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Post by toshtego on Jul 30, 2019 19:53:18 GMT -5
A neighbor came by wanting to sell me a pile of nice dry cedar poles. That is nothing I need. He then mentioned a K98 Mauser he wanted to sell. One of the carbine models with the ears next to the front sight. A four digit serial number. Reasonably good shape. I gave him $300 which is more than I have ever paid for a Mauser, of course, it has been a few decades since I last bought one.
I do not have a high powered rifle anymore. So, I felt it was something I might need say the next time I have poachers on the property?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2019 20:16:32 GMT -5
Pictures when you can, John. If you can. We would love to see it. I love milsurps.
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Post by Ronv69 on Jul 30, 2019 20:20:33 GMT -5
New? To you. 😁🤠🤠
I would say that you have a high power rifle now. Very fair price if it's in very good or better condition.
Edit.
I remember when Woolworth had them for $15. They aren't really worth more, but the dollar is worth way less. That 8mm x 57 round will shoot through 2 or 3 poachers.
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Post by toshtego on Jul 30, 2019 20:38:01 GMT -5
It has that Erfurt look but with a straight bolt handle. Nothing on the receiver which is odd, at least to me. Serial numbers all match. No dates, no other information except "K98" and "03" on the safety lever.
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Post by Ronv69 on Jul 30, 2019 20:55:56 GMT -5
Have you looked at the bore?
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Post by toshtego on Jul 30, 2019 21:27:44 GMT -5
Have you looked at the bore? Of course. Bore light. No pitting or rust, just lands and grooves. A little dirtier than I like to keep them. I always check to see if the bullet is coming out. That is what Moe told me. |
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Post by puffy on Jul 30, 2019 21:30:43 GMT -5
Hope you never need it for poachers
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Post by Ronv69 on Jul 30, 2019 22:06:29 GMT -5
Have you looked at the bore? Of course. Bore light. No pitting or rust, just lands and grooves. A little dirtier than I like to keep them. I always check to see if the bullet is coming out. That is what Moe told me. I got a bore scope from Amazon on their Prime Days sale since I always wanted one and it was so cheap I couldn't resist. Itsshows the image on my cell phone. My Nylon 66 barrel is as bad as I thought it was. I pick up some cheap 22 ammo in the 60's and the bullets were made of twisted wire molded in the lead. I shot one and I didn't notice anything wrong as I was mostly shooting into one hole. After the third shot I had big messy plug in the barrel. I had to hammer it out with brass rod. It still shoots OK, but it's not a target rifle any more. |
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Post by toshtego on Jul 31, 2019 10:39:19 GMT -5
The conclusion of some collectors on the K98 Forum is this was a Polish made rifle given to the Republican army during the Spanish Civil War. The Receiver has been wiped clean of all identification which is often the case for such guns, except for some very small digits at the very end of the Receiver, their top half is still visible under magnification. The straight bolt handle was common with the Polish Mausers, from what I read. Poland supported the Loyalist or Republican cause.
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Post by toshtego on Jul 31, 2019 10:57:07 GMT -5
Of course. Bore light. No pitting or rust, just lands and grooves. A little dirtier than I like to keep them. I always check to see if the bullet is coming out. That is what Moe told me. I got a bore scope from Amazon on their Prime Days sale since I always wanted one and it was so cheap I couldn't resist. Itsshows the image on my cell phone. My Nylon 66 barrel is as bad as I thought it was. I pick up some cheap 22 ammo in the 60's and the bullets were made of twisted wire molded in the lead. I shot one and I didn't notice anything wrong as I was mostly shooting into one hole. After the third shot I had big messy plug in the barrel. I had to hammer it out with brass rod. It still shoots OK, but it's not a target rifle any more. A Bore Scope can be very handy. |
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Post by Ronv69 on Jul 31, 2019 10:57:13 GMT -5
Well that's some good history.
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Post by toshtego on Jul 31, 2019 17:00:52 GMT -5
Here is my veteran of the Spanish Civil War, fortunately from the loyalist Republican side!!!!
