[waynesifmeister]

I just bought a Mauser K98 rifle and will not be able to pick it up from the dealer until next wee, so I cannot post any pictures on it at this time. I am trying to find out some information on my rifle. I know it is a Russian capture and the serial numbers on the ammo drop clip does not match with those on the barrel. On top of the receiver, there is a number 237, below it is the year 1939. On the left side of the barrel, there is a X above the number 4014. There is a capital A on the bottom of the handgrip of the stock, it has a small metal buttplate. On the front end barrel band, there is a number WA 65 underneath what looks like an eagle with straight lines going down. I don't know if these are waffenmarks, but these markings are on the barrel, receiver. I did not write down the numbers on the tigger guard (I could not find any) or the numbers on the ammo drop plate. The stock is a dark brown. There is a number 4014 stamped on the left side of the stock and 4014 electic stencilled on the bolt. The barrel was reblued but there is a plum coloring on the metal on the right side of the bolt. I will try to get pictures later on. Any help will be appreciated.

 

[moconfed]

Congrats on your purchase! Be careful- k98's are addictive! Soon, they won't fit under the bed anymore- they'll migrate under the couch, etc..!

 

[waynesifmeister]

additional info

I have some additional numbers. The nymber 2201 is on top of the safety switch, 930 is on the side of the safety switch, the drop plate number is 2609 and 0770 on the bottom of the magazine carrier. I took some pictures but do not know how to transfer them onto this site. The bore looks real good and is not counter bored.

 

[History]

Sounds like a Russian captured and refurbed rifle. It's a real WW2 German rifle with real German parts , some people love these some dont. I like them all and have a few Russian captures myself. Congrats and yes you better have a big bed to cover what potentially this could cause.

 

[johnnymustang]

Read the sticky just above this that says "All new k98 collectors start here".

That will give you some idea on things.

RCs are a collection of parts that the Russians re-assembled. Best thing is to get the best bore. Typical RC attributes are the X stamped somewhere around the serial on the receiver, the ugly shellac on the stock, the serial stamped in the side of the stock, the black paint on metal parts and all different parts.

Stocks don't match metal, the serial in the stock is a Russian thing, Germans put serial on the underside and in the inner channel.

Hope that helps some. If you decide you like K98s, look for a bolt mis-match K98 for a better example.

And welcome.

 

[PREDUZECE 44]

CONGRATS on your first 98k. It is a great rifle and you'll enjoy learning its history and shooting it.
Here is some info on its stamps and markings:
237 = Manufacturer's Code for Berlin Lubecker
1939 = year of manufacture
X = Soviet's indicator for a foreign arm - its supposed to be crossed rifles but in reality is an alpha character - don't know what the letter might translate to in the Cyrillic alphabet, if they even have this character
4014 = the original serial number given the rifle at the Lubecker factory. The serial number may also include an alpha character which will be located below the SN or following it. When you disassemble the rifle for a thorough cleaning and inspection you may find some stampings below the wood line on the barrel. In addition to the waffenamts and a constellation of alpha characters you will likely find the barrel's lot number which will consist of a combination of letters and numbers indicating the barrel or steel manufacturer and the year and lott number the barrel was produced in.
A = is a craftsman or workers stamp indicating the shop or individual that worked on the stock. These single alpha characters can be found on various places around the stock and it is only an educated guess as to why they were put on the stock.
WA65 and eagle = this is a waffenamt or inspection stamp by the government inspector that was working at the Lubecker factory in 1939. This is usually a Wa655 but the last 5 maybe faint or missing. The eagle design on this stamp is leftover from the Weimar government - the the nazi's hadn't change the stamps and introduced their stamps in 1939.
The other numbers you are finding on the bolt, the trigger guard and the magazine floor plate are the serial numbers of the rifles originally left their factories with. When the russkies reworked these rifles after WWII the took them apart, sorted the parts into collection bins, they inspected these parts, cleaned and reblued or painted them and then assembled "new" rifles from these parts bins with no concern about matching original parts.

Hope this helps a little but these are fascinating rifles and sometimes with very interesting stories to tell.

 

[waynesifmeister]

new member and mauser

Thank you very much. The information gave me agreat del of knowledge of where the rifle was manufactured and confirmend that it is a real German made rifle. Once I get the rifle home, I hope to get better pictures that I can post. I paid $299 for it so I don't think I was taken in this deal, I am happy with the rifle and can't wait to shoot it. I ordered some 1950-s Yugoslav 8mm ammo but I hope the ammo is lead bullet not steel, if steel then I cannot shoot it at the local ranges.

 

[waynesifmeister]

new member and rifle

I forgot in my last post, is this rifle of any collector value, should I leave the stock alone or can I strip the stock and refinish it. The barrel is in excellent shape, so I don't want to do to much to the rifle. I plan on keeping it as a collector item but also plan on shooting it. I was going to convert it to a hunting rifle but I will probably do that with my Mosin Nagant since they don't have much of a collector value.

 

[Noble Sniper]

OUCH!!!!!!!!! why don't you kick the board owner in the head while your at it

 

[milsurp_collector]

I forgot in my last post, is this rifle of any collector value...?

Funny you should ask

http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?t=80094
http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?t=80931
http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?t=81277

I was going to convert it to a hunting rifle but I will probably do that with my Mosin Nagant since they don't have much of a collector value.

Are you sure about that?

http://forums.gunboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=3
http://www.mosinnagant.net/
http://7.62x54r.net/

 

[moconfed]

Thank you very much. The information gave me agreat del of knowledge of where the rifle was manufactured and confirmend that it is a real German made rifle. Once I get the rifle home, I hope to get better pictures that I can post. I paid $299 for it so I don't think I was taken in this deal, I am happy with the rifle and can't wait to shoot it. I ordered some 1950-s Yugoslav 8mm ammo but I hope the ammo is lead bullet not steel, if steel then I cannot shoot it at the local ranges.

See if you can find some Prvi Partizan ammo. Lead bullet-rangeOK(and cheap)! We ran into the same problem at our range.