My father in law was given a rifle by his uncle when the uncle died a few years ago. His uncle served in WW II. He says it's a Mauser, and the receiver is stamped 1940. It has two swasticas with Eagles above them. He says the wood is dinged up but no cracks, and the metal looks good. No rust. It will compliment my Garand, but just wondering about value. Any ideas? I'll post pics when I get it next weekend.
About to Get a Nazi Era Mauser
- Thread starter Homerboy
- Start date
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
Dunno about price, but the 1940 date means that it's of good quality. 1943 and later were subject to poor quality control and even sabotage.
Lots of variables
My buddy got a beautiful 1941 that was in amazing shape. Turns out it was most likely captured at Stalingrad and was kept in a Russian armory for decades before being refurbished and sold for cash. The fact it was tinkered with by russian armorers affects collector value.
My buddy got a beautiful 1941 that was in amazing shape. Turns out it was most likely captured at Stalingrad and was kept in a Russian armory for decades before being refurbished and sold for cash. The fact it was tinkered with by russian armorers affects collector value.
Depending on condition and rarity, it can range anywhere from about $0 to about $20,000.
Depending on condition...and market interest. Uber rare varients in pristine condition do bring big bucks from collectors. Trashed examples are valuable only for usable parts.
Market interest determines the value of all, and interest in original condition milsurps is high now.
40-50 years ago, interest was low. They were cheap, and nearly common as dirt. So we turned a lot of sow's ears into the some of the nicest silk purses around. Take a $20 rifle, add $100 in parts and skilled quality work, and get something equal or BETTER than a $200 factory Remchester.
Do the same quality work to the same rifle today, and not only will you spend hundreds of dollars, you end up with a rifle that on the market is not worth as much as the one you started with, most likely. And one that cost you more than a factory Remchester.
AND you will have an angry mob, complete with torches and pitchforks wanting you first flayed, then burned alive for "destroying the value of a historical collectible" Times have really changed.
Depending on condition...and market interest. Uber rare varients in pristine condition do bring big bucks from collectors. Trashed examples are valuable only for usable parts.
Market interest determines the value of all, and interest in original condition milsurps is high now.
40-50 years ago, interest was low. They were cheap, and nearly common as dirt. So we turned a lot of sow's ears into the some of the nicest silk purses around. Take a $20 rifle, add $100 in parts and skilled quality work, and get something equal or BETTER than a $200 factory Remchester.
Do the same quality work to the same rifle today, and not only will you spend hundreds of dollars, you end up with a rifle that on the market is not worth as much as the one you started with, most likely. And one that cost you more than a factory Remchester.
AND you will have an angry mob, complete with torches and pitchforks wanting you first flayed, then burned alive for "destroying the value of a historical collectible" Times have really changed.
Me said:
I should clarify this a bit I guess.
$20K would be for an all matching sniper rifle with some sort of provenance, like capture papers, period photos of the rifle with the veteran listed on the papers, and a documented trail of where the rifle has been since captured. Here is an example of such a rifle: http://www.simpsonltd.com/product_info.php?cPath=350_351_357&products_id=35938
$400 would be for a Soviet rework, refinished mixmaster. The Soviet Union captured millions of rifles, and refurbished them over the years in make-work projects. Strip the guns down, throw all the parts in big piles, dip everything in a hot blue tank, slap some ugly shellac on the stock, and throw it all back together until the next time they decide it needs refurbished. Here is an example of a Russian Capture K98 picked at random from Gunbroker: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=466122141 Just because the uncle served in WW2, doesn't mean he brought the rifle home with him, he could have bought it any time. Hell, it could even be a Mitchell.
Pretty much every part on a WW2 Mauser is marked with the rifle serial number, the more that match, generally speaking, the higher the value. A all matching rifle these days starts around $1K. Every Nazi era rifle also had manufacturer codes, some codes and years are less common than others, and can increase the value, as can other small markings (that unfortunately can be easily faked) like SS Runes can further increase the value.
