Gew 98 input please.

[jmoore]

Don't pitch out that broken striker unless it has other dramas. It can be retipped fairly easily by most any gunsmith. A shank of a drill bit usually works fine. (It might even be from the bit used to poke a recess into the striker!)

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

Don't pitch out that broken striker unless it has other dramas. It can be retipped fairly easily by most any gunsmith. A shank of a drill bit usually works fine. (It might even be from the bit used to poke a recess into the striker!)

With no assurance a replacement would be WWI vintage to match the rest of the rifle I am concidering doing just that.

[TerryS]

Getting to this thread late. Contact me, I have a swivel. And even rarer, the "shortner"

[Kiverson]

Thoughts on cleaning stock yes/no?

I'd clean the stock. Rifles originally weren't issued with any sort of shellac, so it's safe to assume that the coating was applied by a civilian sometime after the First World War. I wouldn't worry about the value: it's already lost a lot due to having been shellacked, plus, if you really like the rifle and have no plans to sell it, then it's monetary value is irrelevant.

[boltaction]

Interesting comments on this thread. There are a lot of factors in the variance of valuation/price on these pieces. One for sure is that WWI is "distant"--most movies are about WWII, and that is what collectors, especially young ones, value as a result. I can really only think of that as the explanation for the rather crazy prices being sought and achieved on so-called "Russian Capture" mixmaster refurb'd WWII German Kar98ks. Anything WWII German seems to carry some sort of mystique with it. If you consider it, does it make sense that a mixed numbers reblued 1944 production Mauser should sell for $600 while a 1916 production all matching Mauser should sell for $300? On the Canadian side of the border, the WWI Mausers seem to command more money, generally around 750-950 depending on condition, but that is still less than an original WWII Mauser, and even the RC stuff is getting $600.

I think that the upcoming 100 year anniversary of WWI will renew interest in these historic pieces. The thing about Gewehr 98's is that what you see is what you get--there isn't another warehouse of these things about to be released from somewhere. They were last manufactured in 1918, by the losing side of a major war. Many were then destroyed under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles; they were not "stockpiled and warehoused" like the Eastern countries did post-WWII. Many had been dispatched prior to the end of WWI to places like Turkey or the African colonies, where they were used hard and often modified/destroyed. Those remaining in German service under the Weimar were largely converted to 98b configuration or to 98k configuration and then issued, and most were lost during WWII. As far as I can tell, most of the G98s in circulation in Canada were VBB's, although I know some were sold as surplus after the First War by places like Bannerman.

I have several G98s, some matching, some not, some are in rougher condition and a couple are in very nice condition. I like them all; I enjoy looking at my French/German/Canadian issue rifles and speculating on what they saw, who carried them, etc. Collectors will prize the "mintier" ones (I'm as guilty of that as anyone else) but in reality, ANY WWI period G98 which is uncut, un-messed with and in decent condition is a find, and these will only get rarer. Others may disagree.

Enjoy your rifle, enjoy shooting it (you'll find it extremely accurate, with a nice sight picture), and who gives a damn what anyone else says!

Cheers

Ed

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

A little late
Getting to this thread late. Contact me, I have a swivel. And even rarer, the "shortner"

Thanks I have scored both already.

---------- Post added at 09:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:25 PM ----------

Enjoy your rifle, enjoy shooting it (you'll find it extremely accurate, with a nice sight picture), and who gives a damn what anyone else says!

Cheers

Ed

Nice post and I agree. This piece is in the top two in my small collection in terms of historical significance and correctness.

[burb1989]

Glad to see someone else has some WW1 rifles in Mississippi. I haven't seen any post Civil War to pre-WW2 age bolt action rifles for a long time in the state but I have walked away with three decent rifles that are pre-WW1 that could've been in the Great War. I have an 1894 Steyr Gew 88 that I know came from South America, an Italian Vetterli Vitali that my great grandfather sent home from WW1, and my newest acquisition a French Fusil Gras from 1875 to go with the bayonet my great grandfather also brought home from WW1. So far anything pre-WW2 here is very tough to find at the little gun shows in state. Though I have heard rumors that better stuff can be found in the neighboring states......

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

Passed on a rather nice 88 twice. Same gun two shows same vendor price seemed ok but somthing else including the gew 98 the second go round left me short of $. Perhaps I will get a third bight at the apple. It does seem as though Arkansas shows seem to have more milsurps. I need to add a 1917 to the lot but prices are a bit out of my comfort zone. Still waiting on my last bits for my 03 and then all I have to do is strip the parkerizing and cold blue the new small parts. My Grandfather was in WWI (stateside at Camp Pike) so no bringbacks. The only things I have are his Camp Pike scrapbook ,one photo of him,and his medical corps scrim band for his campaign hat.I have had my eyes out for a campaign hat to display with the band but have never seen one at a show. You are quite fortunate to have your Grandfathers bring backs.

PS I am glad you are in the other end of the state. Less competition.

[marysdad]

The sling is from a Swedish Mauser.

[burb1989]

PS I am glad you are in the other end of the state. Less competition.

Unfortunately I'm not much competition. I can only afford pretty cheap milsurps (anything under $400 since I'm just starting to pay off college loans from last year). I have just been lucky with what I have found so far. I did buy a vetterli vitali for $150 a year ago and sold it a few months back for $400 since I was getting my great grandfather's bringback. Other than that the Gras took me two years to find and the 88 was just a stroke of luck. That one ended up being the only piece my great grandfather ever sold out of his possessions. It was sold back in the 50's for some gas money and I found it a year ago in a good friend of mine's collection. After I checked the number I realized it was that rifle that had been sold 70 years ago! I asked my friend if I could buy it from him and after parting ways with $220 it was back in the family again. Sadly I'm the only one in the family that has taken a deep interest in my family's past and as such I am given every piece that has to do with the family's war history.