Which Mauser should I choose??

D

deadcoyote

New member
I've had a large CR collection for a long time and was thinking about adding a mauser with the excuse of hunting with it. Do you guys have a preference (quality & accuracy wise) between the german, czech and turkish models?
 
Now thatyou mention it one of the best rifles i've ever shot was a swede 6.5x55. They're a little steep for me though. I see a lot of (wincing while typing) reasonably sporterized german k98's for $200 range. Not to sound too silly, but iwhile an original condition gun would be nice, I will really use this as a hunting rifle. basically as long as they only messed up the wood I can restore it eventually.
 
Yep, Swede would be nice. Have a couple of nicely sporterized Swedes that do shoot quite well. Of three you mentioned, toss up for me between German or Czech mauser. May want to give a sporter 1903 or 1917 a thought. Lots of them out there and I've bought several of them for under $200 each.
 
The Russian Capture K98s are always a good start at $300. Mine came with the sights about a foot off at 100 yards, but it keeps usable groupings off hand.
 
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You can find very nice examples of all types you mention.
But all mausers have battle sights. Some are quite poor
for hunting.

The Swedish mausers probably have the best iron sights. The Norwegian
post-war refurbished K98k rifles also have very good sights,
with that being the only thing they changed out other than the
barrel. You can't hit what you can't see. And you can't get a good
sight picture and reliable hits without good sights, no matter what
the "intrinsic" accuracy of the rifle and ammunition.

.
 
It doesn't really matter. All other things equal, they are all serviceable hunting rifles.

That being said, my favorites are Czech Vz 24s.
 
German or Swedish make, then Czech, last Turk.

Turk is last on my list as I've not fired mine, yet.

You can find sporterized Mausers for the price of a good military piece, that's probably the better way to go, with a custom stock, scope, all the trimmings.
 
German or Swedish make, then Czech, last Turk.
Click to expand...

See, I would rank the Czech above the German. Almost all Czech Mausers were made with Poldi steel, a quality of metal that the Germans never duplicated. The finish on the wartime Czechs isn't always tops, but the pre-war rifles' finish doesn't give anything up to any German Mauser.
 
thanks for the input

I already have a real nice 03A3 and dont want to ding it up. I have a beater enfield but it's horribly inaccurate. I actually have a pristine K98 but dont want put it through too much use for the whole collector value thing. I've seen a lot of reasonably priced German mausers and some swedes. Is it just me or do the Swedes seem to just go up in value if they were monkeyed with aftermarket?
 
Portuguese

1904/39 in 7.92x57. Or one of the other countries Mausers? Moroccan short rifle in .30'06? A Spanish Civil War era Mauser? Chilean? There are so many to chose from.
 
Five Torches Yugos

The crest on the two I own one a k98 and one a M48a. Both are quite accurate with 196gr from S&B. Let me just say that they can shoot better than I can. And I'd bet with careful handloading will improve their performance. The problem with military Mausers is the sights are tiny.
 
Swede or Yugo 48

If money is not a concern, get a swede 38 or even a 96.:cool:

The most versatile for the money right now is a Yugo M48 for around $200 or so dollars.
:D
 
What about Argentine?

Also, FYI: I was just looking at my RC K98 and noticed that not a single number was matching on anything :p.
 
Does the chambering matter? If not, go Swede, Czech, FN(Made 'em post war for Israel), then German. Turkish Mausers might have been German or Czech made.
The Swedes weren't bombed, the Czech's not bombed as much as any German plant(unless it was pre-war made for export. Portugal, et al.)
Any of the chamberings will do nicely for hunting.
"...What about Argentine?..." Made in Germany.
 
The M96 Swedish Mauser is as good an example of the species as you'll see. Beside that, the 6.5x55 is a really neat cartridge to play around with - especially if you reload.
 
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