Refinishing the rifle, in any way, reduces the value. The folks that pay top dollar for them, want originality.
These prices are also assuming that the rifle is intact, in the original configuration it was issued. Lots of nice rifles were modified to make them more suitable as hunting rifles in the years after WW2, simply because a new commercial Remington or Winchester was pretty expensive, possibly a few weeks wages, where you could pick a surplus rifle out of a barrel at your local hardware store for a few bucks.
A home sporter job, cutting the stock down to a more manageable length, cutting a couple inches off the barrel, mounting a scope, installing new sights, would make the rifle worth even less. Something like this, picked at random from Gunbroker: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=478810163 And that guy is smoking crack if he thinks that is worth $450.
I have two sporterized K98s.
One is a J.P. Sauer 1940.
I paid $165 for one in 2004 and $100 for the other in 2005.
They both have mint bores in 8x57.
I have not fired either, but I feel I am getting around to it.
One is a J.P. Sauer 1940.
I paid $165 for one in 2004 and $100 for the other in 2005.
They both have mint bores in 8x57.
I have not fired either, but I feel I am getting around to it.
Attachments
I recently picked up a really nice Yugo capture M98. Couple small dings but no cracks. Unfortunately can't brag 100% matching numbers as the firing pin is the only mismatched component. Mint looking shiny bore, but looks like my M98's barrel was recrowned as well. Got it for $270 and it's a very nice feeling vintage military rifle. I'll take the m98 all day over my Mosin 91/30 ! Only downside is 8mm reloading components are very pricey.
Lots of the Yugo capture rifles were rebarreled after the war, and most German markings were scrubbed. They are still a pretty good deal.
I Actually just ordered one from JG Sales.
http://www.jgsales.com/mauser-k98-b...rrel,-post-war-crest,-c+r,-used.-p-65309.html
I Actually just ordered one from JG Sales.
http://www.jgsales.com/mauser-k98-b...rrel,-post-war-crest,-c+r,-used.-p-65309.html
Cheapshooter
New member
Unfortunately Clark, no matter how well done your Mausers are worth only a fraction of what they would have been if Bubba would have not got hold of them.
kilimanjaro
New member
Most US Vet bringback Mausers have been sportered out of existence. The Russian Capture pieces and Israeli Mausers are about the only originals left. They are genuine historical pieces, matching numbers are a rarity.
Not matching? The market doesn't care. Lay out a dozen Capture Mausers at a show, and next to them a pretty girl making hotcakes. See which sells out first.
Not matching? The market doesn't care. Lay out a dozen Capture Mausers at a show, and next to them a pretty girl making hotcakes. See which sells out first.
Anaconda1492
New member
I used to be able to get 999 rounds of 8mm surplus, for about 100 bucks in 2006. Shooting has become a sport for the rich. Anyways, I have also been casting 8mm and reloading it is fairly cheap. I have a Russian Capture K98 and yugo 24/47 great rifles, but accuracy is paper plate with the K98. The bore looks good, but it just isn't that accurate even when free-floating the barrel. Enjoy your rifle but surplus 8mm has dried up, you can still find fairly cheap new production ammo out their though.
I had a 98K bringback with all matching numbers, acquired in the 1960's. It was made in 1943 by Steyr arms. It was incredibly accurate, even with the issue military sights. I resisted modifying it in any way when I began to notice that few of the available 98K's I saw had all matching numbers. It now belongs to one of my sons. When I look over 98K's at gun shows, I now find that rifles in worse shape carry asking prices up to $800, and I have not seen any with matching numbers (the Germans stamped every large and small part - e.g. the safety lever - with a serial number. The Mauser is now in the possession of one of my sons and will likely be kept as an historical piece.
The quality of the machining and manufacturing is first class, and I have to admire the work, despite the fact that these rifles were employed for evil purposes.
