8mm Mauser

trso00873 · October 25, 2009, 08:06 PM

Hi I recently bought an 8mm Mauser and I'm trying to find out what model it is. I bought it from a friends grandfather and him and his father redid the stock and he got it reblued and it was completly redone. The only markings that are on it are "MK98K" on the top of the chamber. Any info would be of great help.

essohbe · October 25, 2009, 08:19 PM

What model? It sounds to me like you got yourself a German K98 model!

Awesome rifle.

trso00873 · October 25, 2009, 08:22 PM

I'm trying to find out what model it is and the age of it I've tried looking stuff up on the internet but where everything has been redone it's hard to find stuff out.

mp25ds4 · October 25, 2009, 08:31 PM

does it have any swastikas on it? I think k98ks were mainly produced during ww2

trso00873 · October 25, 2009, 08:35 PM

nope the marking "MK98K" on top of the chamber is the only thing on the entire riflel. The action isn't even the original it's got a butterfly bolt on it now.

GregM · October 25, 2009, 10:11 PM

post a pic or two and some of us can help you. You can't go wrong with a mauser, but with the information you've posted, its a toss up as to what you really have.

GregM

trso00873 · October 27, 2009, 08:43 PM

correction. while I was in my tree stand yesterday and looking things over I noticed that it says H. Dorwal M.98x8 on top of the chamber and I also noticed that it says mark II on the back of the safety lever

simonkenton · October 28, 2009, 07:48 AM

Those pics are useless.
We need close up pics of the markings that are in focus.

Slamfire · October 28, 2009, 09:06 AM

Given that the images look like they are at the bottom of a swimming pool, I would guess that you have a German sporterized military action.

The stock shape just looks german, along with the flattened bolt handle.

There were a lot of German gunsmiths cranking out rifles based on military actions between both wars. GI's brought them back.

tater134 · October 28, 2009, 01:01 PM

Looks like a sporterized model 98.Its built off a military action since its has a thumb cut for charger loading.Other than that I cant tell you much else from the photos.

trso00873 · October 28, 2009, 06:11 PM

well I can barely make out the markings with my naked eye so how the hell am I supposed to take a picture. Way to be dicks about it and telling me what I already know.

Avenger · October 28, 2009, 06:34 PM

Your camera will have a "macro" setting on it somewhere that allows real close-up pictures. It may be in the settings menu, or selectable for one of the controls, the icon for "macro" is usually a flower.

finfanatic · October 28, 2009, 06:56 PM

Quote:

well I can barely make out the markings with my naked eye so how the hell am I supposed to take a picture. Way to be dicks about it and telling me what I already know.

Now that was funny.

mp25ds4 · October 28, 2009, 07:27 PM

its definatly a military action because of the stripper clip guide, but thats not the original bolt handle, i doubt its the original safety too because it doesnt look like the normal mauser safetys and the finish is different

Scorch · October 28, 2009, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Looks like a sporterized model 98.Its built off a military action since its has a thumb cut for charger loading.

Not necessarily, commercial actions produced between the two World Wars had the thumb cut and stripper guides, too. Strippers were the speed loaders of the days before replaceable mags.

Quote:

The stock shape just looks german, along with the flattened bolt handle.
There were a lot of German gunsmiths cranking out rifles based on military actions between both wars. GI's brought them back.

Exactly. Where there's a market, someone will meet the demand. German smiths cranked them out by the truckload for relatively unsophisticated buyers. But appearances can be misleading. It looks German (but may not necessarily be German), but is definitely a European sporter rifle in the classic Oberndorf style.

Quote:

it's got a butterfly bolt on it now

That's a butterknife bolt handle.

