Mauser 98 Question

It's practically out of the wood right now. That cross bolt is not holding it in. Set it up on the rubber pad with your hand cupped over the barrel, fingers on the wood, and slap the bottom of the barrel gently. It will probably start to come right out. If you can get closeup pictures, try the end of the bolt where it points up the barrel.
 
Do you know how to get the bolt out so you can check the bore? There's a little tab on the left side of the action, just pivot it out with your thumb and the bolt should come right out. If it's heavily rusted inside it could be dangerous to shoot, but clean it out anyway, there might just be dust.
I had a misunderstanding. From re-reading everything, they're right, if it was being fired and then it just sat, it should be fine, unless the bore is heavily rusted.
If you click on the pictures you get a bigger view, and the action looks clean as a whistle, just a little surface rust on the barrel, maybe just a poor quality finish.
Sorry to be yakking so much, I'm really intrigued.
 
I think it's an early commercial action in an ex-mil stock.
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I Disagree. It is a military action. Look carefully, you can see the thumbslot in the left receiver wall.

$300 for gunsmith to check headspace and polish off some rust? Get another gunsmith!!!!! Serious rip off. (unless, of course, you are dumb and look wealthy..;))

No collector value. Put it on a gun show table for $300, and it probably won't sell. There is just no market value in old sporterized milsurps these days.

Unless they are high end jobs and from famous custom smiths. Then, they can run into thousands of dollars.

Check the bore, but don't automatically assume it is crap if it doesn't look pristine. Sometimes a barrel that looks "bad" inside still shoots well.

Get a variety of ammo and shoot it. Don't freak if its not tiny less than an inch. 3-4" groups and I wouldn't trash the rifle, or the barrel right away. Sights matter, triggers matter, STOCK (bedding) matters. The shape its in right now should be minute of deer accurate. Improvements (short of a new barrel) might make it more accurate, might not.

Shoot it, at least a bit (after headspace check) if you group in FEET, then the barrel is likely toast. A group of a few inches means there is still potential left.

let us know how it goes, please!
 
Yes, I saw that. The early post-war FNs still had that, and they had the lump, and they had the mil-length TG, which I think this has - can't see it to well. Could be commercial proofs on the right side, I guess some mils had them too. With that stock it probably is. Can't wait to find out.
 
>Well let me say I appreciate the info..
I will say i am not the smartest guy on the block... but far from the stupidest..The question about the boar was to make sure I was correct in my mind...I do TV for a living and shooting for a hobby and before I go and stick a 25-06 round in the gun a pull the trigger have the thing blow up thought I would ask some questions... <

1) clean the bore before shooting, that's obviously the first step before shooting any weapon.

2) if you have any doubts about whether the gun might be dangerous to shoot, then take it out to a non-populated safe area (National Forest?), use bungee cord to secure it to a tree. Use a string to fire it several times into a safe backstop. Do it when you're behind some cover that will stop any flying metal, and with you 20 or 30 feet away. In the unlikely case the gun blows up, you wouldn't have wanted to pass it on to anyone else, anyway.

As for getting some ammo, get on the phone and call some gun shops and see if any have that ammo. You can pay to get a gunsmith to look at it, but that's not going to give you as certain an answer as just testing it safely.
 
From what I can see the rust looks like surface rust which should pretty much wipe off with some fine steel wool and Kroil. If it was mine I'd have the stripper clip hump ground down so you can get a stronger rear mount and replace the bolt handle. It already has a scope safety and may have a decent trigger in it. Then put it in a better piece of wood. I had the stripper clip hump ground off mine and used Redfield mounts. I had the safety shroud replaced with a non safety one and used a trigger with a side safety which the stock wasn't cut right for. Mine needs a reblue but not likely to get it any time soon.

 
The barrel doesn't look good, but I bet most of will come off with some gun oil and scrubbing. Like I said earlier, start with a rag, get as much off as you can, then move to more abrasive stuff, like bronze wool.

Do that to every surface where there is rust.

The barrel will probably have some patina, it is up to you if you can live with it.

The rifle looks to be a Nazi era K98k.

Can you take a better photo of the left side of the receiver ring, where it says 1936? I think I see the top of a Weimar eagle there.

There is a Weimar eagle Waffenamt on the floor plate, looks like WaA63, which would be Mauserwerk Oberndorf if I am reading it right. If this is the case, you will probably find S/42 if you removed the forward scope mount. That is the factory code for Mauser Oberndorf.
 
It is a military issued action, the number is the date of manufacture, and the bottom metal is correct for the type. The lettering on the left side of the action tells a story, as does whatever is under the front scope base and the small marks along the right and elsewhere. If the pictures showed the round face of the bolt, where it butts up against the cartridge as it'd being fired, you could get a good idea of how much it has been fired. Bores are hard to photograph, but if you clean it out and it looks pretty good, it should be OK to fire. The rust on the barrel is surface rust. You could clean it off with the methods mentioned, but you should get some sort of finish on it or it will rust again. Overall, it doesn't look bad at all, except that it sat for a long time. If your dad was shooting it, it should still be OK. One thing - if there are any cracks in the wood, especially around the wrist where your right hand goes, they should be fixed or they will get worse.
 
