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Newbie from Australia with few questions

Gooey

Member
Hi, I am looking at purchasing my first K98 and I am having trouble working out what has happened to the K98 I am looking at to purchase

Its a dou 43 hh stamped on receiver
There are no RC crosses anywhere
Only barrel receiver and stock numbers match, the rest are all mismatched
It has a US import stamp on the underside of the barrel under the front sight
It has had electronic pen serial number etched on the bolt and trigger guard
It has an electronic pen number etched under the rear sight(this number is different to receiver number)
It has the bolt take down hole in the stock but it also has the cupped butt plate with the hole in it however there is no hole drilled through the stock.
All swastika stamps are great condition and have not been peened.

So not sure if it is a RC or not, or if it has had parts from a RC added to it. Overall it is in good to very good condition with a very good barrel.

Any info and value would be appreciated

Thanks
 
Hello and welcome! When you say “stock number” do you mean that there is a number stamped on the side of the butt of the rifle or are you referring to a number in the stock which is not visible unless you disassemble the rifle, like in the barrel channel?

That is an important distinction because an external number on the side of the butt is something the Germans never did. The presence of the number sounds like it’s a Russian Capture, and the presence of the electro-pencil serials plus the mismatching of parts all scream Russian Capture. They do exist without the “x” marking. Keep in mind too that the Russians re-blued their guns with a heavy thick looking dark bluing, quite unlike the bluing or parkerizing used by the Germans. The Russian finish is almost black!


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Thanks for the reply, yes the serial number is tamped on the outside of the stock, I have not pulled it apart to check the inside of it, so it sounds like it is a Russian capture without the x stamped on it, is this a rare thing and does it make it more collectable??????
 
Thanks for the reply, yes the serial number is tamped on the outside of the stock, I have not pulled it apart to check the inside of it, so it sounds like it is a Russian capture without the x stamped on it, is this a rare thing and does it make it more collectable??????

They are by no means rare, the Russians ended up up with many thousands of captured K98 rifles and they processed them into what they felt were workable rifles with no thoughts about keeping parts together or any sort of originality. In a very practical way they wanted to make the bulk of the rifles useable, and felt they could best do that by the process they adopted. Even today, R/C guns often make good shooters.

Collectibility..... hmmmm. There are those that say that R/C guns are the next big category of K98s to explode in value, but I would disagree. The big collector market as it exists values ORIGINALITY more than anything else except condition, and by condition I mean ORIGINAL as manufactured condition. So as a collectible rifle, many if not most collectors and researchers here would say that R/C guns have little “collector” value. For research purposes, more can generally be learned from as issued, as carried rifles, though this is not to say that NOTHING can be learned from R/C guns, for some things are rarely ever seen EXCEPT in R/Cs.

Are R/C guns good for re-enactors to use? Yes! No worries about taking a primo original rifle out in the rain or cold! Are they good shooters? Often they are VERY good shooters, and again no worry about damaging a mint all-matching rifle. Are they a good way to get interested in K98s? YES! A new collector can have a lot of fun trying to figure out what maker each part of their rifle came from, and where. One can learn a lot about the markings on K98s in looking around for markings that match those on their parts! Who knows, one might have an uncommon maker or an unusual marking. Such an examination can then lead to an appreciation of original, all matching guns, which of course are much more expensive. Some see R/C guns as “entry level” guns and that is a term I agree with. I can’t imagine an R/C selling for big money. I can think of MANY original guns that could easily be 2500 or 3000 dollars, depending on condition. It is when R/C guns are misrepresented that I have a problem, when new enthusiasts or budding collectors are misled into thinking that the collecting community at large agrees with those high valuations by sellers or a few collectors on R/C guns. That’s what we call a rip off! But if understood and kept in context, R/C guns HAVE A PLACE in the K98 universe. They are a real thing, they are an endpoint for MANY THOUSANDS of K98s, but are really only understandable in context with all other K98s. As in many other collector markets, like cars for example, originality is a big deal! Wouldn’t a 1970 440 Challenger that is as delivered be worth more than one that is re-painted and has had its entire driveline and interior replaced? Certainly! Same here.

Wow that was long!! Haha! I feel strongly though that this position should be (and likely IS) that of a majority of higher end collectors, and might be considered a blanket statement on the assessment of value and use of R/C K98s in today’s market.


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Thanks for your help, I have attached some photos can you tell me anything from these photos, the seller is advertising it as a non Russian capture because it doesn't have the X, and like you said I don't want to be ripped off as he wants 1700 for it, it is a nice condition rifle and has both capture screws in place, can you tell by the blueing if it is a RC...….Thanks
 

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