1938 Mauser

[Tonymin]

Ok I was not in the market yet so have done little research. But I was at this store yesterday and they had this Mauser I can't stop thinking about. I was dragged out of the store by my daughter so didn't take proper pics of markings.
The tag said 8 mm Mauser. The receiver said 1938. But in the picture it looks longer than K98 Mausers I see on the internet.
It was gorgeous, just the right amount of patina I like.
Does this picture help at all in somewhat identifying it?
Tag said $495
Thanks for any help or guesses.

[Emdawg]

That is most likely a K.Kale M1938 from Turkey.


I think $500 is expensive for one.


Here

[Tonymin]

I googled the K.Kale M1938 and it appears to have a straight bolt. This one has a bent bolt? Did they come both ways?

[justin4fun]

from what I can tell Emdawg has got it. it looks like a straight bolt in the pic too. I recommend staying away from that store as they are unfriendly and are known for lies high prices and excellent customer no service. you can find one cheaper. Good luck

[Tonymin]

I stopped by on my way back from my daughter's soccer game. I didn't talk to anyone about it. Loved the Mauser action and look. Had the feeling it was overpriced plus am about to send in CMP Garand order so would have bought it only if special or cheap.
A Mauser is on the list though but would prefer a German one to complete my WW2 rifle collection.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

$500 for a Turkish Mauser = No

[Bobby Ricigliano]

The rifle in the pic has a straight bolt. This can be determined by the fact that the bolt in the picture is protruding away from the receiver in a straight line.

[Tonymin]

I will hold out for German. Thanks guys. It was first time I touched a Mauser of any kind and liked it. At the time I thought it was German. It shows to always do your research before buying.
Back to dreaming of the impending arrival of my Garand...

[Crunch130]

That is definitely a Turk M1938 with a straight bolt. When the importers had gobs of them in stock 10-15 years ago, even more than the way they have gobs of Mosin 91/30's now, they were selling as cheap as $50 each.

Most of those M1938's typically have pretty worn-out barrels and excessive headspace. They must have been used as training rifles with corrosive ammo for a very long time. Guys bought them because they were CHEAP.

Some of them have good bores and are in decent shape and worth cleaning up. IF that's one of those, I would say $200. Some even had nice tigerstriped walnut stocks.

Over the years, military Mausers ended up being built in Germany, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Poland, Spain, China, Belgium, Turkey, and I'm probably forgetting a country or two.

The point of that is learn to ID the different models and have some clue about their rarity and collectability before you shell out $500 for one. Some are worth much more, and some much less. ASSUME that the guy in the gunshop either knows less about them than you do (unless the place specializes in old military rifles) OR he's "playing dumb" to headfake you into paying too much. TRUST ME, I've seen it many times. I say all this about the other countries to help inform other new collectors, given that you specifically want a German one. The best bet these days for a good condition Mauser at a reasonable price is a Yugo manufactured M24/47 or an M48, or a Yugo-reworked German K98. Prices should start around $300.

German K98's can be had as a Russian Capture starting at $400 to $500 these days, or an original for a lot more than that. Be wary, because many faked matching guns are out there (en mass courtesy of Mitchell's Mausers), or rifles called "vet bringbacks" that really weren't. Buy the rifle, not the story. A pre-1968 import (no import marks) is often advertised as vet bringback.

Regards,
Crunch

[Hardwarejunkie]

I agree, way too much for a Turk.
The ones I seen recently were in the $200 to $250 range.
When it comes to patina though, the Turks I've seen/own have that in spades.
I think Weidner's has some shooter grade Germans and some Yugo's, Samco has Yugo's and some Swedes.

[Gavelek]

200 most, nice picture though

[knucklehead0202]

turk mausers are nice, but that's about twice what it should cost. a year or two ago they were like 120 bucks at the gun show, back when you could still buy things at the show....

[6mmintl]

I was going to offer you a 98/29 Persian Mauser but you mentioned you wanted a rifle with "Patna", mine is "as new" with no rust, I mean "Patina".

I do have an 88-05 commission rifle in 8x57mm for $250 with lots of patina (grease/cosmoline/yak fat/rust/dirt ) for $250

[Discogodfather]

Interesting how the Turks used the model 1896, if you squint you can see a Swedish Mauser.

Which is what I would buy if I had a $500 budget for a Mauser.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

That is definitely a Turk M1938 with a straight bolt. When the importers had gobs of them in stock 10-15 years ago, even more than the way they have gobs of Mosin 91/30's now, they were selling as cheap as $50 each.

Most of those M1938's typically have pretty worn-out barrels and excessive headspace. They must have been used as training rifles with corrosive ammo for a very long time. Guys bought them because they were CHEAP.

Some of them have good bores and are in decent shape and worth cleaning up. IF that's one of those, I would say $200. Some even had nice tigerstriped walnut stocks.

Over the years, military Mausers ended up being built in Germany, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Poland, Spain, China, Belgium, Turkey, and I'm probably forgetting a country or two.

The point of that is learn to ID the different models and have some clue about their rarity and collectability before you shell out $500 for one. Some are worth much more, and some much less. ASSUME that the guy in the gunshop either knows less about them than you do (unless the place specializes in old military rifles) OR he's "playing dumb" to headfake you into paying too much. TRUST ME, I've seen it many times. I say all this about the other countries to help inform other new collectors, given that you specifically want a German one. The best bet these days for a good condition Mauser at a reasonable price is a Yugo manufactured M24/47 or an M48, or a Yugo-reworked German K98. Prices should start around $300.

German K98's can be had as a Russian Capture starting at $400 to $500 these days, or an original for a lot more than that. Be wary, because many faked matching guns are out there (en mass courtesy of Mitchell's Mausers), or rifles called "vet bringbacks" that really weren't. Buy the rifle, not the story. A pre-1968 import (no import marks) is often advertised as vet bringback.

Regards,
Crunch

/thread