BTW, the safety lever is a Dayton-Traister Mark II safety lever, made in the USA, they cost about $20.

trso00873 · October 29, 2009, 07:39 PM

Thanks for the info. Any idea on age??? Or do you need better pictures???

mp25ds4 · October 29, 2009, 07:51 PM

id say at least 50 years old, just a guess though

80viking · December 18, 2009, 10:11 PM

I know this is an older thread but I think it only vaguely pinpointed this rifles origin....after WWI, Germany was not allowed to manufacture any military weapons in any quantity and they had a large supply of unfinished rifles and rifle parts but they could manufacture sporting arms, because your receiver was never for its original purpose completed it was not marked like a military rifle would have been, and therefore it is unlikely that we will never know its original or its secondary origin, if you remove the action from the stock and look under the receiver you will likely find several proof marks some can probably be identified with not much effort [look in the back of a Blue Book for starters] these post WWI sporters were made w/ different sights and optics from sniper systems used on K98's, most of them had double set triggers, and for some reason they had a lot of extra machinegun barrels that they used but they all shared one thing [except the high end custom guns] that's the stock, that light, petite, thin, but very serviceable, blond stock with those raised panels on its sides, and that shallow checkering on its pistol grip, was made from leftover military stocks, and was common sight in the European hunting fields in the days after WWI, I know of several that are still used for hunting today

paul lewis · May 28, 2010, 08:34 PM

Hi i have a couple of these and they have Belgium proof marks all over them and from my research they are either made before WW1 or soon after and were mauser sporting rifels for export and were of good quaility and have the 3 leafe mid site and ramp site at the muzzel end .
One must be sure that it is a 318 or a 323 bore because it just says 8mm on the barrel ,
what i am trying to find out if the were made in Belgium or were they just Proof there and then were exported ??
More info on these would be of great interest !! Paul

James K · May 28, 2010, 09:18 PM

There was a lot of hanky-panky going on with weapons in Europe after WWI, but I don't know of German guns shipped through Belgium, especially since the Belgians weren't feeling too friendly toward their eastern neighbors at the time. But the Belgians also had access to German ex-military rifles and may have used them.

Pull the bolt and check the inner collar on the receiver. If the extractor cut is on both sides (only needed on the right, of course), it is Belgian made.

Any German military rifle made after 1905 has the large (.323") groove diameter. (Not bore; both the .318" and .323" groove diameter barrels had a .311" bore diameter.)

Jim

**44 AMP** · May 28, 2010, 09:37 PM

A bit difficult to be certain from the pics (and yes, getting good ones takes practice), but the rifle appears to have a smooth taper barrel. German military barrels were "stepped", with clear "step" at the change of barrel diameter. Sometimes, original barrels were turned, to the preferred sporter taper, but usually a smooth taper barrel means that it has been replaced.

That being the case, get thee to a decent gunsmithy, and have the chamber checked (chamber cast, if in doubt) and the bore measured. IT could be chambered for the standard 8x57mm, or it could be chambered for one of a dozen different European or American wildcat or uncommon cartridges.

Just because an 8mm Mauser round will chamber (and fire) is not an absolute guarantee with a rifle as reworked as that one is.

simonkenton · May 29, 2010, 07:17 AM

Hey, brother.

Sorry for criticizing your pictures.
We need clear, focused pics of markings, bolt, safety etc in order to ID your rifle.

But, I didn't realize it would hurt your feelings if I told you that the pics were no good.

I didn't mean to hurt your self esteem.

So let me say, your pictures are as good as you could make them.
You are not a re-tard photographer, you are not disabled, you are "differently abled."

You did the best you could, and that is all that we can ask of you.

I hope your damaged self esteem has been repaired.
The fact that we can't id the rifle with your fuzzy pics is beside the point, as long as your self esteem is not damaged.

paul lewis · May 29, 2010, 09:46 AM

Hi Jim Thanks for the reply , I now have 3 of these and i did a check on your info and what i see is the long extractor bar is one peice and has the 3/8 wide area with curve to pull the shell and i dont see any type of split ?
The bolt itself has Belg proof marks on it as well , in fact the barrel and the receiver have them .
Have you ever seen on or had any info about this manufacture name ?
Finding them in Canada makes me think they were inported here back then !!
Thanks Paul

October 25, 2009, 08:06 PM	#1
trso00873 Junior Member Join Date: October 25, 2009 Location: Salisbury, NB, Canada Posts: 6	8mm Mauser Hi I recently bought an 8mm Mauser and I'm trying to find out what model it is. I bought it from a friends grandfather and him and his father redid the stock and he got it reblued and it was completly redone. The only markings that are on it are "MK98K" on the top of the chamber. Any info would be of great help.

