Isreali Mauser

[HOUSTON RICK]

The Mauser thread reminded me that I had years ago looked for an Isreali Mauser in good shooting condition. I never saw anything that was more than stamped driftwood and they wanted $400-$600 for something beyond rehabilitation. I understand the Isrealis put most of those rifles through hell and back, but that never helped me find a shooter. What does a good condition Isreali Mauser go for these days? Thank you.

 

[alwslate]

I see the Israeli Mausers on GB occasionally in junk condition at high
prices. Some of them probably aren't hardly worth the cost of shipping.
The Israelis do seem to have a reputation for treating rifles about
like they would treat a shovel for some unknown reason. As to the
going price for a good condition example that's a hard question to
answer because there is no quantity of good condition rifles for sale
that I know of. Around 15 yrs or so ago when there were many milsurp
Mausers coming in I bought several 98 Ks in 8mm in varying condition
at very good prices. One day at a gun show I spotted an Israeli .308
Mauser on a table with lots of other Mausers wearing a price tag that
was about the same as all the others. Not expecting much I picked it
up and checked the bore condition. To my amazement it was excellent!
In fact the overall condition was pretty good. Needless to say it came
home with me.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Somewhere around 1986 I had a 308 mauser of the laminated stock style with stamped trigger guard. It was a 44 or 45 production model with Nazi proof (struck out), an US ordinance "Bomb", a Yugo proof and a Star of David. It was in overall very good condition! I believe I paid $165 and sold it in 86 0r 87 for around $200. There was also a large quantity of Israeli 1973 ball ammo. I ended up buying about 1500 rounds and still have around 60 left. It shot better than some batches of Lake City Match I have had over the years. Out of a stock HK 91, it put 20 shots into a 1" group at 100 with Iron sights. The ammo had "Chloride" or semi-corrosive primers, so needed to be cleaned pretty soon after use.

The sights on the Israeli Mauser had been match perfectly to the 308 ball ammo I had! I was sorry I sold the rifle and wish I had a huge pile of the ammo!

Ivan

 

[DWalt]

I remember reading a story written by some guy who was in the Israeli Army back in the early days. He was issued a Model 98 in 8mm. He said the only problem with it was that he had to carry a brick-sized rock around with him so he could hammer the bolt open and closed after each shot.

 

[Arik]

The Israelis do seem to have a reputation for treating rifles about
like they would treat a shovel for some unknown reason.

Actually the reason is well known. Train, train, train, let the new guys train, train some more and when you're done training. ...do some more. Add in a few wars and the fact that these Mauser were already used (ww2) and you get what you get.

I think people ask too much for them because they are "Israeli" and that not too common but I don't think they're junk. They arnt collection pieces but perfectly fine working rifle. Ammo goes in one end, comes out the other, hit it's target. ..what more do you want?

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[HOUSTON RICK]

I see the Israeli Mausers on GB occasionally in junk condition at high
prices. Some of them probably aren't hardly worth the cost of shipping.
The Israelis do seem to have a reputation for treating rifles about
like they would treat a shovel for some unknown reason. As to the
going price for a good condition example that's a hard question to
answer because there is no quantity of good condition rifles for sale
that I know of. Around 15 yrs or so ago when there were many milsurp
Mausers coming in I bought several 98 Ks in 8mm in varying condition
at very good prices. One day at a gun show I spotted an Israeli .308
Mauser on a table with lots of other Mausers wearing a price tag that
was about the same as all the others. Not expecting much I picked it
up and checked the bore condition. To my amazement it was excellent!
In fact the overall condition was pretty good. Needless to say it came
home with me.

Very Nice, I have never seen one in safe firing condition.

 

[alwslate]

Actually the reason is well known. Train, train, train, let the new guys train, train some more and when you're done training. ...do some more. Add in a few wars and the fact that these Mauser were already used (ww2) and you get what you get.

I think people ask too much for them because they are "Israeli" and that not too common but I don't think they're junk. They arnt collection pieces but perfectly fine working rifle. Ammo goes in one end, comes out the other, hit it's target. ..what more do you want?

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Well Arik I can agree with you to a point and when they were
using mix master 98 Mausers put together from the despised
Nazi leftovers with new barrels in the savior's 7.62 ctg it's
easy to understand why the Israelis might not have cherished
the rifles as collectables. But in today's market anything
from WW2 is going to be listed for and sell at a price that is
far above it's value as a plain old used gun. And your
description of the Israeli Mausers as not too common but
perfectly fine working rifles completely misses the point. You
cannot generalize about a type of gun if you are looking for
a gun to actually shoot and use. The condition of the specific
gun you are considering buying is of utmost importance if
you want to use it regardless of the general condition of the
type. And the fact is that most of the Israeli Mausers seen
listed for sale are heavily rusted worthless junk.

