Newbie Question: K98 Mausers

[HKFan9]

I have some cash accumulating towards a next purchase and kind of always wanted a gun from the WWII era. I started looking at K98 Mausers on gunbroker.com for around $350 that say they have Nazi markings. Now I don't condone what Hitler and his army did but personally I would like to have the Nazi markings, I think its more of the heritage thing but anyways. Here are my questions.

1) Why are some "Nazi marked" so cheap while others are $1000+ (As long as the gun is safe to fire I don't care about looks)

2) Where can ammo be bought for an 8mm Mauser, I saw some website saying the modern 8mm Mauser ammo would not work? Is this true?

3)Is there an abundence of ammo/stripper clips to be had for these?

I kind of wanted it to be a interesting deer rifle. I'm bored of modern rifles and slug shotguns, thought maybe an open site K98 would be more interesting. I figured they made it through WWII they can make it through Deer season in PA.

I'm only 21 so WWII was long over when I was born so sorry if some of the questions sound dumb, my firearm knowledge does not date back as far as some of you.

 

[10-96]

The questions you're asking aren't dumb. There's a lot of folks who know much more than I do about the k98's, but I will toss in my $.02.

If you find one that's in good shape- it'll last more deer seasons than you will. Be critical of the bore- there's a chance that it was never fired with anything but corrosive ammo. Some of the higher dollar ones all have matching serial numbers on all the right parts and may have been made at a unique manufacturing plant- or any number of things. A whole buttload of them were captured by the Russians, who for whatever reason, felt the need to separate the rifles and the bolts- hence the non-matching numbers. I don't unnerstand why anyone would knock you on having a rifle with 3rd Reich stampings all over it- but there are them that might... even though they'd run over their grannies to get at a nazi Luger. (go figger)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7.92x57mm_Mauser
Pretty much anything you find marked 8mm Mauser through most retail outfits has a very high chance of being the right ammo for the k98. There are some exceptions- but read up on the link I posted above and that will clear up a lot of the cloudies. The U.S. made 8mm ammo will work in your intended rifle, but it has been down loaded and 'lawyer proofed'. SAAMI did this because of the chance that someone might load up a older / weaker action or a rifle that would actually require the use of different ammo. So, U.S. ammo will work- just not with as much umph. Cheaper Than Dirt, J&G Sales, Outdoor Marksman, MidwayUSA, and other such places carry both U.S. ammo, European sporting ammo (such as Selleir & Bellot which is alledgedly hotter than U.S. sporting ammo), and surplus ammo. I've shot both great and plum awful surplus ammo through my Mausers- but I've treated it all as corrosive.

Cleaning after shooting corrosive ammo... there are a ton of different methods, cures, and solutions for what folks call "proper" cleaning. Me? I just swab real well with Kroil and clean as usual (again with Kroil). So far, after 6 years, none of my bores are any darker or worse off than they were when I got them- so it must be OK stuff. It can be ordered through Brownells, True Value Hardware, MidwayUSA, and who knows where else. That's ALL I use to clean any of my weapons- from my antiques to my AR's.


If you dig around, you can find and use US GI stripper clips for .308's and .30-06 as they all share the same case head diameter. For my 1903's- I like the stainless steel ones you can get from: Stripper Clips, 1617 W. Garfield St., Davenport, IA 52804. Plain steel ones are stickier, and I had an aluminum & brass thing that flat ticked me off. But anyhow, they'll all work if they're made for a case with a .473 dia case head.

I'm like you (but nearly 20 yrs older) but, I too have a strong appreciation for shooting critters with 60+ year old rifles. Sure, they're not as light, or handy, or whatever as the new whiz-bangs out there- but you gotta admit, there's a certain bit of nostalgia and charm in gettin the job done with something like that. It's a easy shooting rifle that won't beat you up- even with the steel buttplates if you shoulder it snug and use good shoting skills. If it has a good bore, and a knowledgeable GS gives it a clean bill of health- then go fer it. And, Good Luck, Have Fun, and Good Shootin.

 

[okmic1]

10-96: If it's anything like the Mosins then they might have had a communal cleaning of the bolts. Somebody told me they'd pull the bolts out of the Mosins and drop them into a tub with a bunch of other bolts, so it wasn't likely that they'd stay together. Maybe the Russians treated the Mausers the same way.

