See what I've learned ?

I saw this ad and I just wanted to see if I have learned anything about evaluating a rifle. First I notice is the nice shiny butt plate that matches the nice shiny receiver. The bolt handle is nice and shiny also but the bolt body is a different looking finish to it. There is no picture of the underside of the wrist so cant tell if its an armory replacement ( stock kinda shiny too). I am not too sure about that screw of the left side of the wrist ? There seems to be some missing proof markings on the barrel. I dont know much about barrel bands yet but they seem correct. Trying to educate myself to be able to pick out a nice rifle. This one was relisted because no one bid on it. Opinions welcomed.

typical Russian capture rifle. Reddish wood, shaved left side butt with added serial force matched to the action. Black paint on discs. Heavy reinforcement bolt through the stock wrist(not all had them). Electro penciled numbers force matched...etc..etc..

Typical for what it is, an RC (russian capture). Not faked or a Mitchel's.

So would u call it legit and not humped? Isnt 625 kinda high ?

It's legit in the fact that as an imported Russian Capture rifle, it is as it should be. Price is about average on it, not low or high. About right for what it is.

mowzerluvr said:

It's legit in the fact that as an imported Russian Capture rifle, it is as it should be. Price is about average on it, not low or high. About right for what it is.

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Agree with all the above. "Original Russian Capture" is becoming a thing, as much as I thought it was a joke when I first saw some of the fanatics discussing this on Gunboards. True story. Apparently there are some in the collecting community who value these 'as is' (i.e. weird multi-tone blackening and sloppy shellac) for their place in history. In any case, possibly this and the ever tightening available supply seem to have the prices firmly fixed in the 550ish-700 range. Seems the new normal to me.

Anything can be collectible, we see toast with the image of Jesus Christ fetch enough money to buy a 1982 Yugo in running condition; or discarded Britney Spears chewed bubble gum or Johnny Depps used condoms pull enough for a week of heart disease at MacDonalds "restaurants"... None of this changes the fact rc's are refinished shooters and good for little other than merchandise a charlatan can use to turn a buck on inexperienced novice collectors. Most of the carnival barkers that peddle rc's, or the "collectors" that promote them on the forums are opportunists that either sell or have sold them using fantastic stories straight out of a Sgt. Rock comic book. Which is generally the limit of their reading comprehension...

I have a high level of hostility to any of these promoters, boosters or conmen, - our community of collectors rally to the tallest soapbox to ridicule the crimes and abuses of humpers and hucksters that sell "enhanced" rifles to the unsuspecting, but these rc's boosters are no better, for one they have destroyed every collectors forum I have been associated with... they have gone from Gun & Knife, to MSA, to Gunboards and they are here in growing numbers. They come with idiotic questions and themes, how best to accurize my rc, how to, or comically, is it ok to remove the shellac the Russian's slopped on my rc, and why do "elitists" hate the rc? For 40 years refinished anything is shooter grade, total mismatched equates to the same, or a parts donor grade, but with these Stalingrad rifles it is different? These rifles have no "history" other than what is concocted in some perverts imagination...

Any rc is a shooter, unless the barreled receiver is some special case, a especially rare maker-date (then it is a rare shooter grade), it is idiotic to pay more than $200-300 for it, unless you are some opportunist that seeks to flip the rifle on some ignorant boob... which is perfectly fine and acceptable, but when you come to a collectors forum expect some hecklers.

heavy_mech said:

Agree with all the above. "Original Russian Capture" is becoming a thing, as much as I thought it was a joke when I first saw some of the fanatics discussing this on Gunboards.... In any case, possibly this and the ever tightening available supply seem to have the prices firmly fixed in the 550ish-700 range. Seems the new normal to me.

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$250 is tops for me.

I think the days of $250 RCs are long gone but I too have never had any great interest in them. Not judging guys that happen to like them for what they are but the interest was just never there for me. I actually just recently bought my first one and it was a BSW. I figured the likelihood of my finding a bringback BSW that I could afford is pretty small. 50 years from now, collectors might look at me like we do the sporterizers of the '50s and '60s, but I don't really have a problem not keeping an RC in "original RC" configuration.

The one and only rc in my safe is a byf43 that my father purchased for me at $200. For the money they're fetching now, with some looking, you can generally find a sportered original that would function way better and retain more value in the long run.

I would like to have one, but a straight up Soviet modified one, "original". I think that everyone needs to start somewhere with their collecting interests and some guys, particularly younger ones, can't fork out $1500 for a matching K98k to start. Back when I was a kid, 13, my first Mauser was a matching Vz.24, nice rifle, that I paid $85 for at a show. That was about 8-10 yards mowed. Today, 10 of those mowed yards gets you about $350. My 10 yard Vz.24 is now worth over 25 yards mowed. Whatever all that means.

Thats kinda where I am, helping my son whos AD USAF to find his first K98, he has an Enfield he paid 250 for and a Mosin he paid 200 for it hard to justify 750+ on E-4 pay.

Hambone said:

My 10 yard Vz.24 is now worth over 25 yards mowed.

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Funny, I view each my of purchases the exact same way/method even as an adult, and it was even commented on yesterday. Glad to see I'm not the only one.