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Post by LSUTigersFan on Jul 31, 2019 18:50:09 GMT -5
The conclusion of some collectors on the K98 Forum is this was a Polish made rifle given to the Republican army during the Spanish Civil War. The Receiver has been wiped clean of all identification which is often the case for such guns, except for some very small digits at the very end of the Receiver, their top half is still visible under magnification. The straight bolt handle was common with the Polish Mausers, from what I read. Poland supported the Loyalist or Republican cause.
Cool history! |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2019 19:14:39 GMT -5
That definitely ooks like it was a Polish pattern Mauser originally, anyway. The stacking rod, bayonet lug and robust front sight are the signature characteristics. Nice rifle, John. I would rather have that than the more common K98 pattern that everyone has. That front end is just bulldoggety rugged like a SMLE is. You lucky dog.
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Post by toshtego on Jul 31, 2019 19:44:08 GMT -5
That definitely ooks like it was a Polish pattern Mauser originally, anyway. The stacking rod, bayonet lug and robust front sight are the signature characteristics. Nice rifle, John. I would rather have that than the more common K98 pattern that everyone has. That front end is just bulldoggety rugged like a SMLE is. You lucky dog. I had a Number 1 Mark 4 from 1915. Great rifle. I am not overly enamored with the .303 cartridge. The 7.92 X 57 with its wider and heavier bullet is a better cartridge in my opinion. What gets me is this gun may have seen action in Spain during the civil war on the side of the good guys. This brings me back to For Whom he Bells Tolls, the book and the movie. |
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Post by Ronv69 on Jul 31, 2019 20:13:30 GMT -5
Good looking piece and a serious weapon.
👍👍👍🤠
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2019 23:38:40 GMT -5
That definitely ooks like it was a Polish pattern Mauser originally, anyway. The stacking rod, bayonet lug and robust front sight are the signature characteristics. Nice rifle, John. I would rather have that than the more common K98 pattern that everyone has. That front end is just bulldoggety rugged like a SMLE is. You lucky dog. I had a Number 1 Mark 4 from 1915. Great rifle. I am not overly enamored with the .303 cartridge. The 7.92 X 57 with its wider and heavier bullet is a better cartridge in my opinion. What gets me is this gun may have seen action in Spain during the civil war on the side of the good guys. This brings me back to For Whom he Bells Tolls, the book and the movie. Wait. There were good guys? |
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Post by trailboss on Jul 31, 2019 23:50:39 GMT -5
Nice acquisition!
I have a Yugo M48 that Is fun to shoot, but it needs a competent gunsmith to check it out... last time I shot it, a piece of metal burped out... me, nor none of my gun savvy friends figured what happened, or where the piece goes.
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Post by toshtego on Aug 1, 2019 8:11:25 GMT -5
I had a Number 1 Mark 4 from 1915. Great rifle. I am not overly enamored with the .303 cartridge. The 7.92 X 57 with its wider and heavier bullet is a better cartridge in my opinion. What gets me is this gun may have seen action in Spain during the civil war on the side of the good guys. This brings me back to For Whom he Bells Tolls, the book and the movie. Wait. There were good guys? I was raised to believe the Loyalists or Republicans were on the side of democracy, equality and freedom. I knew people who fought in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Certainly, there were problems with both sides. Then there are those who believe the Loyalists were a little too Red for their own good with the Soviet Union supporting them. I cannot not argue they were not. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2019 9:06:45 GMT -5
Just messing with you. You illustrated it well with your response. Hitler supporting one side, Stalin the other makes it tricky. Both major supporting powers were despicable. I think the Loyalists mostly had honorable intent. An interesting conflict, with a lot of tragedy and suffering that often gets overlooked because of the big one.