October 25, 2009, 08:31 PM	#4
mp25ds4 Senior Member Join Date: March 6, 2009 Posts: 392	does it have any swastikas on it? I think k98ks were mainly produced during ww2 __________________ Liberal Newscaster Katie Couric, while interviewing a Marine sniper, asked: 'What do you feel.....when you shoot a Terrorist?' The Marine shrugged and replied, "A Slight Recoil."

October 28, 2009, 07:27 PM	#14
mp25ds4 Senior Member Join Date: March 6, 2009 Posts: 392	its definatly a military action because of the stripper clip guide, but thats not the original bolt handle, i doubt its the original safety too because it doesnt look like the normal mauser safetys and the finish is different __________________ Liberal Newscaster Katie Couric, while interviewing a Marine sniper, asked: 'What do you feel.....when you shoot a Terrorist?' The Marine shrugged and replied, "A Slight Recoil."

October 29, 2009, 07:51 PM	#17
mp25ds4 Senior Member Join Date: March 6, 2009 Posts: 392	id say at least 50 years old, just a guess though __________________ Liberal Newscaster Katie Couric, while interviewing a Marine sniper, asked: 'What do you feel.....when you shoot a Terrorist?' The Marine shrugged and replied, "A Slight Recoil."

May 28, 2010, 08:34 PM	#19
paul lewis Junior Member Join Date: August 20, 2001 Location: nova scotia. canada Posts: 13	H.Dorwal Hi i have a couple of these and they have Belgium proof marks all over them and from my research they are either made before WW1 or soon after and were mauser sporting rifels for export and were of good quaility and have the 3 leafe mid site and ramp site at the muzzel end . One must be sure that it is a 318 or a 323 bore because it just says 8mm on the barrel , what i am trying to find out if the were made in Belgium or were they just Proof there and then were exported ?? More info on these would be of great interest !! Paul __________________ txs

October 25, 2009, 08:19 PM	#2
essohbe Junior member Join Date: March 22, 2009 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 817	What model? It sounds to me like you got yourself a German K98 model! Awesome rifle.

October 25, 2009, 08:22 PM	#3
trso00873 Junior Member Join Date: October 25, 2009 Location: Salisbury, NB, Canada Posts: 6	I'm trying to find out what model it is and the age of it I've tried looking stuff up on the internet but where everything has been redone it's hard to find stuff out.

October 25, 2009, 08:35 PM	#5
trso00873 Junior Member Join Date: October 25, 2009 Location: Salisbury, NB, Canada Posts: 6	nope the marking "MK98K" on top of the chamber is the only thing on the entire riflel. The action isn't even the original it's got a butterfly bolt on it now.

October 25, 2009, 10:11 PM	#6
GregM Senior Member Join Date: February 4, 2000 Posts: 182	post a pic or two and some of us can help you. You can't go wrong with a mauser, but with the information you've posted, its a toss up as to what you really have. GregM

October 28, 2009, 07:48 AM	#8
simonkenton Senior Member Join Date: April 25, 2008 Posts: 891	Those pics are useless. We need close up pics of the markings that are in focus.

October 28, 2009, 09:06 AM	#9
Slamfire Senior Member Join Date: May 27, 2007 Posts: 5,261	Given that the images look like they are at the bottom of a swimming pool, I would guess that you have a German sporterized military action. The stock shape just looks german, along with the flattened bolt handle. There were a lot of German gunsmiths cranking out rifles based on military actions between both wars. GI's brought them back.

October 28, 2009, 01:01 PM	#10
tater134 Senior Member Join Date: August 22, 2009 Location: NE,PA Posts: 390	Looks like a sporterized model 98.Its built off a military action since its has a thumb cut for charger loading.Other than that I cant tell you much else from the photos.

October 28, 2009, 06:11 PM	#11
trso00873 Junior Member Join Date: October 25, 2009 Location: Salisbury, NB, Canada Posts: 6	well I can barely make out the markings with my naked eye so how the hell am I supposed to take a picture. Way to be dicks about it and telling me what I already know.

October 28, 2009, 06:34 PM	#12
Avenger Senior Member Join Date: September 29, 2008 Posts: 274	Your camera will have a "macro" setting on it somewhere that allows real close-up pictures. It may be in the settings menu, or selectable for one of the controls, the icon for "macro" is usually a flower.

