My First K98

C

Castor_Troy

Member
Hi everyone,

I'm new here and I did my homework first but there is a few things I need some direction on..

I just purchased my first K98, It's a AX 41 which I understand is one of the better K98's.

1) as a Russian capture I need to replace missing screws, a sight hood, a sling, 12.5 cleaning rod, am I missing anything else? and where is a good place to these items... I live in Canada.

2) I want to remove the cosmoline because I want to be able to shoot it, but with cosmoline soaked in the wood it will sweat out... so whats the best way to get it out? I've used chemical stripped on a SKS I have but I want to be less harsh with my K98

3) It has a blue/black butt plate...I have seen some in a silvery polished metal. Is this something the Russians did or did the germans blue some of them?

4) The shellac...its gotta go, I hear duct tape lets you keep the german finish underneath but takes the shellac off... is this the move? I know its not a museum piece.

5) underneath the AX, above the 41, to the right of the RC "x" there is what looks like a star, whats that about?

6) The rifling and mechanics are mint, the stock has only a couple small dings and dents but in tact aside from that... very little rust on the sling holder... but I assume 0000 steel wool can take that off...no other rust. The floor plate isn't stamped and the bolt only has eagles with swastikas but no numbers, im thinking the Russian grinded them off, did they do that to put in their brutal electro stencils? I haven't taken the gun apart but I have found a 623 and 77 on the bolt... so im guessing this isn't all matching but as long as its a good shooter I don't really care.

p.s. if anyone has any tips for common mistakes to avoid I'd appreciate it

p.p.s. I have seen the stamping in white before, is that something people do after or did they come in white writing sometimes
 
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ok this is the rest I got..let me know if any others are needed, thanks everyone!
 

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Why didn't you just save up and buy one that was not a Russian capture and needed parts replaced and finish work done? Unless you just want a shooter, rather than a collectable, you might be happy with it. Ron
 
Hey, dont mean to be harsh but your pics are really bad. Where in Canada are you located?

ebay will have the parts you need for hood/rod/screws. Not worth originals in my opinion if a total mismatch.

Join canadiangunnutz for a more Canadian perspective on parts and such.

Alot of the Russian capture k98ks i have been seeing in Canada from the most recent batch have been horribly scrubbed. If you have un numbered parts, this is likely the case.

You can steam the cosmo out, or put it in a garbage bag in the hot sun.

The buttplate was always in the white on german made k98k. the russians blued yours. Vinegar will remove it.

NO steel wool. Brass or bronze only.


ax is a more uncommon code in original trim, but as rc they are pretty equal.
 
Ron,

In Canada his options are limited to RC. There are NO other K98k for sale. Finding a correct k98k is hens teeth up here, and I wouldn't recommend a newbie buying in the US and importing. Its a sad situation here.
 
is this really such a bad gun? All we have is RC up in Canada and it was in the best shape I could find... I wanted a shooter with some history, not a museum piece that im afraid to ding. I paid 630 after tax...which if you believe it is a decent price...
 
That is unfortunate, but I would not want the import headaches either.


CanadianAR said:
Ron,

In Canada his options are limited to RC. There are NO other K98k for sale. Finding a correct k98k is hens teeth up here, and I wouldn't recommend a newbie buying in the US and importing. Its a sad situation here.
Click to expand...
 
No its isnt such a bad gun. Clean it up, and shoot it, and enjoy it. It is alot better then ALOT of rc up here.

And RC arent ALL we have, but it is a real challenge to find anything else.

I DO know of one 99% matching for sale up here.....


Ron,

Imports arent much of a headache right now. But it is expensive. LOL.

Buyer fills out a form and mails it to an FFL designated by my importer. They they call me when it arrives.

Last one I bought was a bnz45 off GB. Rifle was $2376 import fees on my side were $540 so it adds a considerable premium. But headache free. haha
 
I guess the $540 is to pay for their headaches dealing with the two governments... at least it is still an option for you guys.

As to this ax/41, as CAR stated ERMA production is typically more desirable, much harder to find in original condition, but most ERMA's that are commonly seen are rc's, there are a lot of them out there compared to original rifles. This particular rifle is interesting being a Walther receiver (the e/359 on the RR), this block is when they become common, it seems ERMA was joining JPS in getting its receivers from Walther in this period. Which is a little strange, not sure what was going on really, ERMA receivers can be found until the very end of their 98k production and it seems ERMA sent receivers to JPS around the time ERMA stopped making the 98k, so they obviously continued making receivers, but I guess resources were being moved from this task to support the MP40 production.

This period 1941-1942 was an interesting period, the rationalization of armaments production created many interesting variations.

CanadianAR said:
...import fees on my side were $540 so it adds a considerable premium. But headache free. haha
Click to expand...
 
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