How much for a Mauser?

S

SS Sniper

Member
Hi, I'm new, but what a great site! Lots and lots of information. This may be out of place on this forum, but I'm new to these older guns and would like to know a couple things I would like to know. How often would I run into some ex-GI who brought back and ALL original, #'s matching K98 or something of the sort in good condition? What would I expect to pay for something like that? Also of all the guns in the era, is the K98 the most reliable and accurate? I've done research and found that the Springfields are NICE, but too delicate. The only thing that I found that is even comparable is the Lee-Enfield. Is that true? What would be a #'s matching price on those be? Sorry for all of the questions, just trying to soak up info!
Thanks, Matthew
 
Direct vet buys aren't quite so common anymore, as most ww2 vets are dead or old. But I'm sure there are still some. Vet family buys may be more common.
Vet direct or family buys are often cheaper then collector websites.
A legit matching K98k will bring anywhere from $1000 to 2000 usually, but can go up to thousands and thousands if rare, or sniper, etc.
No comment on elds, I don't care much for them.
 
SS Sniper said:
Hi, I'm new, but what a great site! Lots and lots of information. This may be out of place on this forum, but I'm new to these older guns and would like to know a couple things I would like to know. How often would I run into some ex-GI who brought back and ALL original, #'s matching K98 or something of the sort in good condition? What would I expect to pay for something like that? Also of all the guns in the era, is the K98 the most reliable and accurate? I've done research and found that the Springfields are NICE, but too delicate. The only thing that I found that is even comparable is the Lee-Enfield. Is that true? What would be a #'s matching price on those be? Sorry for all of the questions, just trying to soak up info!
Thanks, Matthew
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As far as selecting a rifle from this era, each rifle has its own merits. In terms of price a K98 will definitely cost you the most for all matching numbers. I own each of the rifles you mentioned and can honestly say they are all very accurate, but I do however prefer the peep sight arrangement on the Lee Enfield No. 4's and 1903A3's (assuming that is what you mean by Springfield) compared to the V notch sights on Mausers when it comes to shooting. As far as price is concerned a numbers matching K98 in good condition will easily be over $1000. Where as a matching 1903A3 can typically be obtained for around $600. The cheapest by far would be the Lee Enfield with the price on a numbers matching rifle in good condition being around $350 and up.
 
Sorry if I didn't get back to you guys soon, haven't been on this site in a while. I was considering the 1903a3 and the Lee Enfield, too, but I like the mauser action and the looks of the Mauser, too. I realize the springfield's action is VERY similar to the mausers. I wouldn't mind any of the three,as long as I'm SURE that it's legit. I plan on getting all 4(Nagant, too) but the first one will be my absolute favorite, the Mauser 98 as of now. Are there any really good books on the k98 that are available today that tell you how to tell the rifle's originality from the stock to the bolt?
Thanks, Matthew
 
How much for a Mauser

Backbone of The Wehrmacht, by Richard D Law is a decent book, 50-$60
 
I WILL pay for it if I have to. Is all the info in it legit? ( I'm not doubting the authors)
Also, would a prewar k98k be more accurate than a mid-war, and how much would an original sniper Springfield M1903 or M1903a1 be all matching?
Sorry for the questions.
 
SS Sniper said:
Are there any cheaper books? $120 doesn't float my boat. :facepalm:
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You get what you pay for. A huge amount of information is available here for free. Backbone is dated, has bad information, and if you use it as your "bible" you'll get ripped off for a lot more than the $70 more you didn't want to spend to get a good reference book. Further, if you are collecting snipers, that's not an area where you want to skimp or go cheap on reference material. An upside to being smart and investing in good research books is all of mine are worth more than I paid for them, some much more. When all of us bought Kriegsmodell, it was around $90. I bought Clawson's big .45 book for $85 and later sold it for $800. Don't research, don't buy good books, get ripped off.

Cheers,
Hambone
 
Hambone said:
You get what you pay for. A huge amount of information is available here for free. Backbone is dated, has bad information, and if you use it as your "bible" you'll get ripped off for a lot more than the $70 more you didn't want to spend to get a good reference book. Further, if you are collecting snipers, that's not an area where you want to skimp or go cheap on reference material. An upside to being smart and investing in good research books is all of mine are worth more than I paid for them, some much more. When all of us bought Kriegsmodell, it was around $90. I bought Clawson's big .45 book for $85 and later sold it for $800. Don't research, don't buy good books, get ripped off.

