The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

Meaty wrote:thanks for all the input so far.
It is a nice blonde laminate and has matching serial #'s (from memory!) Didn't all the Russian capture 98's have an X stamped on the receiver? This one doesn't.

A lot of the RC Mausers had serial numbers "written" onto their bolts using eltro-pens, I forget the correct term. Has your got any scribled writting on the bolt?

re-

Why are Kar98's so expensive over here and why do we never see the good ones

Cos the Yanks and the Frogs have all the nice ones :shakeshout: I saw dubious K98 for sell in the UK including a Sauer 44 recently.

Yes it has a 3 digit number that appears to be engraved in the bolt.
Froggy, when you say that you saw some dubious looking K98's including a Sauer 44, what made them dodgy? Got me thinking that I may have put a deposit down on one of them sign01
The one I have my eye on is from a very reputable dealer and at a reasonable price-the overall condition is very good and the barrel is like new so it should be a good shooter. I think I could probably live with a bit of historical inaccuracy as long as it shoots better than me!

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I went for the 1st time to an Arms fair at Bisley recently and was amazed none of the dealers bother to tell their clients that the K98 they offer are actually Russian refurbished...

Of course not Froggy, they can demand more money from the unsuspecting.

Meaty, I have a couple of very good books on Mauser's that you are welcome to borrow, I am at Barton Road 21st (I think that is the date) So I can bring them with me as long as you remind me closer to the date

Thanks for the information.
Dave, that would be fantastic-I should be there but may have to leave a bit early because of a prior engagement in the evening. I promise that I will look after them.
This historic collecting lark is a bit of a mine field for the novice like me :?

Any thing that has a Nazi connection I keep away from. They are so desirable that the motivation to cheap and copy and generally fake is very high.

I gave up on collecting Nazi stuff a few years ago, not that I was ever really into it, when I saw on ethief someone selling new German gun stamps that meant any one could mark any thing. Now good fakery isn't as easy as just buying a set of stamps but if it was worth someone while to have these made in the first place then a lot of people must be at it.

Meaty wrote:Thanks for the information.
Dave, that would be fantastic-I should be there but may have to leave a bit early because of a prior engagement in the evening. I promise that I will look after them.
This historic collecting lark is a bit of a mine field for the novice like me :?

No worries, please do remind me closer to the day though, I have a mind like a sieve sometimes

I had set my heart on a Kar98 sniper and had the variation in place but the more I read the less I was convinced I could find a genuine one so I gave up on the idea.

I read a good article once that suggested that as many K98 snipers were built in 1946 as the previous couple of years as there was a thriving market with the GI's. This really does mess things up as these guys will have cut the ends off, stuffed them in their duffle bags and brought them home, some even had written permission to bring them out. So are they original sniper rifles or not?