Of course, you were asking about values. As has been stated, today those things only have value to the sons and grandsons of the men who sporterized them back in the days of black and white TV. If you just want something to hunt with, it really does make more sense to buy a new one. And that's a shame. Look at how yours is made - it would cost a fortune to duplicate that today. There's history in it too, from the time when the industrialized nations were playing for the whole world. Yours is not fancy but the work was done neatly, and it was put into a very desirable caliber. Enjoy it for what it is.
 
Thanks for the info:
US920669 I can take a pic of the front of the bolt is that what your asking?
As far as this gun really has no value other than to me...right?
So was this made in 1936? And would this have been a gun used in the war?

So can I polish the barrel and the bolt etc. Also I guess I can reblue the barrel.

I will try and get the front weaver mount off and see what is underneath..

Thanks again guys...
 
So was this made in 1936? And would this have been a gun used in the war?
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The action was on a gun used in WWII.
I see German GI receiver, trigger guard/floorplate.
The bolt is probably original but has been altered to clear the scope.
The barrel, stock, trigger, and of course the scope were installed to convert it from war surplus to hunting rifle.
 
It has some value, but as always it's a question of finding someone who agrees with your idea of it. Someone at a show might offer you $100, or maybe even $300, although that would be high. One thing people will look at is the front of the bolt, to get an idea of how much it was fired. Too much pitting indicates leaking around the primer, possibly an oversized pin hole which may even look egg-shaped and results in a slightly bent firing pin. If the soldier was in even one big battle he may have banged away for hours without a break. As the gun heats up wear happens more quickly. Wartime ammunition is not always very good. Normally a bad bolt would have been replaced when the new barrel was put on, or the rifle may have been fired extensively post-war. If you can get a good picture it would answer these questions. If your camera has a macro setting, get as close as possible and use a tripod.
 
As far as this gun really has no value other than to me...right?
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Well, it has no value to collectors, they like military rifles to be in original condition. As it sits, probably $150-200, if you find the right person.

So was this made in 1936? And would this have been a gun used in the war?
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Yeah, German Mausers were marked with a factory code and the year of production. There should be a code under the sight base, that will tell which factory made the rifle. The codes changed periodically, but for 1936 they are:

S/42-- Mauser AG Oberndorf
S/147--J.P. Sauer & Sohn Suhl
S/27--Erfurter Maschinenfabrik ( ERMA )
S/243--Mauser AG Borsigwalde
S/237--Berlin-Lübecker Maschinenfabrik

On the left side of the receiver ring, there will be the serial number/series mark, and property stamp, the stamp will be a Weimar eagle, even though the Nazi's had been in power for ~3 years, they hadn't changed everything yet, and the property stamp and inspection stamps (called Waffenamts). The Waffenamts should have a number that would point back to the manufacturer. There is clearly one on the floorplate, there are some marks on the right side of the receiver ring (but too small to see in your photos), and possibly on other small parts. The stamps switched from the Weimar eagle to the Nazi Eagle with swastika in 1937, although some rifles will have a mix of both types.

The bolt would have had a serial number originally (as would pretty much every part), and may have had numbers on some of its parts, like the safety, extractor, extractor collar & cocking piece (although possibly only the last 2 digits depending on the size of the part). From your photos, the rifle S/N matches the floorplate, and I think I see a 20 on the bolt stop/ejector (the little lever you use to remove the bolt).

The stock would also have the number stamped in the barrel channel.

Did your dad serve in WW2?
 
No my dad was born in 1942 , did not serve in the war. I am not sure where he got this gun. I guess they were sold after the war to US for sporting rifles? What caliber would it have been originally?

So I don't to take this to a gunsmith, anyway to get this barrel off without a action wrench and barrel vice?
Also, if I bought the go, no go shell will that answer my question of head spacing being OK and I assume if the safety and the bolt are tight and no barrel obstructions it could test fired.

Any of you guys refinish guns and if so... what about polishing the barrel and sanding the bolt and other areas of problem rust and then cold blu-ing it?
 
They were sold in a number of venues and vets brought some back, likewise Italian and Japanese rifles. It was originally in 8 X 57 (8 m/m Mauser). If you want to take the barrel off you will need the right tools - DO NOT put a 2x4 in the action and twist, it will bend right away. You could refinish, cold blue usually only works on smaller parts. Many will roll their eyes and even throw up, but they make various spray-on products (paint) that work fine IF you prepare the metal properly. I know I was the one that mentioned headspace. Get the tools if you feel like it, they're the same for 30-06 and a number of others. Don't be alarmed if it's a little loose from normal wear and set-back. Some have put a little scotch tape on the shoulder and tried it, always gently, masking tape should probably not fit. Just go slow, be safe and have fun.
 
OK a do have a question about the go no go shells. Why can't I make a shell the correct by the book size and one slightly larger and use those if I us my Caliper to check length.
I just cold blued a octagon barrel for a Musket loader i built and this Vans Blue does a really great job. That said, I may go for cleaning this rifle up.
If i polish the bolt i guess it is stainless. Right? Guess just gun oil to keep it from re rusting?
 
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