Cheers,
Hambone
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Thanks. If you didn't know I'm 14 and just getting started with this stuff. I will buy the book, reluctantly, and spend a lot of money to do so. But, I guess that's life, huh. Do you think I'd be better off buying an infantry rifle instead of a sniper at this point? The maximum I want to spend is $1700, or do you think I should go for a M1903 sniper?
Thanks, Matthew
 
SS Sniper said:
Thanks. If you didn't know I'm 14 and just getting started with this stuff. I will buy the book, reluctantly, and spend a lot of money to do so. But, I guess that's life, huh. Do you think I'd be better off buying an infantry rifle instead of a sniper at this point? The maximum I want to spend is $1700, or do you think I should go for a M1903 sniper?
Thanks, Matthew
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Real snipers are $10K and up when complete. Sniper collecting is a very expensive hobby, and even the experienced collectors must be very careful of fakes. As a newbie, you are better off sticking to infantry rifles, and $1700 will buy a very nice all matching example. Watch the trader.

And buy the books.
 
If you are 14, you need to start of a bit slower. Buy a cheap version of whatever you are interested in. If you want a Mauser, buy a cheap one. Why spend big bucks on one at all? From reading your post you are headed for disaster wanting to spend $1700 on a rifle nothing on a book that can tell you everything you want to know about your potential purchase. Gunbroker is full of guys with your attitude paying big bucks for worthless guns, you owe yourself more than that if you want to keep from getting burned.

If you don't want to spend the money on books, hang out here- most of that info from our book can be had here for free, it's just more work digging it out and sorting it.
 
You want a solid k98, on the trader page on this forum BigDibbs88 has a nice bcd 4, all matching too for under 1k. Thats an excellent starter k98, but I would honestly start with a Russian Capture, and take your time. A sum of money and lack of patients is a bad combination. Everyone said it perfect buy mrfarbs book and it will save you a lot of money down the road. Its one thing to over pay another to buy a humped rifle.
 
While I wasn't into rifles at your age, if I were and could start over, I would invest in books first. In your case, with the internet (forums) as advanced as it is, it might be a better place to start. When I was a teenager, $120 was a buttload of cash, and if you are anything like me when I was your age, my interest rarely stayed on one subject long... in a week it might be back to girls and Camaro's or whatever kids like these days...

I would wait before buying a $120 book or a 98k until you learned more and see if the interest stays with you?
 
Loewe said:
While I wasn't into rifles at your age, if I were and could start over, I would invest in books first. In your case, with the internet (forums) as advanced as it is, it might be a better place to start. When I was a teenager, $120 was a buttload of cash, and if you are anything like me when I was your age, my interest rarely stayed on one subject long... in a week it might be back to girls and Camaro's or whatever kids like these days...

I would wait before buying a $120 book or a 98k until you learned more and see if the interest stays with you?
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This interest has been with me since I was about 7, and I'm not rushing because I've been looking for a while now and now is the time I'm getting really serious about it. Here's where I'm at. I will get the book, and I'll start out with infantry rifles, and maybe in the distant future get a sniper or two. The Kar98K is my priority right now, all matching of course, all down to the cleaning rod. Anyway, thanks for all of the info guys.
Thanks, Matthew
 
Hi Matthew,

First off, welcome to the site. It's always nice to see younger guys who are interested in getting into the hobby! Without new people like yourself the hobby would eventually cease to be. That said, I've read your posts in their entirety and would humbly advise caution on your part. You need to take some time to pick up the books that have been recommended to you and actually READ/STUDY THEIR CONTENTS before you make any type of large investment. I'm a younger guy myself so please don't get the wrong idea, I'm not trying to be condescending but it just seems as though you're looking to bite off a little more than you can chew at this time. I get where you're coming from, we've all been there, it's natural to want to go out there and quickly grab what you want but in 2013 you run the risk of literally losing your shirt over night. There's never been a time where more people have been out there prepared to take advantage of new/young collectors so you need to arm yourself the knowledge before you take them on.

As mentioned above, I'm a pretty young guy, only in my early 20s so I was in your shoes not too long ago. My best advise to you is to purchase something a little less expensive like a Russian Capture or a bolt mismatch before you go after a matching example, especially if you're looking to shoot it. The guys haven't really touched on this but for the most part it's frowned upon in the collector community to be shooting an all matching example. If something were to go wrong and a part were to be damaged your investment would essentially be lost and we'd all be left with one less matching example.

If you're new to firearms why not buy an introductory level K98, 03 and Enfield? Get to know each one, figure out what you like and what you don't like. Most guys are all over the grid when they start so it's safe to assume that you'll probably be similar. From there you can specialize in one particular thing while keeping your shooter grade examples for the range.

This may not be what you want to hear but I really wish someone took the time to tell me what I'm telling you when I was just starting out... It would have saved me a lot of time and money. Take a look at my post count, I don't come on here and offer advise on a regular basis... I mainly just read what others have to say... but in this particular instance I felt as though it would be worth while to offer my two cents to a younger guy not so different from myself.

Anyways best of luck Matthew, I'm sure you'll do just fine!
 
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