Mauser 98K Sniper rifle

[Brian Dick]

Mine's genuine, built in January 1945 at Mauser. I know the lineage. It's a hight turret equipped with a 4x90 Ajack. The scope is mismatch to the rifle and just as it was brought back in 1945.

[CurbKid]

So the closest thing to an authentic sniper rifle I can get. Is to have a numbers matching rifle and a scope from the same time period. Put them together and that’s it? This is the closest I can get?

[jmoore]

Ummm, no.

[Brian Dick]

There are matching ones out there. I've examined several over the years. I exported a couple of lovely 98K snipers to a collector in Brno, CZ a few years ago and another to a collector in Iceland. They were purchased from very reputable dealers and at very big prices. Mine is what it is with the mismatch numbered scope but it was a very late rifle and I reckon anything was possible during the final months of the war.

[CurbKid]

I quickly learned that not to many people want to give up the information about this rifles. You either know or you don't. And very few want to help the ones that don't. This seems to be the going tread on all message boards.

[Brian Dick]

I don't think it's a case of not wanting to help others. There are so many dodgy fakes out there since the values for originals have gone through the roof that it's really a case of having the actual rifle in your hands, knowing what to look for and just feeling it out using gut instinct if you get my drift. Buy some reference materials, (read BOOKS), and learn all you can before you drop the big coin on one. It might save you a pile of money in the long run.

[Calif-Steve]

There are fakes everywhere. The sniper rifles were big prizes during WWII and started coming back in 1945. Fakes likely started coming home in 1946. You must know the field well or you will end up with a fake. One of my buddies is an advanced Henry collector. He paid over $15,000.00 for a Henry 20 years ago. It turned out to be a fake. He had to hire a lawyer to get his money back. It does happen.

[Ridolpho]

CurbKid: The experts on this forum helped me, a newcomer, to see through two fake Lee Enfield snipers and shared their insights so freely that when I finely got my hands on number 3 I knew it was genuine almost immediately. Hit the forum with specific questions about individual guns with photos and you'll get all the help you need.

Ridolpho

[jdmcomp]

The answer is yes, and no. The original purpose of the ZF-41 was to allow a quick mount scope for sharpshooters, one per platoon. However, due to the shortage of real sniper rifles these were reserved for sniper use until real purpose built snipers could be built in large numbers. The ZF-41 was not a good, or ever passable sniper. It was not much better as a sharpshooter either, but a couple hundred thousand were built and sent into the system. So, a rifle used for sniping is a sniper?

[Sarge]

1. According to Wikipedia there are approximately 132,000 sniper versions of the 98k. 2. Does anyone know how to identify the sniper version from the regular version? 3. There has to be some type of marking or serial number to identify the sniper version.

You have a 3 part post so I've numbered them and will reply accordingly:
1. I wonder just where the hell stupidea gets their info? I know of NO source for even a rough estimate of the total numbers of K98k sniper rifles built.
2. With 99% certainty you can ID a sniper rifle because it has a scope mounted on top of it!
3. NO there is not!
Sarge