Any help identifying this 98 mauser?

[mattL46]

Interesting in-lay on bottom of buttstock.

[tango1niner]

nice looking piece.

[mattL46]

Originally Posted by tango1niner

nice looking piece.

Thank you, sir!!

[Jim Watson]

Yup, that is lined. I misunderstood, I thought the 9.3 barrel was off the gun.
Somebody went to a lot of trouble to keep the half octagon barrel and its stock inletting.

That is a Redfield or similar scope mount and a Buehler or Dayton Traister scope safety.

If it is built on a military action, it has been sporterized twice. First in Germany, then scope, safety, and likely the bent bolt handle added in the US. Might have been WWII loot.

With a lined barrel, I think standard mild .257 Roberts is a real good place to be.

You will, of course, have to change your name so your initials are K. S.

[44 AMP]

Thanks for the pics!

My guess would be a military action, extensively reworked and decorated by a European gunsmith, or someone who studied the European style. Possibly converted to .257 Roberts in the US by a different smith, by relining the barrel.

[Scorch]

does it have the thumbslot on the left side of the reciever? Military 98s had them, commercial ones did not.

Not necessarily true. Pre-WW2 sporter rifles also had thumb slots for using chargers, they were the "speed loader" of the day, so even commercial rifles had thumb notches. After WW2, pretty much all commercial 98s had smooth sides with no thumb cutout.

This rifle is almost certainly a converted military 98, military surplus was a great source for guns for sporting purposes after WW1 and after the Nazis purged a lot of old 98s out of the system when the K98k was adopted.

[mattL46]

Thanks for the info, @Jim. I could have been more clear on what I knew about it too. Indeed a Redfield mount, which was given to me by my dad, for this rifle when he gave it to me, so It wasn't already on it. I put it, and the scope on. The rest was how it came to me. I've only ever shot this beauty a couple times in the 12 years or so I've had it. I'm re-working my gun storage situation which is why this piece came out. I've got a few cartridges I loaded for it a while back, towards the bottom of the charge spread. I've always assumed it began life as a military rifle and was sporterized. The engraving job on it is upper end amateur. Not terrible though. Thanks again for your contributions!

[mattL46]

Originally Posted by 44 AMP

Thanks for the pics!

My guess would be a military action, extensively reworked and decorated by a European gunsmith, or someone who studied the European style. Possibly converted to .257 Roberts in the US by a different smith, by relining the barrel.

Thanks so much for your contributions. It's a very pretty piece, even considering the engraving job is novice. Looks really good if you don't look too close, again, not bad at all though. Super fun rifle. I'm glad I have it. Don't you wish you could track down the origins of some of these old rifles? Hear their story?

[mattL46]

Originally Posted by Scorch

Not necessarily true. Pre-WW2 sporter rifles also had thumb slots for using chargers, they were the "speed loader" of the day, so even commercial rifles had thumb notches. After WW2, pretty much all commercial 98s had smooth sides with no thumb cutout.

This rifle is almost certainly a converted military 98, military surplus was a great source for guns for sporting purposes after WW1 and after the Nazis purged a lot of old 98s out of the system when the K98k was adopted.

Thanks so much for the thoughts/contributions!!