Need Help Identifying Nazi Era Mauser

[Homerboy]

My father in law gave me a Mauser yesterday. It had been his uncle's. I figured it was military issue since the uncle had served in WW II. But this is obviously not military. No bayonet lug and just too clean. Were the German's making civilian Mausers in 1940? The gun looks almost unfired. Came with two boxes of ammo with 11 rounds missing.

The gun is stamped 1940. Has Nazi markings. Looks all original. even the screws have the serial number on it. I can't get the one screw out to remove the stock. But every number I can see matches.

I figured the stock was after market. But I've seen pics with similar stocks. Anyway, enough with my rambling. What do I have here?

[Homerboy]

More pics:

[Homerboy]

I don't plan on selling it, but any idea as to worth?

[BillM]

My guess:

K98 Mauser, WWII vintage, still in the original caliber.

Sporterized--probably in the 50's, maybe early 60's.
Military sights and other bits cleaned off, looks like maybe a Lyman
receiver peep. Does the stock buttplate say anything on
it? Wouldn't surprise me if it said Bishop. Decent blueing job.

The kind of sporting rifle cranked out in the thousands after WWII
on a variety of surplus actions. Some by gunsmiths--many just put together on the kitchen table. This one looks like a nice clean example,
but nothing really special. Around here the asking price would be
$175-$250

[amd6547]

The sight alone might sell for $100 here.

[ronl]

The gun has been sporterized, which pretty much destroys its value as a military weapon. It has been reblued, had the stock replaced, as well as having the original sights replaced. Since it is a family piece, I would keep it just like it is and enjoy shooting it. In that respect, its value is beyond what someone would give you for it.

[Jimro]

Sporterized K98, decently done too. I can give you a rough estimate of what the parts of the gun would cost.

receiver sight: 80 to 120
walnut stock: 100 to 150
barreled action: 150 to 250

So that's about 320 to 520 dollars if you were going to part the rifle out (which I do NOT recommend). I wouldn't worry about what it is worth, as anything like that is more what you can find a buyer to pay than any sort of blue book value.

I would take it out and shoot it until I found a load that it likes, then take it hunting and eventually pass it down through the family. Hopefully with a lot of pictures and memories for the next generation to carry on.

A lot of those GI bring back rifles were sporterized, and I only assume for many it was because they didn't want a constant reminder of what they went through to get the rifle. Sort of like a catharsis, taking off the uniform and getting back to real life. Maybe I'm reading too much into things, but as a Soldier I definitely appreciate the "transition rituals" that help people let go of the past and look forward to the future, and I'd like to think that the sporterized rifles of the 50s helped with that.

Jimro

[Homerboy]

Thanks guys. I was hoping for a military version, but the bolt is so smooth on this one. Into the safe it goes. Should I shoot the 60 year old ammo that came with the gun?

And how do I get the bolt apart without the hole in the stock that was used for that purpose?

[Jimro]

Use a block of wood, scrap piece of 2x4 is perfect for pushing the firing pin back against the mainspring to rotate off the cocking piece.

If you need to pull the cocking piece back to rotate the bolt body away from the safety housing it is easy to do with some thick cord, like 550 cord or boot laces, to pull back on the sear surface to disassemble the bolt. I'm using descriptive terms for parts instead of actual terms, so I ask Mauser fans to not be offended.

Jimro

[44 AMP]

Sporterized 8mm Mauser 98.

Nicely done.
Replacement stock, GI sights removed, drilled and tapped for peep sight, Peep sight, polished and blued. Nice job, classic sporter.

Can you close the bolt without having to push down the mag follower? That is another modification to the GI gun that was usually done when sporterizing.

Also, cannot tell if the trigger is original, or not. Replacing the trigger was very common too. Also can't tell from the pics if the trigger guard is original, or not.

..I only assume for many it was because they didn't want a constant reminder of what they went through to get the rifle. Sort of like a catharsis, taking off the uniform and getting back to real life. Maybe I'm reading too much into things,..

While you are probably right for some people, I think the majority of the sporterizing was done for more pragmatic reasons, and not done by the guys who "earned" the rifle in combat. I've known a lot of WWII vets, and without exception, a war trophy that they "earned" by killing the enemy who was trying to kill them was never altered. Rifle, pistol, swords, etc.

Maybe there were some guys that had to do something so it wouldn't remind them of the war, but I never met any. I have met people like that, and they (generally) wouldn't keep the rifle at all...did bring a rifle (or whatever) back, but then found it better not to keep it.

On the other hand, lots of vets brought back guns acquired during the war. Accquired, not "earned". There is a difference in the emotional attachment. Won in a poker game, picked up after the fighting, lifted from captured stocks, etc. These guns were often sporterized.

And then there the rest of us, numerically a majority, I would think. Guys who were not WWII vets, but got one (or more) of the millions of surplus military rifles on the market in the decades since 1945.

We sporterized them to make them BETTER hunting rifles. Even through the 70s, you could take a cheap milsurp and turn it into a sweet hunting rifle for less than the cost of a new factory sporter.

You have a sweet classic sporter, and in the 60s would have brought top dollar in its class. Today, the market doesn't want that. And they won't pay squat for one.

[Jimro]

While you are probably right for some people, I think the majority of the sporterizing was done for more pragmatic reasons, and not done by the guys who "earned" the rifle in combat. I've known a lot of WWII vets, and without exception, a war trophy that they "earned" by killing the enemy who was trying to kill them was never altered. Rifle, pistol, swords, etc.

I'm pretty sure you are correct. Although I do remember reading about COL Askins being overjoyed to find an actual left handed Mauser when he served, which was brought back and promptly sporterized to his liking. Of course COL Askins was a gun nut before and after the war, so his experience probably doesn't reflect an "average GI" experience.

But I would also say that anyone who answered the call and brought back a rifle earned that rifle, whether through trade or a poker game, or pulled from the hands of a vanquished foe.

Jimro

[James K]

In the ETO, not many enemy rifles that were brought back were actually captured in combat. Combat troops moved fast; they simply were not able and did not want to carry two rifles around with them. Pistols, yes, but rifles, no. Captured rifles were either destroyed or dumped in depots or simply in piles. Bolts were often removed and dumped separately in case German POW's escaped and tried to get at the rifles.

When a unit was to return to the states, GIs were allowed access to those weapons and told to pick any one they wanted.

Naturally, no soldier was going to admit getting his "capture" souvenir rifle from a depot, so a lot of German weapons were "captured in hand-to-hand combat with a German Field Marshal" (the German army had no other rank) or even with Göring or Hitler.

Jim

[Clark]

I have two sporterized K98s.
One is a J.P. Sauer 1940.
I paid $165 for one in 2004 and $100 for the other in 2005.
They both have mint bores in 8x57.
They are both all matching numbers.
I have not fired either, but I feel I am getting around to it.

How much are they worth? It is a thinly traded market, and could be $200, could be $400.