Mauser k98k

Bolt action rifles, lever action, pump action, self loading rifles and other miscellaneous longarms.

Mauser k98k

Post by Jmorro » 03 Mar 2020, 11:05 pm

Hi guys,
First time posting please go easy on me. Just thought I’d show you all some markings from a rifle I recently purchased and grab some opinions on what you think it’s worth.

The rifle is a 1940 stamped german kar98k. It bears the receiver code 660 indicating it was produced in the Steyr factory in Austria. The numbers match up and the rifle has all the original nazi markings as it has not been refurbished or captured. The bore is in good shootable condition.

Let me know what you guys think,
Much appreciated
- J
Attachments
8F0B1DDF-1469-4910-8EBD-ED43AB88F1B3.jpeg
8F0B1DDF-1469-4910-8EBD-ED43AB88F1B3.jpeg (2.22 MiB) Viewed 4744 times
97B62798-166D-40B4-BEA8-59D216C0153C.jpeg
97B62798-166D-40B4-BEA8-59D216C0153C.jpeg (2.13 MiB) Viewed 4744 times
F189795F-C5A7-417D-BAE4-0951A40CA0A5.jpeg
F189795F-C5A7-417D-BAE4-0951A40CA0A5.jpeg (1.88 MiB) Viewed 4744 times
3B84A105-0DD0-4F47-8954-85E5B6A4D743.jpeg
3B84A105-0DD0-4F47-8954-85E5B6A4D743.jpeg (2.03 MiB) Viewed 4744 times
Jmorro
Recruit
Recruit
 
Posts: 2
New South Wales

Re: Mauser k98k

Post by No1Mk3 » 04 Mar 2020, 6:38 pm

G'day Jmorro,
Nice Mauser, matching numbers would bring a premium, but I would lay odds it has been re-blued in some areas. The bolt handle for example is too "new" for the age and condition of the stock etc. But otherwise a very collectible piece. On a good day it is $1500 + but on a great day it would pass $2000 to someone who wanted a matching 660, In the right place at the right time you could pay a $1000 or so, just as an example the last K98k I bought was a "147, 1940" for $600 2 years ago, but I thought it well undervalued, Cheers.
No1Mk3
Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
 
Posts: 2090
Victoria

Re: Mauser k98k

Post by StraightWhiteMale » 04 Mar 2020, 7:42 pm

Nice early war model mate. Like anything it is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. To me its worth 20 ounces of silver and a baby goat.
Last edited by StraightWhiteMale on 05 Mar 2020, 10:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
StraightWhiteMale
Lance Corporal
Lance Corporal
 
Posts: 167
Queensland

Re: Mauser k98k

Post by wrenchman » 05 Mar 2020, 2:13 am

as no1mk3 said it looks like its touched up blue if all numbers match and it has not been altered in any way you still have a gun that has good value they are getting hard to find they can still be found but its a collectors firearm.
I would still shoot it just have the head space checked many were brought back and chopped up and turned into hunting guns.
wrenchman
Warrant Officer C1
Warrant Officer C1
 
Posts: 1345
United States of America

Re: Mauser k98k

Post by straightshooter » 05 Mar 2020, 6:42 am

The 660 means the receiver was from Radom in Poland and reprocessed at Steyr. The usual practice was to put a line through the Polish WZ29 designation on the left rail and restamp with the German model identification.
Radom receivers had an overhang at the front for retaining the upper handguard and the slight step in the front receiver ring is evidence of where it was turned off in the factory.
The 1940 date is as far as I know inconsistent with when all in process production and equipment was removed from Radom and moved to Steyr.
The area around the serial number looks suspicious as do the unusually large number of other stamps. The original Radom serial number would have been a letter and 5 digits.
A picture of the left receiver rail would help with further identification.
"Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about."
"There is no expedient to which a man will not resort to avoid the real labor of thinking." Sir Joshua Reynolds
straightshooter
Warrant Officer C1
Warrant Officer C1
 
Posts: 1263
New South Wales

Re: Mauser k98k

Post by No1Mk3 » 05 Mar 2020, 7:33 am

G'day straightshooter,
660 was the dispersion code for Steyr, and was applied to those rifles made by them at that time including both M29 reworks to G29o as well as Radom G29/40 receivers. Steyr had been making these rifles on their own machinery from 1939, and Radom receivers are known bearing that date, but no earlier of course, just as G29o receivers are no later than 1939. Jmorros' rifle may be a Radom G29/40 and if so will bemarked on the side rail as such, but it may be a completely German rifle, and will carry no markings as Steyr did not mark the siderails of their K98k until 1941, Cheers.
No1Mk3
Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
 
Posts: 2090
Victoria

Re: Mauser k98k

Post by Bill » 05 Mar 2020, 11:25 am

hey great Mauser K98 Jmorro, thanks for the pics. :thumbsup:

Ive been on the hunt for a genuine M/94 fortress Carbine Swede, maybe someone has one tucked away....
When a guy is digging his own grave, you don’t fight him for the shovel.

