that their (Mauser) records have been lost or destroyed so you cannot verify very many statements. Think about it, the germans have the reputation as excellant record keepers, but there is no logic on having some super accurate markings during war time on a firearm that the enemy could capture and use to determine origin, production runs, where the arsenals are located, etc. Historians may be able to make an educated guess, but ultimitly that is just what it is, a guess. Other than the example I saw at West Point (they had one on display) they made certain cliams about the rifle, but it came with a discliamer, "based on the information that was available" so you always take a risk at just what your buying anyway. Mitchells "Sniper" is a good example. I don't beleive it to be a actul sniper rifle, but I do believe it to be a fair representation of what one looked like. Though the $2700.00 price is way crazy. The intent of the scope mount was so that any solider in the field could have a sniper rilfe without having access to a gunsmith due to its unique mounting system. I would rather find a copy of the blueprints of the scope mount, take them to my local machine shop and make a copy on a CNC machine and try to find the scope. Saving $xxxx.xx along the way.
In the end, IMHO if you purcahse their K98 or M48 (which they state in their ad "made in Serbia") you get a decent rifle at a fair price considering what I have seen out in the market place and you can take it striaght from the box to the range. Hope I was not to long, and again just what I think so it don't mean much.
Leonard