Third Party Press

G 98/40 Project

Daltondbl

Senior Member
Never owned one before and went to a gun show today and there was a barreled action with the rear sight, barrel and receiver doesn’t match but the rear sight assembly and front sight matches the barrel. Figured I’d pick it up and maybe make a nice shooter out of it. Got it for $100. Has some pitting spots but not deep so it should be fine. Will be looking for parts in the near future. No import marks on the barrel. Any advice on this is appreciated before I dive in.
 

Attachments

  • D8C28F97-30CE-4D28-BE1B-D09DAE183A4C.jpg
    D8C28F97-30CE-4D28-BE1B-D09DAE183A4C.jpg
    323.5 KB · Views: 51
  • C042FCF7-A331-4479-B857-F8E155AF8BB1.jpg
    C042FCF7-A331-4479-B857-F8E155AF8BB1.jpg
    337.1 KB · Views: 28
  • BD89EED1-15EF-48DD-9BAB-2899E2750D6B.jpg
    BD89EED1-15EF-48DD-9BAB-2899E2750D6B.jpg
    323.2 KB · Views: 21
  • 7615F34E-1BE2-4C77-8B09-CDE05004CD20.jpg
    7615F34E-1BE2-4C77-8B09-CDE05004CD20.jpg
    320.2 KB · Views: 13
  • 4D2831CB-A17F-4894-B455-874CEBA126D2.jpg
    4D2831CB-A17F-4894-B455-874CEBA126D2.jpg
    324 KB · Views: 10
  • 066F1C06-518A-4734-B9E0-8FE8CB29A4A4.jpg
    066F1C06-518A-4734-B9E0-8FE8CB29A4A4.jpg
    317.1 KB · Views: 16
  • A5FE3BB6-DEDE-407B-805E-AB7B04EB94DE.jpg
    A5FE3BB6-DEDE-407B-805E-AB7B04EB94DE.jpg
    297.3 KB · Views: 14
  • 16C07449-B6C9-4700-9203-DF53BBAF3807.jpg
    16C07449-B6C9-4700-9203-DF53BBAF3807.jpg
    327.4 KB · Views: 12
  • 940BCF0C-2238-4AD9-8583-28C6154069A4.jpg
    940BCF0C-2238-4AD9-8583-28C6154069A4.jpg
    311.1 KB · Views: 19
  • 71775431-8026-470E-982B-687A31A3FCBD.jpg
    71775431-8026-470E-982B-687A31A3FCBD.jpg
    336 KB · Views: 21
  • 13C7D99C-0A15-4F42-A957-9A76C1BD7206.jpg
    13C7D99C-0A15-4F42-A957-9A76C1BD7206.jpg
    330.8 KB · Views: 18
  • 8188D038-06E8-4605-9D1C-C9EFDC00C476.jpg
    8188D038-06E8-4605-9D1C-C9EFDC00C476.jpg
    333.5 KB · Views: 18
Last edited:
It also appears that the barrel is on sideways as the serial number on the barrel is facing the bottom of the gun, if pulled from the receiver and the receiver lined up with it, the sights would be in the side of the rifle. I’m sure the do but does the entire rear and front sight assembly come off to just leave a bare barrel and then the sights repositioned on the barrel once it’s lined up with the receiver?
 
From the pictures you can see the barrel serial number in relation to the receiver, so my question is, can everything be turned to line up correctly? I’ll have a gunsmith do it.
 

Attachments

  • 8B4E1FBE-BC8D-4E40-90CA-7AA14A10763A.jpg
    8B4E1FBE-BC8D-4E40-90CA-7AA14A10763A.jpg
    376.5 KB · Views: 14
  • A6C7ED1A-0327-4DCD-B81C-0E06B76D72C0.jpg
    A6C7ED1A-0327-4DCD-B81C-0E06B76D72C0.jpg
    396 KB · Views: 13
Barrel has been replaced with a Mauser Borsigwalde (243 code) post war.

