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WWII German k98 Mauser sportarized {NEED HELP}

I have a in great condition K98 Mauser that I'm told is from WWII Era. It is sportarized by an unknown source. Got the gun from my father in law, and he knows nothing about it. Everything is original except barrel, scope, and stock. It was converted to 30-06 from original caliber. I took it to a older gentleman who is pretty well educated on these kinds of weapons, but need a little more info before I sale this beauty. The guy told me that the sportarization was very high quality in his opinion, and that he valued it as is for $700-$800. The only issue that i see with it is the stock. The wrist of it has a hairline crack all the way through. Which he said had been fixed by a professional. Just looking for some opinions, and maybe someone that's interested in purchasing this gun. Thanks!
 

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Well, you might go back to the guy that gave you that value. To me, a rifle like this is a $300 rifle at best, with the cracked stock probably $200.

Here’s a similar one with no bids at $279.

Check out what I found on GunBroker.com! https://www.gunbroker.com/item/857945136


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Right. From a collector's standpoint, I'm afraid this one is a bit of a lost cause. "Sporterizing" was common immediately after WWII, and indeed up until the 1960s, when these rifles began to be appreciated on their own merits for their design and history. Quality of the conversions ran the gamut from professional efforts to garage hack jobs with little modification other than shortening the original stock. In each case, though, the serial numbered parts not used got separated from the rifle and discarded or just lost over the years.

These guns are a hard sell today. Not throwing any rocks here; it's just the truth.

My best friend's father had a NRA surplused M1903A3 that he used to take a deer every season. It was a beautiful rifle, complete and original except that the stock had been neatly shortened just in front of the sling band. It was extremely accurate with its original iron sights. It eventually began to be worth some serious coin, as it could be easily restored. My friend sneaked that rifle out of his dad's closet one day and took it to a talented gunsmith for a complete conversion to a sporting configuration, including high gloss blue and replacing the bolt handle with a swept one like is seen above. The receiver got drilled for scope mounts. The rifle was now gorgeous. And ruined. Its character and history were both gone. I was there when the presentation was made. The owner was too much of a gentleman to say anything negative about it, but the rifle never went on another hunt.

Edit: Thousands of M1936 and M1954 Mexican Mausers were imported into the US after being sold off by the Mexican government, many in original new condition. They had a delightfully smooth small ring Mauser action, with a light, precise trigger release. Most of these rifles were used in high end sporting conversions. Nice originals are really rare today. Here's an unissued 1944 example that escaped. My notes say that it sold for $2,995 several years back:
 

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These guns are a hard sell today. Not throwing any rocks here; it's just the truth.

Unfortunately this is the case currently. When synthetic furniture rifles are brand new at such a low price, people just don't want these... or not enough people want these.
 
Lost Hunters

Unfortunately, what you have read is true. You will see fewer "custom" made rifles at gun shows. And, even fewer in the hands of private collectors. In the last ten years, I have picked up about a dozen "sporters" at pawn shops and shows. My favorites are all original rifles, just as they were purchased by the original buyer. There is something special about bringing together wood and metal which simply can't be duplicated by a synthetic material.
 

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