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Peeps

Can anyone give me an idea of the value of my Mauser K98 in original 7.92x57 and fully live firing, ive attached some pictures that might help.

It's stamp 243 which apparently means it was built by the Mauser factory in Berlin, its a 1940 with matching bumbers on the action, stock and bolt(although that's etched)

I also have a cleaning kit and bayonet.

I bought it a couple of years ago in a package with two other rifles so have no idea of it's individual value.






many thanks
Alan

Hi Alan
You have a PM.

Hi Alan,

Looks like a Russian capture K98, the X on the receiver ring is the giveaway, quite often they have forced matched bolts too (Always wise to check head space) . I think the Russian capture pieces are very interesting, very nice indeed ...

It is indeed an Ivan's captured rifle . Do I understand correctly that the bolt has the serial number marked with an electric pen ? Sadly that would be a post-war bloody bolchevik Schweinearbeit ... You are correct about the birth place of this K98 but sadly I don't think your K98 was born with that stock . All of the above sadly destroys the very collectable & historic value of this otherwise great rifle . Same for the bayo that looks re-bronzed .

Thanks all for the feed back, I'm not surprised it's Russian capture, there must have been thousands of them.

okay so any clue as to values? It does shoot well if you've got better eyes than me....

Froggies right, the laminate stock would have been later in the war, this rifle would have had a walnut stock when new......that said, it may well have been fitted during the war.

The electro pencilled number on the bolt is typical of Russian capture .... one pile of rifles .... one pile of bolts ... some poor sod sitting there all day going through bolts until he finds one that will chamber a round with "reasonable resistance" = correct head space! aaarggh

Hence, check head space on Russian capture rifles, because Ivans near enough, may not necessarily be good enough!

Most of the Russian stored rifles were stored quite badly, so typically re-blued (and restocked if necessary) with a dull blue protective finish. Ukrainian salt mine stored examples tend to be excellent however!

Salt mine stored ? Wouldn't that give corrosion problems?

Nope. Not if it's dry. Pretty sure I saw a documentary about a British salt mine that goes out under the sea. Vehicles spend years down there but do not get rusty.

And is there a direct link to Siberia, comrade?

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