New guy needing info on a German WWII Mauser.

[Jwaynep]

Hello, I just signed up and of course I need some answers. My story goes like this, my dad bought a Mauser rifle that is sporterized in the late 40's early 50's. The rifle was ( as he told me) taken from a bombed out rifle factory in or near Germany at the end of WWII. It was found built as a sporter Mauser 98. The stock has a military style stock that appears cut down to me. It has wooden plugs in the holes where sling would have been, someone took some time on this, they fit very tight. It has a basic dovetail rear site and the front site looks like military, but doesn't have a place for the hood. Here's my problem, there are no numbers or letters any where except the # 26 stamped on every part. There are random letters and numbers on the bottom of the receiver, like KK, JJ, 7, Z, O, 5, B etc. they are randomly stamped on the flat on the bottom of the receiver and barrel. No others marks can be found. I've taken it to a couple gunsmiths and one said it's just a cut down Mauser, the other said I may have something and check it out. I don't know how to send pics yet, but I will learn. Can any one shed some light on this. Also the barrel has a swivel attached to it for a standard sling. I did find 6 punch marks on top of the breech about 1/16 round, but there are no obvious file or grinding marks except where the clip attaches. Any info is appreciated, good or bad. Thanks Jeff

Information

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[kar98k]

hard to say anything for sure without pictures.

[Badger]

To learn more about about how to handle pics, please read this thread in the Q&A - Help Forums, which also appears as a "sticky" thread at the top of every forum on the site.

How do I upload pictures to my posts for storage on milsurps.com? (click here)

If you still have problems, email them to me at badger@milsurps.com and I'll resize them for you, then post them in the thread under your name

Regards,
Doug

[Calif-Steve]

Must have 3-4 photos to figure this one out. Good luck.

[Jwaynep]

Pics posted by Badger ...

[Calif-Steve]

Kar98a European sporter. Caliber may well be a mystery. This looks like a nice German hunting rifle. Likely pre-WWII and grabbed by a GI after WWII when the Germans were forced to turn-in all guns to the Allies. This is a keeper!

[Jwaynep]

Kar98a European sporter. Caliber may well be a mystery. This looks like a nice German hunting rifle. Likely pre-WWII and grabbed by a GI after WWII when the Germans were forced to turn-in all guns to the Allies. This is a keeper!

Thanks for the info, it is an 8 mm Mauser my dad hunted with it for years, I do stand corrected on the date he got it. My grandfather bought it for ten bucks in Dec. 1946 and gave it to my dad for Christmas.

[Calif-Steve]

Ten bucks??? Sounds cheap except many people worked for $.75 per hour in 1949. So actually it cost 2 days salary. Not really cheap when you look at it that way. It is a nice keeper and has a nice family story attached to it.

[Jwaynep]

Ten bucks??? Sounds cheap except many people worked for $.75 per hour in 1949. So actually it cost 2 days salary. Not really cheap when you look at it that way. It is a nice keeper and has a nice family story attached to it.

Thank you very much. I called and told dad what kind of rifle it is and he is very happy, he said he always knew it wasn't a cut down K98, you made his day. He said gas was around 20 some cents a gallon and he was working on the family dairy farm for just about nothing. He wants to know what it's worth for some reason. I told him it's priceless to me and no amount of money could buy it, he said he wants to know if it's worth what it cost in today's money. It's in fair shape, the stock is pretty beat up but the barrel, receiver and bolt are in much better shape. I'm presently looking for a stock from that era, not much luck other than a military stock to cut down. I'll keep searching. Any idea of its value, other than sentimental?

[OLDER THEN DIRT]

On top of the receiver, does it say "MADE IN GERMANY"?