Success leaves clues, Fools follow failure !

20 Hornet, 218 Bee, 222 Rem, 256 WM, 6mm ARC, 6.5 Grendel, 6.5x55 Scan, 270 Win, 357 Mag, 358 Win, 9.3x62, 500 A Square
User avatar
Bill
Warrant Officer C1
Warrant Officer C1
 
Posts: 1253
New South Wales

Re: Mauser k98k

Post by bladeracer » 05 Mar 2020, 3:59 pm

Bill wrote:hey great Mauser K98 Jmorro, thanks for the pics. :thumbsup:

Ive been on the hunt for a genuine M/94 fortress Carbine Swede, maybe someone has one tucked away....


I'm second in line for an M94/14 just now, I don't know that there are any M94's around Oz at all, most are going to be the "/14" updates.

If I don't go ahead on it I'll make sure he is aware of your interest.
Practice Strict Gun Control - Precision Counts!
User avatar
bladeracer
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 12655
Victoria

Re: Mauser k98k

Post by StraightWhiteMale » 05 Mar 2020, 4:25 pm

I have my eye on a nice M1 Garand but it will be a kick in the teeth to buy it and have to leave it at the store and never be able to touch it.
StraightWhiteMale
Lance Corporal
Lance Corporal
 
Posts: 167
Queensland

Re: Mauser k98k

Post by Bill » 05 Mar 2020, 6:21 pm

Yeah I know what ya mean Bladeracer, Ive seen 1 carbine but I recognised it was a converted 96 a decade ago at the Penrith gunshow. A few listed for sale in the USA for around $650 US but add in everything and you be looking at north of $1600 and thats buying sight unseen.

Im a patient guy, maybe Ill track one done next time Im stateside which is probably a few years away :thumbsup:
When a guy is digging his own grave, you don’t fight him for the shovel.

Success leaves clues, Fools follow failure !

20 Hornet, 218 Bee, 222 Rem, 256 WM, 6mm ARC, 6.5 Grendel, 6.5x55 Scan, 270 Win, 357 Mag, 358 Win, 9.3x62, 500 A Square
User avatar
Bill
Warrant Officer C1
Warrant Officer C1
 
Posts: 1253
New South Wales

Re: Mauser k98k

Post by bladeracer » 05 Mar 2020, 7:22 pm

Bill wrote:Yeah I know what ya mean Bladeracer, Ive seen 1 carbine but I recognised it was a converted 96 a decade ago at the Penrith gunshow. A few listed for sale in the USA for around $650 US but add in everything and you be looking at north of $1600 and thats buying sight unseen.

Im a patient guy, maybe Ill track one done next time Im stateside which is probably a few years away :thumbsup:



I've been looking for a Carbine for a while with no luck, so I have also been wondering about picking up a sporterised M38 Husqvana and rebuilding it into a faux-M94. For me it's about the experience of using the rifle, so a replica would be fine with me as an alternative. I don't have any use for safe queens, although I have decided not to fire one of my M1904's as a few have told me that it's a particularly nice example of a rare rifle.

My neighbour has family in Sweden, they visit here every Christmas so I was going to discuss with them the likelyhood of tracking down a Swede Carbine in its homeland. But then one popped up here so I never bothered them about it.

A US$650 rifle will cost you A$3000 by the time you get it here (I priced it up in August 2018 and ended up getting two rifles from South Africa for less money than getting one out of the US), more if you go through a broker. The M94/14 I'm looking at in Victoria is $2500.
Practice Strict Gun Control - Precision Counts!
User avatar
bladeracer
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 12655
Victoria

Re: Mauser k98k

Post by Bill » 05 Mar 2020, 7:49 pm

If I found one trust me it wouldnt be a safe queen, Im sitting on some original Mil ammo which id happily hunt with :drinks:
When a guy is digging his own grave, you don’t fight him for the shovel.

Success leaves clues, Fools follow failure !

