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Old April 3, 2009, 05:45 PM   #1
mp25ds4
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mauser k98?

hey guys Im trying to get a ww2 rifle from all the main countries in ww2 and im looking into k98s what would be the average price for one that is in decent conditions with no rust and about 85% blueing and decent wood?
thanks
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Old April 3, 2009, 07:07 PM   #2
trippingpara
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For a German K98 in that condition would probably run you around $350. Look around, the prices can vary widely. The best place to get a good K98 is Mitchell's Mausers at http://www.mauser.org/ Their prices range from $300 for service grade up to $700 for premium grade. (These all include German stampings)
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Old April 3, 2009, 09:24 PM   #3
James K
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If you choose to buy from Mitchells, make sure what you order and get. They have tried to pass off Post-war Model [19]48 Yugos as German K.98k's and sell heavily refurbished and non-matching K.98k's with ads implying that they are original and matching. Their prices on rifles that have not been worked over are higher than those of other dealers.

Try a local gun show and (assuming you know what you are looking for) you can probably find a decent, but non-matching K.98k for $300-400. For a nice one, all matching and pre-war, you would have to put out $1200-1500.

I do strongly recommend you read some books and look at some K.98k's before buying, mainly because so many sellers are passing off other rifles (Yugo M48's, VZ-24's and Chinese copies) as German K.98k's.

Jim
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Old April 3, 2009, 09:31 PM   #4
mp25ds4
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thanks
i might be able to find one for around 250$ cause the people at the gun shows I go to dont seem to know what they have, ive seen nice ww2 finn m39s for 150$
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Old April 3, 2009, 11:00 PM   #5
Wrothgar
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I will admit I probably overpaid for mine, but it was about 450 for a Russian capture with German stamps. Bluing is really good and the bore is in excellent condition, but the numbers don't match. It shoots beautifully (most important aspect to me - I don't buy it if I can't shoot it). Again, probably overpaid, but it was worth it to me.

I too am trying to buy all the service rifles from WW2. I've got my K98 and a Mosin Nagant, and next I'm looking at either an Enfield or a K31. Sorry to possibly hijack this, but is a K31 considered a WW2 rifle since the Swiss were neutral?
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Old April 3, 2009, 11:12 PM   #6
Snowmanx7
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Watch classicarms.us

Their descriptions are very accurate in my experience. I've gotten a few from them with all the markings intact. Still an RC but good enough for me.
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Old April 4, 2009, 04:53 PM   #7
mp25ds4
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Wrothgar I would consider a k31 to be a ww2 rifle even though they were nuetral, Im only trying to get the rifles of the main countries that fought in ww2(America, UK, Italy, Germany, Japan, Russia.) so far i have 2 mosins and 2 enfields
(I only purchased one of these rifles being the mosin, the rest were given to me) I have to say that the enfield is my favorite so far, I would recomend you get that next
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Old April 5, 2009, 12:05 PM   #8
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Mitchell's Mausers has an advertisement in the April issue of the American Legion Magazine. The ad advertises a "Collector Grade" K98K with cleaning kit, ammo pouches, stripper clips, oil can etc for $399.
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Old April 6, 2009, 10:36 AM   #9
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Mitchell's Mausers are re-stamped over-polished junk most of the time. Beware!!! far better off getting an RC mis-match off gun broker, at least you will know what you are getting. MM is phoney, phoney, phoney.
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Old April 6, 2009, 04:06 PM   #10
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Mitchell's Mausers are forgeries.:barf:
They weld over the mismatched numbers, grind them down stamp new numbers matching the receiver and re-blue the gun (stupidly they do not blue the bolt but leave it in the white like a Yugo M48 which is incorrect for German rifles)
Go to dedicated Mauser K98k forums and ask about this. They will go into detail on how Mitchells' has wrongly renumbered (different fonts) and no proof stamps when they renumber (Called Waffenamts and appear as a small eagle with WaA and a number of the proof team)

Let me repeat plainly.
Mitchell's Mauser are counterfeit fraud by what they say and what they actually are.
If you bought a Mitchell's Mauser you can consider yourself dupped, taken, deceived.
However, they are safe to shoot and usually accurate.

Best advise, do not consider a Mitchell's Mauser at all.
It would be like showing up at a Porsche club rally with a Volkswagen and a fiberglass Porsche lookalike body and thinking no one will notice.

They will!!

Seriously!!!

Wulfmann
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Old April 6, 2009, 04:26 PM   #11
James K
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Mitchell's once claimed that the Yugo M48 was "historical" and "wartime" based on the 1943 date in the Yugoslav crest. That is like saying that the dollar bill in my pocket was printed in 1776 because that date is on it.

If you read their ads carefully, they never quite lie, but they do their best to mislead the prospective buyer. In general, their stuff is overpriced. At worst, their "collector guns" have been so worked over that they have lost any collector value they had.

Jim
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Old April 19, 2009, 07:48 PM   #12
surg_res
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Are you after a shooter, collector, or a rusty wall display?
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Old April 20, 2009, 06:25 AM   #13
m11/nine
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If you look at the Mitchel guns in the adds in various gun mags you will notice that they have been re worked, the stocks are sanded down and restained, the metal reblued, or what ever that thick black crap they put on it, These guns are worse then a junk beater at least a beater is still in close to original configuration, they are NOT a true representation of what the K98 looked like, yes they look new but not how the gun looked when it was new.

The ammo pouches they give with the guns are russian made they cant even do that right,.

for historical value they have ruined a lot of nice guns.
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Old April 20, 2009, 10:47 AM   #14
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If you want a good shooter for a decent price, the Russian captures are the way to go. What the Russians did was take the guns completely apart, put all the parts into piles by type, dip blue them, and reassemble with random parts. Sometimes you will get lucky and find a bolt/action matched set, but that is apparently pretty rare (all the numbers mismatch on mine). Make sure you run some headspace gauges through it to make sure it is still within SAAMI spec...

And also, upon reassembly, the Russians left off the front sight shroud and cleaning rod. Luckily original and reproduction parts are prevalent on Ebay, with repro shroud/rod/sling sets going for about $40.

Oh, and Russian captures will usually have an X marked into the receiver, and sometimes the swastika eagle stamps will have been removed. After talking the guy down a bit, I bought mine for $300 with a pretty decent quality bore and chamber. I think it will need a new extractor though, as it feeds a bit rough.

I learned a lot reading through this forum:
http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/vie...70e65f67f271c4

Good luck
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