The quality of the machining and manufacturing is first class, and I have to admire the work, despite the fact that these rifles were employed for evil purposes.
Germany.
Mine showed up from JG Sales yesterday, less than 48 hours, order to door.
It looks pretty good. Laminate stock, looks to be a hardwood handguard, all milled stock metal, with sight hood and locking screws. All Yugo numbers match.
Looks to be completely scrubbed of German markings, with a Yugo crest added.
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Initial quick search only finds one Waffenamt, a WaA63 on the extractor collar. Depending on the year, it could either be Mauserwerk Oberndorf, or Waffenwerke Brünn.
And what may be a Heer "H" on the stock:
Crown and rifling look pretty good:
Pretty good deal for a nice shooter grade K98.
Mine showed up from JG Sales yesterday, less than 48 hours, order to door.
It looks pretty good. Laminate stock, looks to be a hardwood handguard, all milled stock metal, with sight hood and locking screws. All Yugo numbers match.
Looks to be completely scrubbed of German markings, with a Yugo crest added.
Initial quick search only finds one Waffenamt, a WaA63 on the extractor collar. Depending on the year, it could either be Mauserwerk Oberndorf, or Waffenwerke Brünn.
And what may be a Heer "H" on the stock:
Crown and rifling look pretty good:
Pretty good deal for a nice shooter grade K98.
It is a nice looking Yugo.
After Germany conquered Yugoslavia in 1941, Yugoslavia became part of the Axis. They were Germany's "allies". Germany supplied Yugoslavia with a fair amount of military equipment. This included some K98s, parts, and the machinery to make them.
The WaA marked extractor (and possibly the stock) were likely parts supplied to Yugoslavia to be used building their own rifles.
One of the fairly current ads I have seen for Yugo M48s states how they are made on the machinery the "Germans left behind".
I suppose its fair to call it a "capture" as everything the losers had was "captured" at the end of the war, just not used to hearing that term connected with Yugo Mausers.
After Germany conquered Yugoslavia in 1941, Yugoslavia became part of the Axis. They were Germany's "allies". Germany supplied Yugoslavia with a fair amount of military equipment. This included some K98s, parts, and the machinery to make them.
The WaA marked extractor (and possibly the stock) were likely parts supplied to Yugoslavia to be used building their own rifles.
One of the fairly current ads I have seen for Yugo M48s states how they are made on the machinery the "Germans left behind".
I suppose its fair to call it a "capture" as everything the losers had was "captured" at the end of the war, just not used to hearing that term connected with Yugo Mausers.
44 AMP said:
I do not believe that is the case. Yugoslavia already had the equipment to make Mauser rifles, they had been producing their own Mauser rifles for years at ''Military Technical Works'' at Zastava. In fact, according to Branko Bogdanovic, the guy who wrote the book on Yugo Mausers and historian for Zastava the opposite is true, the machinery from Zastava was sent to Germany (ref, post # 12):
Branko Bogdanovic said:
Yugoslavia wasn't building rifles during the war, they had no equipment to build them on.44 AMP said:
Ball's Mauser Military Rifles of the world mentions Yugoslavia reworking and reissuing Axis service rifles:
There are plenty of examples of Yugo reworked rifles with WaA remaining, some were not really scrubbed that well at all, and a few have most of the German markings. Many here (you have to be a member to see the photos)
According to Bogdanovic, (same reference)
They didn't start marking them with the /48 until 1950.Branko Bogdanovic said:all remanufactured Gew.98 and K.98k have internal military code M98/48- with small n (nemacki = german)
44 AMP said:
That would be marketing bull....stuff. The Germans didn't leave anything behind, because there was nothing to leave behind, all the equipment had been moved to Germany a couple years prior.
Same reference
Branko Bogdanovic said:
So they may have been made, at least in part, on German made machinery, but it was not "left behind", it was purchased after the war to rebuild the factory.