20 Hornet, 218 Bee, 222 Rem, 256 WM, 6mm ARC, 6.5 Grendel, 6.5x55 Scan, 270 Win, 357 Mag, 358 Win, 9.3x62, 500 A Square
User avatar
Bill
Warrant Officer C1
Warrant Officer C1
 
Posts: 1253
New South Wales

Re: Mauser k98k

Post by Jmorro » 05 Mar 2020, 7:52 pm

Hey guys thanks for all the great info, I’m currently away at work but when I make it back home I’ll grab some more pics.

I do plan on firing the rifle but not often as for me it’s more a cool collector piece of history stored away in the safe. I also have a Soviet 1940 stamped m91/30 mosin nagant that I’ll chuck some pics up of and see what you guys think. I have a great interest in ww2 era stuff so it’s kinda cool to have the standard service rifle of russia and Germany in the safe next to each other :)

Thanks again legends
Jmorro
Recruit
Recruit
 
Posts: 2
New South Wales

Re: Mauser k98k

Post by bladeracer » 05 Mar 2020, 8:10 pm

Bill wrote:If I found one trust me it wouldnt be a safe queen, Im sitting on some original Mil ammo which id happily hunt with :drinks:


Do you mean the Norma M41 FMJ stuff?
I'd like to find 1000rds of the M41 stuff if anybody has a source for it. It's astonishingly accurate in all four Swedes I've used it in.
Attachments
Norma M41.jpg
Norma M41.jpg (574.22 KiB) Viewed 4566 times
Practice Strict Gun Control - Precision Counts!
User avatar
bladeracer
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 12655
Victoria

Re: Mauser k98k

Post by bladeracer » 05 Mar 2020, 8:18 pm

Jmorro wrote:Hey guys thanks for all the great info, I’m currently away at work but when I make it back home I’ll grab some more pics.

I do plan on firing the rifle but not often as for me it’s more a cool collector piece of history stored away in the safe. I also have a Soviet 1940 stamped m91/30 mosin nagant that I’ll chuck some pics up of and see what you guys think. I have a great interest in ww2 era stuff so it’s kinda cool to have the standard service rifle of russia and Germany in the safe next to each other :)

Thanks again legends


Great to see, grab the milsurps when you can find them, they're not making them anymore!
My Kar98k is a 1943 DOU from Brno.
Attachments
42824741_10155620988927854_6975597771462017024_o.jpg
42824741_10155620988927854_6975597771462017024_o.jpg (593.32 KiB) Viewed 4563 times
42766328_10155620989402854_1333471858032377856_o.jpg
42766328_10155620989402854_1333471858032377856_o.jpg (280.75 KiB) Viewed 4563 times
42756574_10155620990662854_8794018510054359040_o.jpg
42756574_10155620990662854_8794018510054359040_o.jpg (145.33 KiB) Viewed 4563 times
Practice Strict Gun Control - Precision Counts!
User avatar
bladeracer
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 12655
Victoria

Re: Mauser k98k

Post by Bill » 05 Mar 2020, 8:21 pm

yeap, as a silly young man I use to set up dads large angle grinder in a 3 legged vice and remove the tip :lol: would still go straight thru roo's and occasionally thru 2 :thumbsup:
When a guy is digging his own grave, you don’t fight him for the shovel.

Success leaves clues, Fools follow failure !

20 Hornet, 218 Bee, 222 Rem, 256 WM, 6mm ARC, 6.5 Grendel, 6.5x55 Scan, 270 Win, 357 Mag, 358 Win, 9.3x62, 500 A Square
User avatar
Bill
Warrant Officer C1
Warrant Officer C1
 
Posts: 1253
New South Wales

Re: Mauser k98k

Post by bladeracer » 05 Mar 2020, 8:45 pm

Bill wrote:yeap, as a silly young man I use to set up dads large angle grinder in a 3 legged vice and remove the tip :lol: would still go straight thru roo's and occasionally thru 2 :thumbsup:


I was a teenager when I was cutting the points off, and/or drilling holes in them, or pulling the bullet and reseating it reversed as a gaping hollow-point. There was no other 6.5x55mm ammo on the market that I knew of back then, everybody was using this stuff. Shooting rabbits or foxes with the FMJ just drilled a hole through them and dropped them on the spot.

I think it's commercial manufacture but made to fit the original military requirement - "mil-spec" I would call it.
You're not willing to part with a thousand rounds though ;-)
Practice Strict Gun Control - Precision Counts!
User avatar
bladeracer
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 12655
Victoria

Re: Mauser k98k

Post by wanneroo » 06 Mar 2020, 3:00 am

bladeracer wrote:
Do you mean the Norma M41 FMJ stuff?
I'd like to find 1000rds of the M41 stuff if anybody has a source for it. It's astonishingly accurate in all four Swedes I've used it in.


