K98 Mauser

[8uck5nort]

I picked up a K98 mauser and 400 rounds of 8mm ammo over the weekend for 150.00 from a friend who had to get rid of it cause his new wife doesn't care for guns (ok, whatever). It appears to be in good working condition and I squeezed off 5 rounds, didn't hit anything as I have not figured out the sites yet. It is heavy so the recoil is next to nothing which really suprised me. Question is does anyone or has anyone ever used a mauser for hunting. Tips, Tricks, Do's and Dont's, and ammo recommendations welcome.

[jacannon63]

Many custom rifles have been built with 98 Mauser actions. I have hunted with one for years. If all the #s all match you might want to leave it as is. If not have the makings of a solid rifle if you want to build one.

[8uck5nort]

The serial numbers don't match. Barrel is stamped German (?) around 1939, Action is Turkish, I believe around 1914 (?) so it is a mismatch. It is probably not a "true" K98. Maybe a battlefield salvage?

Do you have any recommendations?

[8uck5nort]

I did some digging on the internet.

I was actually very suprised with amount of information on mausers out their. It turns out this was probably an earlier version German mauser sold to Turkey (The then Ottoman Empire) pre-WW1. Maybe as early as the 1890's. It was probably a Turkish rebuild/standardization to an 8mm caliber either in 1938 or later. There is some speculation that as the German army was retreating from Russia and then Greece in the 1940's, Turkey who was neutral at the time and sympathetic to the German army, provided refuge to some of the retreating units. In order to remain nuetral the Turks took the arms and equipment of the sheltered Germain units and absorbed them into their arsenal. I don't know for sure, but that is probably how a german K98 barrel stamped in 1939 ended up on a older Turkish non-K98 gun.

Ok, I'm a bit of history nut so this stuff spins my wheels.Now back to the hunting.

I have seen hunting ammo for an 8mm mauser. I currently have mil surplus ammo, which probably is not suited for hunting and I am assuming that you can shoot the modern stuff without altering/changing anything with the rifle itself. Does this sound accurate?

[Everyday Hunter]

ORIGINAL: 8uck5nort

I have seen hunting ammo for an 8mm mauser. I currently have mil surplus ammo, which probably is not suited for hunting and I am assuming that you can shoot the modern stuff without altering/changing anything with the rifle itself. Does this sound accurate?

On the question about ammo suitable for hunting, I'm assuming the mil surplus ammo has solid jacketed bullets. You could pull them and replace with expanding bullets of the same weight, and use the same powder charge.

On the question of shooting modern ammo, you should probably have a gunsmith check the headspace, action locking mechanism, etc., before you get too far.

Sounds like a nice find.

Steve

[8uck5nort]

I called a local gunsmith who will check out the gun for 45 bucks. I got a web link to the gunsmith if anyone is interested in looking. They also will give me an estimate on what it will take re-blue it and get it in hunting condition if I so choose. Re-blueing alone (and I am assuming this would be a hot re-blueing) would be around 175.00 dollars. Does that sound about right?

If you can't tell I'm a newbie to this.

I also looked at reload kits. New to that too. Wow this 150.00 gun and ammo is getting expensive quick, but have to admit I think I likes the idea of restoring a rifle and re-loading my own. It has an appeal.

[shaman]

The $150 Mauser can end up the $1500 Mauser if you want it to be.  $150 is a good price to pay for a decent action, then you rebarrel it to your favorite caliber, re-stock it, throw in a new bolt handle, a new trigger group etc. etc.

My advice is to do as little as possible. Once you start modifying it, there's no end.  Buy a Tupperware stock for it, and leave the heavy wood one home.  See what it does with cheap standard production ammo (Rem Green Box for instance).  That old surplus ammo may be your problem regarding accuracy.  If you absolutely HAVE to re-blue it, try a bottle of Birchwood Casey cold blue and a q-tip.  You might be pleasantly surprised.  Be also very careful with surplus ammo; it may very well have corrosive primers.

I got into Mosin Nagants the same way a few years ago.  The idea is the same.  As long as you don't do much of anything to them, you have a nice heavy gun to take to the woods on a rainy day.  Once you start turning the sow's ear into a silk purse, you'll quickly find the price tag rises well past the cost of a new production rifle. It used to be everyone wanted a custom rifle built on a Mauser action.  That was because there were so few other ways of getting a good rifle.  Nowadays, you can go to the store, buy a Savage 110 with and Accutrigger for relatively cheap and have a tack driver out of the box.  No muss, no fuss.

Even the DIY guys are getting to wondering why they do it anymore.  It used to be you'd get a milsurp lead sprayer for $5 bucks and take it into the shop, dump a couple of hundred into it and come out with a 4MOA rifle and you were the hit of the barber shop.  Nowadays the WWII surplus has all been picked through and all the good ones have been taken.  You've got a milsurp lead sprayers for $150 and up and $1000 later you're still stuck with a 4MOA rifle with $0 resale value and no end in sight trying to get it to where its driving tacks like you'd hoped. 

Then again, having your picture taken with a buck and your $150 WWII lead sprayer is getting to be retro and fashionable.  I have a picture out on the web of my son at 14 with an M1 Garand and a nice fat doe.  It's ended up on countless websites and forums, including a French language D-Day site. 

[8uck5nort]

Appreciate the feedback Shaman.
 
I figured this gun was going to get expensive unless I start figuring out how to do the work restoration and/or sporterizing work myself. In the long run learning is not a bad thing. However, my son wanted a "real" mauser as well, but he is more into the historical aspect not the hunting. So I have given the mauser to him. We are not going to sporterize it like I had first planned due to the escalating costs.
 
In working with the mauser I got a bit of a "bug" and found a nice already sportized 8mm mauser that was in very good confition for 200.00. It is already setup and ready to shoot. Guy used it for deer hunting in UP of Michigan. So now my son and I both have one and should not cost a small forutne to keep them shooting for either purpose.
 
I have never cold blued. Is there a trick to it? Tips and Tricks are always welcome.
 
 

[shaman]

I did some shotgun barrels a long time ago with Birchwood Casey gel.  My lab puppy peed next to the bed and it seeped under and got to all my spare shotgun barrels before I knew.  What a mess!  Anyhow, the blue did an okay job.  You could still tell on some of them, but it covered up the worst of it.  Just follow the directions. Make sure the metal is completely degreased before you try it, and don't eat the stuff.

You might also consult the 24HourCampfire's Gunsmithing forum. There are some really talented guys on there who can tell what's the best product. 

On the other hand, unless this rifle is near-hopeless. I'd just leave it alone.  The collector value goes to $0 if you re-blue.

BTW:  8MM Mauser is ideal (!!!) for deer.