Help with old (Mauser) rifles?

[civil1977]

I'm trying to help my brother in law identify these old rifles. He has inherited them from his father, who was a WWII vet, and he is trying to figure out what they are. He's not a gun guy so he sent me the pictures to review, but I know more about US military arms than these. They appear to be Mausers of some sort but I know many countries manufactured them under license so there are many variations.

Any help on what they are and what they might be worth would be appreciated. Sorry for the quality of the pictures....it’s the best he could do. He’s about 600 miles away so I can’t inspect them personally.

They are not for sale, just looking for information. Thanks.

 

[walnutred]

The one with the lighter colored stock was made by Waffen Werke Brunn AG, Bystricai in 1943 and I think the 1936 production one was made by Mauser.

 

[LVSteve]

Both are Mauser K98k rifles in 7.92x57. The lighter coloured DOU 43 example is missing the handguard. That one also has the later fabricated upper band rather than the milled H type band you can see on the S/42 marked rifle. I suspect 1943 was the year they started to use fabricated rather than milled bands to speed up production.

If those rifles are all matching and the stocks have not been "duffle-cut" they are worth a fair amount of money.

 

[2152hq]

Model 98 Mauser issue rifle for Germany in WW2.
98k,,K98,,K98k,,I don't really know which designation is correct. There's volumes written on them. A shortened version of the long barreled Gewehr98 rifle used by Germany in WW1.

As with any collectables,,condition and originality command price.
The earlier 1936 Mauser made rifle (I think these K98's were first used in 1935) would show better craftsmanship than what many call war-time production of the 1943 DOU manufacture.
Shortcuts in making small parts,,laminated stocks, stampings, ect.
That doesn't necessarily mean lesser value when it comes to collector pricing. Matching ser# on parts. The correct maker markings on those parts. Not having been refinished or altered from issue condition all drasticly effect price (I think the DOU is missing the handguard). Excellent bore condition is an obvious plus.

They are not the cheap $20 rifles I and others once remember them as!
Several hundred dollars and up,,way up most times,, for the right maker, rarity of production, year of production, condition, perhaps a minor variation ( there are many).
Someone who really lives these things like any other intensly sought after collectable can tell if they are 'right' or not and what the real world values are.
Don't just let them go as 'old Army guns' till you get a hands on look from someone that really knows them,,and you can trust. The latter is often the harder of the two.
Good luck!

 

[feralmerril]

The K-98`s were sought after just for the actions to build custom rifles. My dad had a couple and just trimmed them down. He put a nice lyman peep on one and used it for deer hunting. He shot many deer with it. Unfortunately it was one of a armfull of family guns stolen from me. I have wrote of it before.

 

[Texas Star]

Note that the mess on them that looks like rust may be cosmoline or some other preservative grease. That can be cleaned off. Use normal gun oil on them, like Break-Free CLP. But USE it. Don't let them rust and pit.

The stocks look pretty good, the metal parts more worn, with little finish.

Frankly, I am appalled that the OP is so focussed on US arms that he cannot recognize such basic enemy arms of the past.
I can understand not knowing whether a particular very similar rifle might be Belgian or Czech or Polish made rather than German, but good Lord, not to recognize the 98k in basic form... And not to know the S/42 code for Mauser? Reprehensible!

That's as bad as the lads who post here that they know S&W N-frames well, but can't tell one K-frame from another! I just MARVEL at things like that.

On the plus side, the guy who owns these rifles and who isn't even "into" guns took quite good informative photos, given the low quality of his camera.

Oh: no one mentioned that the cleaning rods are missing . Surplus dealers probably have some. They fit in a recess in the stock under the barrel. In place, they look like a slimmer rod beneath the exposed portion of the barrel.

And I should probably add that the lighter stock is made of laminated wood, to speed production and to better stabilize the wood to withstand severe weather conditions. But this stock looks dried out. Needs some refinishing. Maybe floor wax would do? Generally, collectors don't like refinished arms, but that shouldn't hurt. And the condition of these isn't pristine, anyway. I'd try to replace that missing handguard portion, too, it it doesn't cost too much for a rifle that worn.

For prices, buy a copy of, "Shotgun News" and look at the ads. Compare the condition of these rifles to those in the ads. The Czech one looks no better than NRA Condition Fair to Good. The photos aren't good enough to tell on the Mauser-made example.

 

[sheepdawg]

The dou 43 laminate stock appears to have been sanded. It is a very common code but if numbers matching still sought after. A red glue handguard can be bought on ebay for around $25-$35 dollars.

The 1936 C 42 stock looks almost too good especially around the pistol grip and as with the dou the bolt takedown disk looks far too good. The front band looks like it's sitting too far up on the rifle exposing the front of the bayo lug. There should be a bandspring that fits into a slot on the the right side in between the two bands.It will have a round bump that fits into a hole on the front band. I cant tell from the pictures on the bandspring but the frontband would end flush to the bayo lug to be correct. Even with the possible redone stock this one is a highly sought after rifle because good pre war ones are rare though that code is somewhat common. Everything on that rifle should be numbered as was done till about 1940. If all numbers match even with a few problems this one could still could fetch $1000.

Both rifles should have cartouches on the right side of the stock just in front of the takedown disk and under the pistol grip. A duffle cut will not effect value much if repaired nicely as it is an almost certain sign of a vet. bringback.

Look at the numbers and see if they match. Post some pictures of numbered parts and of the serial numbers on the barrel and the receiver. Post waffenmarks too, the WaA numbers.

 

[civil1977]

Frankly, I am appalled that the OP is so focussed on US arms that he cannot recognize such basic enemy arms of the past.

Good point, but then again we did win the war (twice) and I'm not typing this in German. I did recognize them as Mauser actions, I just didn't know which of the seemingly endless number of variations they were.

Thanks to all for the good information and I welcome any further thoughts......

And I'm not without some enemy arms....I do have this German dress dagger.

 

[rock doc]

Check out this link for K98 information.
Firearms and Uniforms of the Wehrmacht

 

[civil1977]

Good stuff. Thanks.