I think all the original surplus out of Sweden has long dried up.

On occasion it can be found in small quantities at larger gun shows here in the USA.
wanneroo
Warrant Officer C1
Warrant Officer C1
 
Posts: 1412
United States of America

Re: Mauser k98k

Post by bladeracer » 06 Mar 2020, 3:30 am

wanneroo wrote:[quote="bladeracer"

Do you mean the Norma M41 FMJ stuff?
I'd like to find 1000rds of the M41 stuff if anybody has a source for it. It's astonishingly accurate in all four Swedes I've used it in.[/quote

I think all the original surplus out of Sweden has long dried up.

On occasion it can be found in small quantities at larger gun shows here in the USA.


The stuff I used to shoot was '76 production I think, the stuff I have now is '06 production, long after it was phased out of military use as far as I'm aware. I'm assuming it's still being made in batches? I'll write to Norma and ask them.
Practice Strict Gun Control - Precision Counts!
User avatar
bladeracer
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 12655
Victoria

Re: Mauser k98k

Post by wanneroo » 06 Mar 2020, 11:28 am

bladeracer wrote:
The stuff I used to shoot was '76 production I think, the stuff I have now is '06 production, long after it was phased out of military use as far as I'm aware. I'm assuming it's still being made in batches? I'll write to Norma and ask them.


The latest Swedish military boxed ammo I have seen is 1986-1987. But perhaps they have made it from time to time for service rifle matches in Sweden. I know for instance the Swiss recently restarted production of GP 11 7.5 Swiss as the 700 million rounds in stock from the end of production in 1994 have been mostly used up by the military and shooters.
wanneroo
Warrant Officer C1
Warrant Officer C1
 
Posts: 1412
United States of America

Re: Mauser k98k

Post by bladeracer » 06 Mar 2020, 12:34 pm

wanneroo wrote:[quote="bladeracer"

The stuff I used to shoot was '76 production I think, the stuff I have now is '06 production, long after it was phased out of military use as far as I'm aware. I'm assuming it's still being made in batches? I'll write to Norma and ask them.[/quote

The latest Swedish military boxed ammo I have seen is 1986-1987. But perhaps they have made it from time to time for service rifle matches in Sweden. I know for instance the Swiss recently restarted production of GP 11 7.5 Swiss as the 700 million rounds in stock from the end of production in 1994 have been mostly used up by the military and shooters.


Response from Norma was less useful than a Green voter in a bushfire. They just directed me to look at their pretty products on their website. Nothing about what the M41 was made for, why production lasted so long, or if it is still being produced, or if the bullet is available to bandleaders. I can only suggest buying up any M41 you come across.

EDIT: I just noticed the autocorrect error there, but I like it. Should be "handloaders" of course :-)
Last edited by bladeracer on 07 Mar 2020, 3:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Practice Strict Gun Control - Precision Counts!
User avatar
bladeracer
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 12655
Victoria

Re: Mauser k98k

Post by Bill » 07 Mar 2020, 3:12 pm

bladeracer wrote:Do you mean the Norma M41 FMJ stuff?
I'd like to find 1000rds of the M41 stuff if anybody has a source for it. It's astonishingly accurate in all four Swedes I've used it in.


I just picked up another 7 boxes of M41 out at the Bathurst gunshow today and I might be onto some more.
When a guy is digging his own grave, you don’t fight him for the shovel.

Success leaves clues, Fools follow failure !

20 Hornet, 218 Bee, 222 Rem, 256 WM, 6mm ARC, 6.5 Grendel, 6.5x55 Scan, 270 Win, 357 Mag, 358 Win, 9.3x62, 500 A Square
User avatar
Bill
Warrant Officer C1
Warrant Officer C1
 
Posts: 1253
New South Wales

Re: Mauser k98k

Post by bladeracer » 07 Mar 2020, 3:28 pm

Bill wrote:[quote="bladeracer"Do you mean the Norma M41 FMJ stuff?
I'd like to find 1000rds of the M41 stuff if anybody has a source for it. It's astonishingly accurate in all four Swedes I've used it in.[/quote

I just picked up another 7 boxes of M41 out at the Bathurst gunshow today and I might be onto some more.


Nice find :-)
My brother is in Canberra so he can hang onto ammo up there for me if you come across a nice stash for sale ;-)
Practice Strict Gun Control - Precision Counts!
User avatar
bladeracer
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 12655
Victoria


Back to top
 
Return to Centerfire rifles