Mystery Mauser - Kar 98az Sporter?

First post, hello world!

I have been offered to buy an old Mauser 98 sporter and I was interested to find out more about what it might be. My theory is that it is a military rifle that has been sporterized post-WW1 (quite crudely done, must be added), and then sold on the civilian market. The reciver has been ground down to hide the original markings, but a few of them can still be made out, and I want to say that those are the remnants of the military proof and acceptance marks. The top of the receiver has been remarked with a non descript trapezoid shape - in order to hide the original factory stamping?

It's being sold as a civilian sporter in 8x57J, but the bore slugs as .323, so I suspect it's actually a military 8x57IS, and the bottom of the barrel seems to carry imperial markings.

The bolt handle is a karbiner pattern, although there is no way of telling if the bolt was taken from a different rifle when they assembled this one.

It would be very helpful if somebody more knowledgeable could add their opinion on the matter. Is this a military gewehr or karbiner that has been sportized?

This isn’t a sporter, but a commercial rifle. The markings on the bottom of the barrel are commercial proof marks. It was very common in Germany to reuse or recycle new and used military components to build commercial guns.

The trapezoidal shape isn’t to hide markings, it is called matting and is a coarse surface to reduce glare.

So it is a commercial rifle built using left over military parts?

Any idea what the 2.20 and 696 and "n/c" on the bottom of the barrel are supposed to signify?

Some of the parts would have been left over military parts, but not necessarily all. In the case of the receiver, (Chris, Cyrus, Sam, correct me here) it looks to have an inspection mark, but was probably never completed.

If 2.20 is what it is marked, then that is the date it was proofed. This would be one of the earliest dates I have seen post WWI.

I'm not sure the n/c your looking at, you may be looking at the 7.9m/m which is the bore inspection.

Yeah the single RR inspection would indicate an incomplete part, they apparently had piles of them, building commercial rifles with them through ww2 as well. I do believe the 696 should be a ledger number for the proof house, and since it is marked on the rifle, that would indicate Zella Mehlis proofing, as Suhl did not include ledger numbers.

Thank you for your replies, it has been very insightful.

It seems that my optimistic theory that it was a military sporter has been shot down. Neverthelless it makes for an interesting story, as it seems this rifle was put together with left over (mostly) military parts right at the start of the Weimar era. Although as a military collectable it isn't very interesting.

Do you think the barrel is also a military reject?

I really like the Kar98AZ-style bolt handle, most sporters and commercial rifles will have a lower profile style, but this makes for a nice thouch (IMO).

doomer77 said:

Thank you for your replies, it has been very insightful.

It seems that my optimistic theory that it was a military sporter has been shot down. Neverthelless it makes for an interesting story, as it seems this rifle was put together with left over (mostly) military parts right at the start of the Weimar era. Although as a military collectable it isn't very interesting.

Do you think the barrel is also a military reject?

I really like the Kar98AZ-style bolt handle, most sporters and commercial rifles will have a lower profile style, but this makes for a nice thouch (IMO).

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This rifle has a large ring Mauser action. So if it had any sort of military past it would've/could've been a Gewehr 98, not a Kar98. The Kar98 has a small ring Mauser action. Note too that it is not a Kar98 bolt. The Kar98 bolt is shaved and crosshatched/textured on the underside. It is not an "as-is" military bolt. The angle/curvature of the bolt handle seems too rounded to have been a K98k bolt either. Again, possibly a commercially altered Gewehr-style bolt. Can't tell for certain.

Probably just a nice interwar Mauser sporter. I see it has a set trigger too. Certain interwar Mauser are very collectible, although I know nothing of them. If there is no Mauser banner anywhere on the receiver, it's more than likely not a made-by-Mauser commercial rifle but I could be wrong. I know close to nothing about commercial guns.