October 29, 2009, 07:39 PM	#16
trso00873 Junior Member Join Date: October 25, 2009 Location: Salisbury, NB, Canada Posts: 6	Thanks for the info. Any idea on age??? Or do you need better pictures???

December 18, 2009, 10:11 PM	#18
80viking Senior Member Join Date: December 8, 2009 Location: The Peoples Republic of Massac Posts: 333	I know this is an older thread but I think it only vaguely pinpointed this rifles origin....after WWI, Germany was not allowed to manufacture any military weapons in any quantity and they had a large supply of unfinished rifles and rifle parts but they could manufacture sporting arms, because your receiver was never for its original purpose completed it was not marked like a military rifle would have been, and therefore it is unlikely that we will never know its original or its secondary origin, if you remove the action from the stock and look under the receiver you will likely find several proof marks some can probably be identified with not much effort [look in the back of a Blue Book for starters] these post WWI sporters were made w/ different sights and optics from sniper systems used on K98's, most of them had double set triggers, and for some reason they had a lot of extra machinegun barrels that they used but they all shared one thing [except the high end custom guns] that's the stock, that light, petite, thin, but very serviceable, blond stock with those raised panels on its sides, and that shallow checkering on its pistol grip, was made from leftover military stocks, and was common sight in the European hunting fields in the days after WWI, I know of several that are still used for hunting today

May 28, 2010, 09:18 PM	#20
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	There was a lot of hanky-panky going on with weapons in Europe after WWI, but I don't know of German guns shipped through Belgium, especially since the Belgians weren't feeling too friendly toward their eastern neighbors at the time. But the Belgians also had access to German ex-military rifles and may have used them. Pull the bolt and check the inner collar on the receiver. If the extractor cut is on both sides (only needed on the right, of course), it is Belgian made. Any German military rifle made after 1905 has the large (.323") groove diameter. (Not bore; both the .318" and .323" groove diameter barrels had a .311" bore diameter.) Jim

May 28, 2010, 09:37 PM	#21
44 AMP Staff Join Date: March 11, 2006 Location: Upper US Posts: 28,833	A bit difficult to be certain from the pics (and yes, getting good ones takes practice), but the rifle appears to have a smooth taper barrel. German military barrels were "stepped", with clear "step" at the change of barrel diameter. Sometimes, original barrels were turned, to the preferred sporter taper, but usually a smooth taper barrel means that it has been replaced. That being the case, get thee to a decent gunsmithy, and have the chamber checked (chamber cast, if in doubt) and the bore measured. IT could be chambered for the standard 8x57mm, or it could be chambered for one of a dozen different European or American wildcat or uncommon cartridges. Just because an 8mm Mauser round will chamber (and fire) is not an absolute guarantee with a rifle as reworked as that one is. __________________ All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.

May 29, 2010, 07:17 AM	#22
simonkenton Senior Member Join Date: April 25, 2008 Posts: 891	Hey, brother. Sorry for criticizing your pictures. We need clear, focused pics of markings, bolt, safety etc in order to ID your rifle. But, I didn't realize it would hurt your feelings if I told you that the pics were no good. I didn't mean to hurt your self esteem. So let me say, your pictures are as good as you could make them. You are not a re-tard photographer, you are not disabled, you are "differently abled." You did the best you could, and that is all that we can ask of you. I hope your damaged self esteem has been repaired. The fact that we can't id the rifle with your fuzzy pics is beside the point, as long as your self esteem is not damaged.

May 29, 2010, 09:46 AM	#23
paul lewis Junior Member Join Date: August 20, 2001 Location: nova scotia. canada Posts: 13	H.Dorwall Hi Jim Thanks for the reply , I now have 3 of these and i did a check on your info and what i see is the long extractor bar is one peice and has the 3/8 wide area with curve to pull the shell and i dont see any type of split ? The bolt itself has Belg proof marks on it as well , in fact the barrel and the receiver have them . Have you ever seen on or had any info about this manufacture name ? Finding them in Canada makes me think they were inported here back then !! Thanks Paul __________________ txs