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

Gaz wrote:Nah, no value in that at all. I'll give you a tenner for it.

Yes Gaz I bet you would
Alan

Salt mines are a very dry place indeed, a couple of years ago I saw a pristine Thompson 1928A1, looked totally factory fresh and unfired with a bright pristine bore, that had hailed from Salt mine storage, on that occasion the Ukraine, but I am sure the Russian Salt mines were used too.

The vast bulk of 1928A1's and M1/A1's sent via the Americans as lend lease during "The Great patriotic War" went straight to store due to the fact that a lot of the accompanying .45acp ended up at the bottom of the Atlantic.

These have only come to light over the last 15 years, sadly a very limited market for them today, a very small number of sec5 dealers or deactivation here in the UK and much the same in Europe.

With it being impossible to ship them back to the States these days and only a handful of countries permitting civilian ownership of such fine historical pieces, quite a few still sit with continental arms dealers, gathering dust and waiting for a market to appear!

Some of the best capture K98's I have seen come to the market, hailed from Norway, some converted to 30-06 by the Norwegians immediately post WW2, but many still "as issued" and in lovely shooting condition.

huntervixen wrote:Salt mines are a very dry place indeed, a couple of years ago I saw a pristine Thompson 1928A1, looked totally factory fresh and unfired with a bright pristine bore, that had hailed from Salt mine storage, on that occasion the Ukraine, but I am sure the Russian Salt mines were used too.

The vast bulk of 1928A1's and M1/A1's sent via the Americans as lend lease during "The Great patriotic War" went straight to store due to the fact that a lot of the accompanying .45acp ended up at the bottom of the Atlantic.

These have only come to light over the last 15 years, sadly a very limited market for them today, a very small number of sec5 dealers or deactivation here in the UK and much the same in Europe.

With it being impossible to ship them back to the States these days and only a handful of countries permitting civilian ownership of such fine historical pieces, quite a few still sit with continental arms dealers, gathering dust and waiting for a market to appear!

Some of the best capture K98's I have seen come to the market, hailed from Norway, some converted to 30-06 by the Norwegians immediately post WW2, but many still "as issued" and in lovely shooting condition.

I have a 1944 dated Izhevsk Arsenal M44 carbine with all matching numbers (all stamped, no electro-pencil) that was Ukrainian salt mine stored (along with a gallon of Cosmoline) and it looks like it was made a couple of years ago it's in that good condition.Like most M44s' its been counterbored despite the bore looking like it has had very few rounds through it and very nice rifling.

huntervixen wrote:Salt mines are a very dry place indeed, a couple of years ago I saw a pristine Thompson 1928A1, looked totally factory fresh and unfired with a bright pristine bore, that had hailed from Salt mine storage, on that occasion the Ukraine, but I am sure the Russian Salt mines were used too.

The vast bulk of 1928A1's and M1/A1's sent via the Americans as lend lease during "The Great patriotic War" went straight to store due to the fact that a lot of the accompanying .45acp ended up at the bottom of the Atlantic.

These have only come to light over the last 15 years, sadly a very limited market for them today, a very small number of sec5 dealers or deactivation here in the UK and much the same in Europe.

With it being impossible to ship them back to the States these days and only a handful of countries permitting civilian ownership of such fine historical pieces, quite a few still sit with continental arms dealers, gathering dust and waiting for a market to appear!

I remember seeing the photos of these still in packing crates

You could hear the cries of frustration of the US collectors from here with not being able to re-import these mint Thompsons.

Don't blame them either, as without question, firing a Thompson on the couple of occasions I've been lucky enough to do so, puts a bigger smile on my face than any other firearm ever has.

huntervixen wrote: Some of the best capture K98's I have seen come to the market, hailed from Norway, some converted to 30-06 by the Norwegians immediately post WW2, but many still "as issued" and in lovely shooting condition.

One of our club members last month let me have a go of his very mint K98 that he's owned for 20+ years, and I was very smitten.... I have seen other reports that these ex-Norway K98's are the pick of the bunch, so might try and locate one at some point in the future.

I have seen other reports that these ex-Norway K98's are the pick of the bunch, so might try and locate one at some point in the future.[/quote]

Most if not all the Norwegian captured German K98's were rebarrelled to 7.62x51 or 30-06 when Norway joined Nato, I had one in 7.62mm excellent condition rifle very good shooter...

Most if not all the Norwegian captured German K98's were rebarrelled to 7.62x51 or 30-06

Sadly true ... so many good rifles ruined

Don't forget the bonus aspects of owning a K98.

Like a Blue Peter badge in the UK, having one in France gives you free access into anywhere you want....you can even march along the Champs-Élysées & under the Arc de Triomphe if you have one.

So all this has been really interesting but.... I'm still none the wiser as to a possible asking price

Alan

20series wrote:So all this has been really interesting but.... I'm still none the wiser as to a possible asking price

Alan

Sorry ignore the above as it's not entirely true because Bnz41 has given me an opinion via PM, thanks mate :-)

Alan

Like a Blue Peter badge in the UK, having one in France gives you free access into anywhere you want....you can even march along the Champs-Élysées & under the Arc de Triomphe if you have one.



Dunno about the value of your rifle in the UK. Good ones in original condition seem to be nearly impossible to get over here but on the continent a RC about GBP 200/250 for a private sale ?