I have wasted a fair amount of time ranting about guys spending more for an RC than they would if they bought an otherwise original bolt mismatched example or sometimes a matching rifle with sanded stock, etc. I agree with what Paul stated regarding the RC guys taking over other discussion boards like locusts. The most rabid and vocal ones obviously have an interest in maintaining or increasing prices. There are plenty of cool rifles that can be had in the $800-1,000 range, both in WW2 German-used rifles and throughout firearms. That amount typically buys a solid example of something. You will occasionally see matching, original byf 43's, byf 44's, and dot 1944's in that range. I would not take multiple RC's in trade for any matching 98k I own, regardless of how common the code. You can find matching German modified Vz-24's in the same price range. Same thing with many other Beutewaffen. I get it that one has to start somewhere or may want a shooter. The amount someone is willing to pay for something is typically related to one's wealth and time. If someone doesn't care about dropping $750 and just wants the RC as a shooter, example, or toy, I get it. I wouldn't do it though. But why someone would knowingly purchase more than one for $800-1,000 is a mystery to me, particularly when that person regularly visits discussion forums. It is definitely not clever. No one seems to have much trouble grasping what MM's are, yet the same guys will fawn over an RC resto-mod that cost over a grand to do.

I agree. Once you get past $500, start looking for a bolt mm. The RC discussions are over at the GB K98k forum and when some of those guys want to move in to original K98ks they can come here.

I just sold two non import, former sported, m/m rifles. I reassembled them to WW2configuration. Both for less than $650 with original parts. They're out there.

Yes I agree the Russian capture thread is getting quite old on other discussion forums. I will say this a Russian capture was my first k98k rifle but I just wanted a shooter and I only paid 300 bucks for back in 2008. When I started learning more and upgrading my collection I sold it so I could buy a bolt mismatched rifle later.

But I think it gets quite old when I see a discussion on them that last 40 something pages on Gun boards. And it's always the same questions should I remove the shellac, can you give me any history on it, is it original WWII, was this taken off a dead German, who made it, I think these are going to be worth $1,000 and up one day, its the same as an original WWII bring back, etc.

And then on top of that just a couple days later another one pops up again and the discussion starts over again with the exact same questions.

My opinion the only Russian capture rifles I really think our interesting are Vietnam bring back types.

Warrior1354 said:

My opinion the only Russian capture rifles I really think our interesting are Vietnam bring back types.

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I agree bringback RCs are pretty neat, if only for the history. If nothing else, I still think RCs are good for (more affordable) placeholders for rare codes, if that’s your thing. I know I wouldnt turn down an RC swjXE! Haha! The only known ‘36 BSW happens to be an RC as well... Now RC byf44s or dot44s and other common codes are entirely different animals and my interest in one is nonexistent.

You know as well as I do that bolt m/m's are available for these high rc's ranges, - it takes some effort and patience, maybe even some resolve in some markets, but it is not especially challenging if you are seeking a common maker-date. Also the tried and true path of making friends among more experienced collectors is worth the effort... I met Mauserbill by buying his castoffs, eventually I became one of his first calls when he wanted to move a rifle or bayonet. When I sold my collection most went to the two or three guys I knew and trusted, only a couple went on GB.

It is the lazy and the half-hearted that get suckered into total refinished mismatchers and my quarrel is not with them, rather with those shysters that pass the rc off as an investment or who concoct elaborate tales about their history, which without some evidence (like VN paperwork) are just ridiculous stories. They take advantage of new collectors who are in a hurry and grew up in an age of soundbites, few have probably ever read a full length book, - today most people can't be bothered to read more than a couple page article, if it is more lengthy than a soup label most kids fall asleep... they live in a world of twitter and facebook and their capacity for critical thinking reflects this fact.

Lastly, although I have utter contempt for these rc proponents, I am not on a crusade to save the "masses", screw them too; my objective is to prevent this forum from being overtaken by the locust Eric mentioned. These "flap copy historians" (synopsis historians) whose history comes from the reading of dust jacket copy, are as much a plague on this hobby as any humper, for they offer nothing but a locusts harvest with their presence.

Hambone said:

I think that everyone needs to start somewhere with their collecting interests and some guys, particularly younger ones, can't fork out $1500 for a matching K98k to start.

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There is nothing wrong with that rationale, I too would place some "collector value" on an BSW/36, and a few other maker-dates, - and there is nothing wrong with an rc as a shooter. I have an ar/43 a very good friend gave me about a decade ago. I keep it handy for coyotes in my work shop, so i don't have to go fetch a rifle from the house. I would never have bought it, but i am glad I have it as it has come in handy... He "restored" it, new stock, Ken found me a MB/43 bolt for it and its pretty accurate. So not rc "collector grade"... I also own a SKS, so I have nothing against Russian arms, or Russians, - bought it in 1993 or so when they came out.

The locust are my target and I find them especially disagreeable, these hooligans, these vandals, these saboteurs that go from one forum to another leaving devastation in their path when all the actual collectors get disgusted enough to leave or lurk.

Wolfsburg said:

If nothing else, I still think RCs are good for (more affordable) placeholders for rare codes, if that’s your thing. I know I wouldnt turn down an RC swjXE! Haha! The only known ‘36 BSW happens to be an RC as well... Now RC byf44s or dot44s and other common codes are entirely different animals and my interest in one is nonexistent.

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