 

[Arik]

Well Arik I can agree with you to a point and when they were
using mix master 98 Mausers put together from the despised
Nazi leftovers with new barrels in the savior's 7.62 ctg it's
easy to understand why the Israelis might not have cherished
the rifles as collectables. But in today's market anything
from WW2 is going to be listed for and sell at a price that is
far above it's value as a plain old used gun. And your
description of the Israeli Mausers as not too common but
perfectly fine working rifles completely misses the point. You
cannot generalize about a type of gun if you are looking for
a gun to actually shoot and use. The condition of the specific
gun you are considering buying is of utmost importance if
you want to use it regardless of the general condition of the
type. And the fact is that most of the Israeli Mausers seen
listed for sale are heavily rusted worthless junk.

Possibly, and i understand the market but..... all I require is a functional rifle. It could have been used as a hammer in its prior life. Or a mine sweeper. So long as it's a functional rifle condition isn't relevant. I don't need it to be pretty. Let me put it a different way. Money asside, if I had a rare one of a kind specimen of a rifle/handgun I'd still take it to a 3 day cqb course and put a few thousand rounds through it. It's still a firearm

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[alwslate]

Possibly, and i understand the market but..... all I require is a functional rifle. It could have been used as a hammer in its prior life. Or a mine sweeper. So long as it's a functional rifle condition isn't relevant. I don't need it to be pretty. Let me put it a different way. Money asside, if I had a rare one of a kind specimen of a rifle/handgun I'd still take it to a 3 day cqb course and put a few thousand rounds through it. It's still a firearm

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Ok, great, but the key word in your post is "I". We just don't
all think alike bud even though we all know that everyone
else should really think just like we do. It's a very common
human malady that most of us have. Most users of milsurps
in the good old still fairly peaceful USA expect more from a
surplus rifle than human silhouette group size at 100 yds.
Many of us have associated milsurps with the NRA and
target shooting, accuracy in general and hunting. Different
influences lead to different expectations, just the way it is.

 

[Arik]

Ok, great, but the key word in your post is "I". We just don't
all think alike bud even though we all know that everyone
else should really think just like we do. It's a very common
human malady that most of us have. Most users of milsurps
in the good old still fairly peaceful USA expect more from a
surplus rifle than human silhouette group size at 100 yds.
Many of us have associated milsurps with the NRA and
target shooting, accuracy in general and hunting. Different
influences lead to different expectations, just the way it is.

For something like that I'll buy a Remington 700. Surplus rifles are typically not target guns especially with surplus ammo. The other thing is bench shooting isn't much fun

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[alwslate]

Very Nice, I have never seen one in safe firing condition.

Thank you. I agree. I have seen a number of them listed on
GB that were basically just heavily rusted scrap metal. The
milsurp rifle market is constantly evolving and is far different
than it was just 15 yrs ago when large quantities of rifles
were coming in at nearly give away prices sometimes. For a
while it seemed like the 60s again. I picked through tables
full of Nazi 98Ks and bought a few somewhat rough but
fully usable rifles with shootable bores for as little as $55 a
gun. I picked through a pile of greasy No 4 Lee Enfields
and found two that had never been fired since being through
a FTR and had brand new barrels, one has a Savage receiver.
The dealer had a roll of paper towels sitting there for the
buyers use. The price was $69 each, your choice. But the
coveted .308 Israeli Mausers have always been a somewhat
rare bird in any condition. The Israelis must have pretty much
used them up and thrown them in a pile outdoors it seems
because I can't recall ever seening any for sale in quantity.

 

[mrrick]

I got an Israeli armory refurbished Brazilian contract 1908 Mauser with a new FN barrel in .308. It's like a new gun and shoots great. Only one I've ever seen. Got it from empirearms who only sells top quality surplus.

 

[Joe Kent]

I have 4 Israeli Mausers in my collection that are pretty decent. I have both WW11 German rebuilds and Israeli contracted FN's. All are in 308/7.62 and have unissued stocks. They were purchased approx. 30 years ago when they first started to be imported. I have turned down a $1000. dollar offer on two different times.{ I am not too sure two fools didn't meet, him for offering and me for not accepting}. Hope this helps a little on value. The overall condition on mine are all very good, not mint, but very good.

 

[wrench]

I don't think the Israelis left these to rust...my understanding is that many of them got sent to South America when Israel didn't need them anymore.
Older 'Armscorp' imports are usually in pretty nice condition.
Mine is an FN with a matching bolt, and a like new bore.
I did look for it for a long time, though, they don't grow on trees.

 

[model70hunter]

I bought one at a gun show 6 or 7 years ago. The guy had put it in an unfinished modern stock, the bolt handle was replaced. It was in 308 and super accurate. I scoped it and it was my truck gun for years. Then I made the mistake of finishing the stock, first guy that looked at it bought it. I seem to remember reading that they were an accurate rifle.

I have not looked for another one.

 

[alwslate]

I got an Israeli armory refurbished Brazilian contract 1908 Mauser with a new FN barrel in .308. It's like a new gun and shoots great. Only one I've ever seen. Got it from empirearms who only sells top quality surplus.

Nice! I'll bet it wasn't cheap.