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Post by toshtego on Aug 2, 2019 10:39:21 GMT -5
Just messing with you. You illustrated it well with your response. Hitler supporting one side, Stalin the other makes it tricky. Both major supporting powers were despicable. I think the Loyalists mostly had honorable intent. An interesting conflict, with a lot of tragedy and suffering that often gets overlooked because of the big one. Indeed. The Spanish Civil War was the testing grounds for the German military. The Luftwaffe perfected dive bombing with their new JU87. Many of their weapons were field tested for the first time. Lines were clearly delineated between fascism and democracy. Sadly, the Soviets were too disorganized by Stalin's purges to be more effective. As a young man, I got to know a few veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, Americans who fought with the Loyalists. These were men who knew what was coming for Europe and the USA. Also, a family friend what was a US Senator and who was a journalist in the 1930s covering the war from inside Spain. I was at a gathering of these vets at a bar in San Francisco following the death of Franco in 1975. In college in the 70s, my best friend was a Spanish Basque grad student and refugee. He was marked for death by the Guardia Civil. Many stories of Spain. Coincidentally, his last name was San Martin. San Martin is also a village in the Pyrenees region near the border with France. The movie "Behold a Pale Horse" has exterior scenes filmed there and was a crossing point for guerillas and others during and after the war. My friend was from Bilbao, the Basque capital, but his family came from San Martin originally. The point of all this is that the Spanish Civil War has long been a part of my life. So, I get some pleasure from now owning a rifle which very likely served the Loyalist side of that war. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2019 13:03:20 GMT -5
That makes it extra special, John. I have read a little about the Spanish Civil War and a lot about WWII and German weapons development. They indeed got to test a lot of their hardware and tactics in Spain. The human tragedy of that conflict was unfortunately overshadowed by the wider war. Some very interesting history for certain. I need to study it more.
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Post by toshtego on Aug 2, 2019 13:22:25 GMT -5
That makes it extra special, John. I have read a little about the Spanish Civil War and a lot about WWII and German weapons development. They indeed got to test a lot of their hardware and tactics in Spain. The human tragedy of that conflict was unfortunately overshadowed by the wider war. Some very interesting history for certain. I need to study it more. Sadly, in that war, the bad guys won. Why Franco and the Fascists were allowed to stay in power when WWII ended had always been a mystery to me. Spain declared to be neutral at the beginning of WWII while actively working with the Germans through the war. They should have been considered part of the Axis along with Germany, Italy, Japan, Romania, Albania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Hungary. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2019 13:26:06 GMT -5
By the way, "Francisco Franco is still dead."
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2019 13:26:37 GMT -5
By the way, "Francisco Franco is still dead."
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Post by Ronv69 on Aug 2, 2019 14:12:47 GMT -5
That makes it extra special, John. I have read a little about the Spanish Civil War and a lot about WWII and German weapons development. They indeed got to test a lot of their hardware and tactics in Spain. The human tragedy of that conflict was unfortunately overshadowed by the wider war. Some very interesting history for certain. I need to study it more. Sadly, in that war, the bad guys won. Why Franco and the Fascists were allowed to stay in power when WWII ended had always been a mystery to me. Spain declared to be neutral at the beginning of WWII while actively working with the Germans through the war. They should have been considered part of the Axis along with Germany, Italy, Japan, Romania, Albania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Hungary. During the war the Allies didn't need another front in area that would crumble after the heart was cut out. And after the was everyone was tired of fighting for what was Spains private business. |
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Post by toshtego on Aug 2, 2019 14:28:14 GMT -5
By the way, "Francisco Franco is still dead." Not dead enough. His grave site is being restored to monumental proportions. Fascism is on the rise in Spain. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2019 14:38:23 GMT -5
By the way, "Francisco Franco is still dead." Not dead enough. His grave site is being restored to monumental proportions. Fascism is on the rise in Spain. Unfortunate, but not surprising. |
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Post by toshtego on Oct 14, 2019 15:59:46 GMT -5
Ammo for a K98 is not something one can buy at the corner store, if we had a corner store.
No, ammo for a K98, 7.97 X 57 JS or 8 mm Mauser ammo must come through an order placed on-line or over the phone.
Sadly, my three boxes of 8mm Mauser ammo arrived today. Instead of soft point hunting ammo, I received Full Metal Jacket suitable only for repelling Allied troops crossing the beach. Sadder still was my efforts at explaining the difference between SP and FMJ to a representative of the company I bought the ammo from. I feel very old now and perhaps I better take a nap?
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Post by toshtego on Oct 14, 2019 16:07:07 GMT -5
Hoping to work out an exchange or a refund but not confident in this outfit- "The Armory" in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
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