If you reclock the barrel, you'll impact headspace. I would have a smith verify headspace. If it is currently good, leave it as is. Rear sight assemblies are soldered in place.
 
Sir, unfortunately Pisgah is spot on. Trying to restore a 98/40 is about the bolt action equivalent of a G41 project, except I swear I see more 41 parts for sale! That being said some people do restore 41’s, this idiot right here for instance haha. But I can assure you I decided to start with a far more complete project as the parts hurtle you will have to overcome from a BR base, or in your case just a receiver will make it exponentially harder/more expensive. Like he stated as well, the amount of people with far more complete projects out there will for sure bid hard for dearly needed parts if they do show up. Figure a Repro stock is 400+ so I can’t imagine what finding a nice original would cost. If you simply must restore one I would suggest looking for a stock sporterized one which would put you worlds ahead, even then you’ll still be a taco short of a combination plate.
 
Sir, unfortunately Pisgah is spot on. Trying to restore a 98/40 is about the bolt action equivalent of a G41 project, except I swear I see more 41 parts for sale! That being said some people do restore 41’s, this idiot right here for instance haha. But I can assure you I decided to start with a far more complete project as the parts hurtle you will have to overcome from a BR base, or in your case just a receiver will make it exponentially harder/more expensive. Like he stated as well, the amount of people with far more complete projects out there will for sure bid hard for dearly needed parts if they do show up. Figure a Repro stock is 400+ so I can’t imagine what finding a nice original would cost. If you simply must restore one I would suggest looking for a stock sporterized one which would put you worlds ahead, even then you’ll still be a taco short of a combination plate.


Well... I didn’t know it was gonna be this hard when I picked it up, now looking online, all I have found is the trigger, trigger pin and sear and that repro stock that’s like 500. So it looks like selling is becoming more and more likely, but I don’t even know where to start on price. Probably be better off separating the barrel from the receiver if I was betting. Paid $100 for the set so
 
I didn't realize that you had posted here or that your receiver and barrel were not original to one another when I replied to your post on the Trader. So, that is a 98k barrel and not a G98/40 barrel. The only part that a G98/40 can use that also works on a Kar.98k is the sling and sometimes cleaning rods. I'm not sure what (if anything) would have to be done to get a 98k rear sight base to work with a G98/40 hand guard. A G98/40 receiver does not have much value by itself. The reason for this is what I previously stated. The rest of the parts are difficult to find as spares and many of them are expensive when you do find them. If you absolutely have to do this, I could see the project taking 5 years and costing $2,500 to complete. The end product would likely be worth less than $1,000 since it would be a major mismatch. I think if you took the barrel off the receiver then sold the receiver, barrel, rear sight leaf, and rear sight base as separate parts, you might get $200 for them. If you don't separate the barrel from the receiver it is worth about what you paid for it. Unfortunately, G98/40's aren't like AR's or AK's. There is no g98/40.com peddling spare parts or new parts. The good news is that if you want a complete rifle, sporterized examples start at around $400 and bolt mismatches start at around $750. Matching examples start at around $1,200. They are a cool variant that many would like to have but can slip through as sleeper auctions on sites like GunBroker because most people will not systematically use search terms to look for them like they do with 98k's day after day and year after year.
 
Not to :reposthorse: but the barrel is from a '39 Borsigwalde so it's really only valuable to someone who has one with a shot out barrel or someone with a 'shooter' 98k that needs a new barrel. Any resto is usually a loss financially before you even start unless you've managed to accumulate a lot of parts long ago at very cheap prices. There are several guys around who have done so and it makes these type of projects appealing to them. Obviously the good news is you haven't taken a bath!
 
Alright well I’ll definitely sell the barrel and sights I guess, bore is bright in it, once it’s off I’ll list it, if any of y’all are interested let me know
 

Military Rifle Journal
Back
Top