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My first Mauser - S/42, 1937, 4630n (Portugal crest on the stock?)

Rich

Member
Hi forum!

This is my second post, the first being in the "What was your first Mauser"-thread.

I am a sports-shooter from Germany and recently acquired my first Mauser rifle. I saw one in January 2017 at my local gunshop, handled it and, after running the bolt and dry-firing it, fell into love with it instantly. The bolt ran smoothly, the trigger broke crisply and the bore looked reasonably bright. I figured that, being a pre-war manufacture, it would be of good quality and at a "cheap mistake" price, I would risk buying now and read up on stuff later. I was looking for a shooter, not a pure collectible, after all.

Due to our laws, it took me until March 1st, 2018, to take actual possession of the gun. I took it to the range the next day and I can say that it shoots straight; we only have a 50m range right now, but whatever. I ran 10 rounds of *old* Hege FMJ and 35 rounds of new Prvi Partizan 196 grain FMJ through it.

I love it.

About the gun:

S/42, 1937

Serial No 4630n, matching on all visible parts, I have *not* taken off the handguard, yet. [EDIT: I have now. Number in the wooden handguard matches.] There is no S/N on the safety.

Missing parts: Bayonet lug, cleaning rod, sling.

Damage: There was a "welding spot" on the adjustable sight to limit it to 300m. That has been removed, but left a hole. Several dings and notches in the wood.


My shooting skills with a gun are clearly better than my skills with an iPhone-cam. So please be gentle with me. If you would like any additional info or pics, just ask.
 

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More pictures.
 

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The rest.

Taking a picture of the bore with a mobile phone is a b*tch. ;)
 

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It looks like a regular production rifle diverted to Portugal to me. I like it. That is a hole I need to fill in my collection but they do not seem to be common here. Thanks for posting the photos!
 
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Port. 37

The first part of the contract was fulfilled from regular Army production, before the engineering changes were put in production specific to Portugal.
These are very scarce in the US.

B.
 
I thought I’d seen one of these Portuguese 98’s before, but the rear stock sling mount was different.


KJ
 
The M937A rear attachment is different. The rifles like this one, taken out of regular production, were just normal 98k's with a Portuguese rack number and the Portuguese crest on the stock.
 
The M937A rear attachment is different. The rifles like this one, taken out of regular production, were just normal 98k's with a Portuguese rack number and the Portuguese crest on the stock.


OK. That makes sense. Thanks.


KJ
 
Sadly, the "demilitarization" of the rifle in the 70s involved removing the bayonet lug und the cleaning rod.

Just for shits and giggles, what would be the value of the rifle? (I can't see myself ever selling it, but it would be interesting to have a ballpark estimate)

I have a WW2 production bayonet lug and a repro rod on the way to complete the look for now. ;)
 
First you would have want to find a buyer who knew what it was. Next he would have to be motivated to have it. In this condition, maybe $1,500 to $2,000. Like Bruce said, they really are uncommon here. I have a number of Portuguese contract rifles but have never handled one. I have seen them posted and mentioned on various boards at the rate of about every several years. I first found out about them when Bob Jensen did an article on one in the old KCN newsletter in the late 1990's.
 
Ooookay.

Seems I did okay on the price, then. The shopowner *did* say he hadn't really had a look at the guns yet... I feel a bit ashamed now.

If any of you want info or pictures for science, just let me know.
 

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You did great on the price. Some people in the US spend over double that amount to get a completely mismatched and refinished Russian refurbished rifle. I don't know how rare the early Portuguese diverted rifles are in Europe, but they are not common here and I am estimating the value in the US based on that. If it was the same value but without the Portuguese connection then it would likely be worth approximately $1,200 because of its condition, additional postwar proof marks, and missing bayonet mount. By the way, eagle/63 mounts are reasonably common and were only marked with the last two digits of the serial number. If you look for a while I would bet you could find an eagle/63 bayonet mount numbered 30 offered on eBay or through one of the various Traders. One of our Dutch members has sold a large quantity of ex-Norwegian parts, etc.
 