 

[HKFan9]

10-96 Thanks a lot for clearing up some questions! Very informative. Your dead on right about people pushing their grandma's out of the way for a Luger. One local shop here has a WWII Luger and 1911 side by side in the one case. If only I had $1500 I wouldn't mind either.

 

[10-96]

OK, Hmm. That makes as much or more sense than anything else I've ever heard.

HK, you're more than welcome. I don't have a k98, but I do have several other variants- and they're all a hoot.

 

[Todd1700]

First I would stay away from the auction sites as almost everything on them seem to end up overpriced to me. But that's just my opinion.

1) Why are some "Nazi marked" so cheap while others are $1000+ (As long as the gun is safe to fire I don't care about looks)

As with any collectable item there are many things that can make one more valuable than the other. Rarer factory codes, rarer dates, rarer markings, all matching serial numbers on the guns multiple parts. The most valuable K98 would be one with all matching serial numbers, no import mark and all of it's Nazi markings intact and unmolested. K98's like this will sell for thousands of dollars and are highly sought after by more serious collectors.

If however you just want a good representative example of a k98 in good shooting condition then you are in luck. They can be had for as little as 230 dollars in some places. Most are what we call Russian capture guns. Meaning of course they were captured by the Russians on the eastern front of WWII. They will not have matching serial numbers on their parts as most were broken down and reassembled by the Russians after the war. And they didn't care at all whether the exact same parts went back together to form the exact same original gun. Most will also be missing their cleaning rod and two capture screws but these are not necessary to the functioning of the rifle. Both can be purchased seperately from numerous sources if you so desire however. The Russians also so hated the Nazis (can you blame them) that most of these guns have the Swastikas peened over. These guns will also have an import mark stamped on them somewhere. All these things combine to make these guns much less valuable to the serious collector. But to shooter collectors like myself they are a great value.

The value of these guns can vary a bit depending on condition of the gun, condition of the bore, and the presence of particular factory codes and intact German and Nazi markings. There are some good websites that will give a description of each gun they have for sale. If you primarily want a good shooter then obviously choose one which has a bore they rate as very good to excellent. I purchased this K98 for 230 dollars.

 

[nimbleVagrant]

surplus ammo is definitely still available on strippers. Last time I checked Yugo ball on clips is around $5.00 and some shipping per 15 rounds. Been reliable for me.


and there are hunting rounds available.

 

[Bosco64]

Questions about SOG and newly ordered K98

Hello all,
I'm brand new to surplus collecting. Got my C&R a month ago and started with an 2a Enfield from AIM. Great rifle. I just ordered a K98 from SOG and have read good and not so good reviews on them. Any one here had any experiences with them? Presumably it is a Russian capture and refurbished but the website doesn't specify. I guess I will find out when it arrives. Todd that is a beautiful k98. I would be happy with something close to that.

 

[spacemanspiff]

Hit up the gunshows and visit some gunshops to find supplies of 8mm ammo. The best I have ever found is the stuff in green aluminum cans, sealed, I want to say they were from like the 70's, might be wrong though. I think each can has 340 rounds, green casings. I put several cans through my Mauser. Its good enough you will want to stash some away. Most other bulk 8mm ammo, as noted above, is corrosive, not to mention they often have really hard primers, 2 strikes needed to get them to fire.
I've also come across cases that have rounds unsafe to fire. Inspect them individually if you are unsure. I pulled a lot of bullets, from one case (over 150 rounds) that was questionable.
The powder made for a good pyro show in the middle of winter.

 

[FairWarning]

Your best bet is Norma (Swedish) commercial ammo for hunting. They have rather nasty 165gr hollow points @ 2850 fps and 196 gr soft points @ 2525 fps, that's basically a German 30-06.

American commercial ammo is loaded weak in the event it is fired in older Mausers that can't take the higher pressures and typically consists of a 170 gr SP at about 2250-2350 fps.

My Mauser is a German made 1944 K98 (yes, with the infamous markings) and was already sporterized/reblued when I bought it, so the collector value is gone, but I don't particularly care as it is a very fine rifle and still a piece of history unlike something you would buy at Wal-Mart. It definitely gives me a sense of satisfaction to have something rare and not what every Joe-Bob already has. I'm thinking about picking up a traditional Yugo Mauser with iron sights as well, they are very entertaining and easy to shoot.

I've stopped using corrosive military surplus since finding a reloader that cooks up SPs for me, although I admit the military FMJs are entertaining and will go through ANYTHING!! I still pick up non-corrosive ball ammo from Sportsmansguide every now and then.