K98, Bringback? (Pic Heavy)

[Bobby Ricigliano]

I picked this up today from a fellow Calgunner. It is a 1938 S/42 K98. The good news is that ALL of the metal parts except the bolt and cleaning rod match. The bolt is also 100% matching to itself. Waffenamts all over the place and none are peened or defaced. Bore has some very light frosting near the chamber but is generally shiny with nice sharp grooves. There are no RC marks and the rifle appears to have the original finish, no RC matte bluing.

The bad as pictured below is an unusual duffle cut. It had been repaired at some point but it looks like it could come loose easily. I have not removed the stock yet but it is period correct although no external numbers. Maybe it is stamped inside, but I'll know more when I do a full disassembly. The rifle has no visible import marks whatsoever.

The sling is old, but in decent shape. I believe it may be original. The rifle also came with a 1940 E.U.F. Horster bakelite handle K98 bayonet that does not match the rifle but does match the sheath (no frog).

I would appreciate any input from Mauser experts. If the stock does match the receiver I will try to have it professionally repaired. Otherwise, I may look for a replacement flat butt correct stock.

Here are some pics:

[Bobby Ricigliano]

[Bobby Ricigliano]

[pitfighter]

There is some argument to leaving the duffel cut as is.

Looks like a nice one for the collection.

[joefrank64k]

Wahoo...look at all those matching numbers! Looks like a nice pick up, BR.

Pitfighter made a good point...if the duffle cut is real, I think it should stay as is. Stabilize it so you can shoot it, of course, but don't try to "repair" it, if that makes sense.

I've got an Arisaka T99 that has a bullet strike on the rear barrel band (there may be a duffel cut, too. I haven't had it apart to see what's what) and it has a crude period "repair", but there's no way I'd repair the damage. It's what makes the rifle what it is!

[Enfield47]

Nice pick up Bobby. You can fix the duffle cut with some Acraglass but I don't know what it would do to the value. You can always find a replacement stock for shooting and keep the original stock unmolested.

[Gutz]

Great piece!!!

[Bobby Ricigliano]

Thanks for the comments guys. The front piece came loose in my hands when I was tapping the nose cap forward because it was a little off. It looks like it was repaired with dowels a long time ago and the glue is old and yellow. The jury is still out on this one. I can't imagine why it was cut in that obvious place rather than under the front barrel band.....

[TRAP55]

You have a contradiction.
A duffel cut would have a matching bolt, being brought back under the radar.
A papered bring back would be more likely to have a mismatch bolt, that would be matching to itself.
The duffel cut like that on a 98K is unusual too, usually cut under the rear band. The only time I've seen an angled cut like that, was on Mauser sporter rifles brought home.
Is the stock numbered to the rifle?

[Bobby Ricigliano]

You have a contradiction.
A duffel cut would have a matching bolt, being brought back under the radar.
A papered bring back would be more likely to have a mismatch bolt, that would be matching to itself.
The duffel cut like that on a 98K is unusual too, usually cut under the rear band. The only time I've seen an angled cut like that, was on Mauser sporter rifles brought home.
Is the stock numbered to the rifle?

I agree with your assessment. However, a duffel cut may or may not have a matching bolt, same with an all matching rifle that may or may not be duffel cut. These rifles were often worked on or had parts swapped out by German armorers prior to being captured by the U.S. I'd imagine a G.I. would not refuse a battlefield pickup just because it wasn't all matching.


Oh, and BTW I completely disassembled the rifle and the handguard and stock are stamped matching to the receiver. The duffel cut may be problematic if repaired because the saw displaced a bit of wood, making the realignment of the pieces off by a hair.

[Mark49]

Anyway you look at it, its beautiful... I own two of them all matching #S

[xDoodles]

Beautiful k98! It is a great buy and congrats!

[Bainter1212]

Sweet rifle.

I second the notion of picking up a second stock for shooting purposes. Keep the original stashed away in case of future sale.

[Crunch130]

Very nice rifle! I'd try to stabilize the repair and shoot it. Otherwise, Boyd's makes nice repro stocks.

Solid argument for it being a vet bringback. But the definitive issue is capture papers, which enhance collector value.

Regards,
Crunch

[GunKraut]

Nice looking rifle, appears to be legit. Pitfighter makes a good point, leaving a duffle cut as is for historical purposes. But since the original owner already glued it together, and now it's falling apart again, I wouldn't have an issue with cleaning up the glue joint and re-glue it with modern glue like Devcon.

The sling seems to be post war Israeli.