Sadly all the added stamps hurt but you still got that rifle for a great price! As was said that's probably easily triple or quadruple that here in the states. The 'demilitarization by removing the bayonet lug and cleaning rod' is really almost too ridiculous to contemplate. What genius of a politician thought of that?
 
Indeed.

So far I have found that neither the safety, nor the barrel band spring have a serial number.

I don't primarily care about the collector value, since I was looking for a shooter, but I *am* interested in the history of old stuff. What do you guys think may have happened? Is the fact that those parts are unnumbered -as opposed to having a mismatched number- of significance?


Fun fact:
I ordered an (unnumbered) bayonet lug and put it on the gun for now. When I fix my bayonet (Carl Eickhorn 1940), the "not barrel ring" (crescent?) touches the side of the barrel. At first I was wondering why that might be. Then I noticed that the front sight is markedly off to one side.
The gun shoots straight and the "peening" of the sight is still there - I conclude that the barrel came slightly bent off the production line.

I wonder if this touching of the barrel by the bayonet will significantly alter the point of impact. The bayonets' barrel ring was removed to counter this effect specifically, IIRC.
 
So, let me understand which version of these Portuguese 98k’s you guys are referencing are so scarce here in the states. Are you talking about the ones that were just pulled out of normal production, like the one Rich scored on, or the M937A versions? Or both? I would think that those that were just pulled from the production lines, like Rich’s, would be more scarce, but that’s just a guess. Like an imbecile, I didn’t buy the almost pristine M937A I had the opportunity to buy when I had the chance. About 5 years ago for $450 U.S.. Yes, I am an idiot...:facepalm:


KJ
 
This is a M937A:

http://www.k98kforum.com/showthread.php?2382-M937A-Portuguese-with-original-sling

Bruce's example is top shelf. They are probably a little bit less common than the later M937B's, but you will see them offered occasionally. The hardest thing with the M937A is finding one without pitting issues below the wood line. They do not tend to sell for quite as much as a comparable regular issue Kar.98k from the late 1930's. This may partially be due to them frequently having pitting issues or may be because some collectors don't see them as a wartime rifle and don't pursue them in the same way as the average German Kar.98k. Rich's rifle is obviously different than this. A less experienced collector might mistake the rack number for postwar Yugoslavian renumbering. I don't know to what degree they are really available in the US. I just know I do not see them discussed very often and cannot remember seeing one actually offered for sale. I also don't know if they happen to be common anywhere else (e.g. Europe, Canada, or Australia).
 
Sadly, the "demilitarization" of the rifle in the 70s involved removing the bayonet lug und the cleaning rod.

Just for shits and giggles, what would be the value of the rifle? (I can't see myself ever selling it, but it would be interesting to have a ballpark estimate)

I have a WW2 production bayonet lug and a repro rod on the way to complete the look for now. ;)

The demilitarization doesn't involved removing of the cleaning rod, according to the German gun laws. Your M937 got the new firing proof in February 1972 and here is the important part of the law from that time:

I. Weapon of war-list No.29a
2) To lose the feature of a weapon of war, the weapon has to be converted into a hunting weapon or sporting weapon -
a) The sights may only be adjustable from 0 to 300m (therefore the welding spot on your rear sight leaf).
b) The bayonet lug has to get removed

You have paid 229€ and that's a very good price, usually you pay around 500€ in this condition on the German market. Like the other members said, you can't compare it with the American market. Here the M937 is one of the most common K98ks and just rifles in great condition with matching bayonet became rare in the last years.

I have attached a commercial and the prices are still in Deutsche Mark, a time travel would be nice. You can choose between M937, M937-A and M937-B, in best condition like new, all matching and with matching bayonet you paid 278,-DM, around $170.
 

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