Scope

[Bucksnort1]

My father, an Army 2nd lieutenant, and his family (myself included) were stationed in Germany from 1946 to 1949. During this time, Dad, "liberated" as he described it, two Model 98 Mausers in 8x57mm. He had both sporterized. Both came with the Hensoldt quick claw mount single post reticle, probably 4X. Dad traded one rifle and kept the other. I now have the one he kept. Does anyone have a clue as to the value of the scope alone?

 

[trigger643]

It will come down to condition. Assuming it remains in excellent condition, no rust, dings and perfect clarity, the scope by itself, without the mounts and rings should fetch between $350 and $800 --- depending upon the model.

Many of these rifles were assembled after the war with wartime or prewar scopes. These tend to be more desirable for those wishing to cobble together a fake sniper. The postwar commercial variants bring less as demand is low.

 

[Bucksnort1]

Trigger643. Thanks for the response. This scope was popular with snipers during WWII. Dad's rifle is strictly a hunting rifle. He never referred to it as a sniper rifle. I would say the scope is closer to the $350 figure than the higher one.

I was in a gun store, recently, standing next to a man who had just purchased a consignment 8x57mm Mauser. It was a sporterized Mauser and is the only rifle I've seen that looks very similar to Dad's. It did not have the scope with it but had the quick claw mounts on the receiver. I told the buyer I have the scope for the mounts. His eyes lit up and asked if I would sell it. I said I would not.

 

[Jimro]

If the scope was a ZF39 pattern, military collectors have been known to drop 600 US or more on good examples.

If the scope is an Ajack 4x90 in good condition, collectors have been known to drop over a 1000 US.

If it isn't either of those two scopes, then it is whatever the market will dictate.

Jimro