I've always wanted a K98 Mauser and the wife is agreeable to getting one. What I didn't realize was that there were so many different models out there.

Any Mauser owners out there? I've read to avoid places like Mitchell's Mausers. I personally would like something that shoots but isn't too far out there as far as cost.

I would go for an Israeli Mauser because it takes 7.62mm Nato, which is easier to get.

I have a refurbished post war Yugoslavian M48 model that fires 7.92 cartridges. It was purchased from a gunsmith up in PA several years ago. I really like it. It's steady and accurate.

I have 2 Mauser K98k. By no means am I any kind of an authority on them, but here is what I know.

Matching number 98ks are pretty expensive. If you are not a real collector there is no reason to be concerned about that.

There are a lot of Russian capture RC 98ks available. Both of mine at RCs. The condition of them varies from very good to pretty poor. The critical thing is the bore. You can work around everything else. Gunbroker.com usually has some. You shouldn't be paying more than $350 for one. I would try gunshops, pawn shops, and gunshows. Mitchels actually had pretty decent 98ks, but the remainder are supposedly getting to the lesser ones as they run out. The beef against Mitchels was that there were accusations that they "force" matched parts - restamped. The Yugos were very good condition. I just prefer the standard German 98ks. The wood is more delicate and streamlined looking compared to the humped Yugos. The actual quality of the wood is better on the Yugos - although the laminated German stocks are actually better. Most RCs have the Nazi markings peened out. So if you want one undamged with Eagles and swastikas, you have to search a bit. The different factories had some differences in stamping. Not a biggie. I got one of mine because I liked the way they scrolled some of the stamping.

The Belgian and Israeli reissues in 7.62 are harder to come by and generally cost a bit more. But I agree with Paul that it is nice to have them in the modern caliber. I have one of the Czech vz.24 (Czech Mauser 98k) that has been rebarreled to 7.62. Wanted it because of the modern cartridge and because of my Czech ancestry. However, the old German 8mm Mauser is slightly larger and longer than 7.62, so the ejection requires some real work to get to work correctly on a slow extraction. A hard fast extraction works fine, but a slow doesn't.

The 98ks are men's rifles. Powerful kick. Mainly iron sights. Scoping is a little more difficult. As for the basics, Mauser created a masterpiece that stands the test of time. There really isnt a significant step in the design and function over the Mauser. Hard to improve on it.


When I get home tonight, I will post pictures.

Here are my two 98ks.



and the Czech VZ.24



Here is what I mean about markings. You can see the undamaged original stampings and the scroll.



The Russians varnished them with a reddish varnish. Finish looks pretty bad. I left one original and redid one.







Looks different now.



Every Mauser 98k I have ever shot shoots high. Had to do a small build-up on the front sight post that can easily be removed for back to original. Wanted to scope it without drilling holes in the receiver. Got another of the sight beds and used it to rig on a scout scope.

Here it is next to my buddies Yugo.





The way I did the scout scope (long eye relief 2x7 variable mag) means I can remove it with no damage to the rifle.

Sorry I dont have any targets. It shoots well, but isn't a tack driver.

Unless you want the Mauser just because you want it, you are better off going Remington 700 in the caliber of your choice.

Now the VZ.24 is a tack driver.

Sweet shots. I've looked at a couple. There is a Spanish Mauser that fires NATO 7.62 that I thought would be a good rifle to own. At 250 bucks it seems affordable. I saw an Israeli that was NATO as well. I am looking for something that shoots well, not necessarily a WW2 piece.

Thanks for the advice.

I have little more to add, other than the Mauser action has been the start of so many modern target or hunting rifles. I believe ou can buy brand new "Mauser" actions today. Engineered well right from the start.

Oh, and Czech's know how to make quality firearms, whether it's the BREN, the CZ-75 pistol, CZ-550 hunting rifles, VZ-58 military rifles...they are common and very highly regarded in Canada. I consider the CZ-75 to be the spiritual child of John Browning's HiPower design, albeit with a few major upgrades. And their VZ-58 is a substantially better rifle than the AK-47 IMO. Actually, in Canada these days the Czech hunting rifles are starting to have a BETTER reputation than Remington's falling reputation. Remington USED to be really good, their older rifles and shotguns are still going very strong...but their quality control has suffered massively in the last ten years, and so quality can be hit or miss on many of their products. But a Czech made Mauser should be outstanding, comparing apples to apples, so if you can get one in 7.62Nato/.308 chambering for a reasonable price, it should serve well for a long time.

Nothing much more to add here either, since OG covered things really well. As he said, the biggest thing with K98s is the bore. I have a Russian Capture K98 that is of course a total mix of parts (but does have the swastika still present), but it shoots great because the bore is in very good shape.

As for Mitchell's - run as fast as you can from them. Overpriced guns and questionable marketing.

@OG: one other country that used "original" K98s were the Yugoslavians. After WWII they received a large number of K98s to help rebuild their military, and so they scrubbed these of their German markings and restamped them in a way that is very similar to M48s. I'm on the lookout for one, because all the pics I've seen of them showed that the Yugos really took a lot of care in refurbishing these rifles.

Norway also used a lot of K98s after WWII, some was kept in the original caliber, some was refitted to 6.5x55 Swedish.

Mine is called a M/67, which is a K98 refitted with a heavier barrel and in 6.5mm. It has also had all the original markings removed.

WIth the M/67s they took some of the best/most accurate weapons of the huge stockpile they had after the german surrender and redid them as match/marksman rifles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauser_M67

Yep, I've seen some pics of really nice K98s that were re-barreled after the war by the Norwegians.