Updated factory Mauser commercial K98

[bruce98k]

Dave Roberts arranged the deal on this Oberndorf commercial...thanks!!

Basically the rifle started as a test bed in 1936/37 for a uniqued protected front sight which was also used on the Chilean carbines circa 1935-36.
My guess is that Mauser was testing that design for the K98k and never implemented the change.

The rifle has been revamped by a stock and barrel change in early 1944 and carries the later commercial fire proof and caliber designation.

Rifle was brought back by a US vet and was pictured in a newspaper article some years ago. Will post a scan as soon as I have a copy.
Dave's contact bought the lot (2 rifles, flags, etc.) and through fortune ended up here.

Serial number of this rifle is 115027 and serial number of the rifle pictured in Vol.1 is 115022.

 

[CanadianAR]

Beautiful! The receiver is like black glass.

 

[jbmauser]

Fantastic commercial Oberndorf Bruce! Very interesting piece.

 

[RyanE]

I wonder why they reworked the gun? I assume Mauser did the work, and I can't imagine it saw that much use as a test bed.

 

[bruce98k]

Commercial

Work was a Mauser factory job in their commercial dept.
You can tell by the "antler" or "fir tree" proof stamp, unique to Mauser.

Now the big question is why rebarrel and restock a perfectly serviceable rifle..

Barrel is a Mauser Dohlen barrel 43D9xx

 

[jbmauser]

And why restock it with a flat buttplate stock?

I suppose this has to do with the fact it's a commercial.

 

[mrfarb]

A very interesting rifle for sure, and in great shape!

 

[Pisgah]

And why restock it with a flat buttplate stock?

I suppose this has to do with the fact it's a commercial.

Likely it was what whoever rebarreled it had on hand. Basically, why put effort into putting it into the latest style of stock if you had a quantity of the earlier flat buttplate style stocks?

 

[Hambone]

very cool variant !

 

[bruce98k]

Comment from Jon

From Jon..
Also the( j ) under the Eagle/N proof could have been a reference mark that could have implied the term( Jagd )= Hunting , as this was the term used for commercial hunting rifle department within Mauser that used only commercial hunting rifle proofs or simply an associated inspection mark which I have never seen before etc. No question this carbine got special attention from the folks at Mauser and is really extreme in its status! Regards, Jon

Also, all stock fittings (bayo lug, recoil lug, and buttplate) are E/655 stamped. No SN on bayo lug or buttplate.

 

[mauser99]

Bruce, great rifle ! Not sure how Roberts keeps pulling these gems out of the woodwork but you all have been gifted some great rifles recently from N.H. It just proves Karma exists and that favors do pay back favors among friends. It's now among many friends and in a world class M.O. collection ! Congrats buddy !!

 

[bruce98k]

Rifle

Actually he raided the great state of Mass.

I also uploaded the newspaper article featuring the vet.

B.

 

[mauser99]

that bastard... he must have picked the lock on his ankle bracelet to cross state lines !!! We are going north for a night raid to get our mausers back...

 

[mike radford]

Great stuff Bruce. Glad the rifle found a great home. I would have had little clue what I was looking at with that rifle. Thanks for posting the article as well, since I was not able to take the time to read it at SOS.

 

[James K]

I see a lot of very odd things about that rifle that don't seem to jibe with the story, which is itself rather strange. But since I am not planning to buy it, I will refrain from criticism.

Jim

 

[mrfarb]

I see a lot of very odd things about that rifle that don't seem to jibe with the story, which is itself rather strange. But since I am not planning to buy it, I will refrain from criticism.

Jim

You should feel free to express your thoughts on it, discussion is always helpful.

 

[James K]

Well, Mauser was making commercial sporters in 1936, but it is a pretty sure bet that that was not one of them. That receiver is not and never was a Mauser commercial sporter; it was a military contract receiver that might have been taken from the contract production for some company reason, but that seems very unlikely, since Mauser would not be paid for it unless it was delivered. Then it received commercial "BUG" and "N" proofs. Then it somehow received a serial number not compatible with military serial numbers. Then it received at some point a high polish blue. It was rebarrelled in 1944 (barrel date is 1-44 and it has the Nazi eagle barrel proof and tool marks consistent with the 1944 date), but that barrel was numbered to match the receiver with the same font as that used on the original receiver. But 1944 is not consistent with the WaA 655 stamp, as he appears to have left Mauser by that time, so we have some old parts there.

In Jan 1944, Germany was not to the "scraping the bottom of the parts bin" stage, so it seems unlikely that a rifle would have been taken from Mauser for Wehrmacht use at that time.

It looks to me more like one of the "made for the Amis" guns tossed together after the war to sell to American GI's. That would explain most of the discrepancies - an old rejected receiver, hammer on some stamps, give it a quick blue job, a pick up barrel, bits and pieces from around the shop, and a quick payment in cigarettes. Was the serial number a continuation of some pre-war series? Perhaps, or maybe just made up.

Those kinds of guns are not without interest, as they reflect a period of history and of a conquered nation. But to pass such a rifle off as a Mauser commercial sporter seems a bit remarkable, to say the least.

Jim

 

[jbmauser]

Well, Mauser was making commercial sporters in 1936, but it is a pretty sure bet that that was not one of them. That receiver is not and never was a Mauser commercial sporter; it was a military contract receiver that might have been taken from the contract production for some company reason, but that seems very unlikely, since Mauser would not be paid for it unless it was delivered. Then it received commercial "BUG" and "N" proofs. Then it somehow received a serial number not compatible with military serial numbers. Then it received at some point a high polish blue. It was rebarrelled in 1944 (barrel date is 1-44 and it has the Nazi eagle barrel proof and tool marks consistent with the 1944 date), but that barrel was numbered to match the receiver with the same font as that used on the original receiver. But 1944 is not consistent with the WaA 655 stamp, as he appears to have left Mauser by that time, so we have some old parts there.

In Jan 1944, Germany was not to the "scraping the bottom of the parts bin" stage, so it seems unlikely that a rifle would have been taken from Mauser for Wehrmacht use at that time.

It looks to me more like one of the "made for the Amis" guns tossed together after the war to sell to American GI's. That would explain most of the discrepancies - an old rejected receiver, hammer on some stamps, give it a quick blue job, a pick up barrel, bits and pieces from around the shop, and a quick payment in cigarettes. Was the serial number a continuation of some pre-war series? Perhaps, or maybe just made up.

Those kinds of guns are not without interest, as they reflect a period of history and of a conquered nation. But to pass such a rifle off as a Mauser commercial sporter seems a bit remarkable, to say the least.

Jim

The serial font on the barrel and receiver look quite different to me. The "1's" and "2" in particular.

 

[RyanE]

I think you are much too hard on the rifle. It was definitely a pre-war commercial which is not the same as a sporter. Even experimental test rifles (the G40k for example) had commercial proofing. It was also definitely rebarreled by Mauser in 1944. The 144 on the barrel the date the Wurttemberg proofhouse tested it. Who knows why they reworked it.

As for the receiver, there are several known Mauser commercials that were built on scrubbed military receivers. There is at least one in Vol. 1. This one may have been rejected or simply diverted for testing. Since this was never sold commercially and probably never left the factory, there wasn't much point in scrubbing it and adding the commercial logo.

 

[James K]

Hi, jbMauser, point taken on the font.

Hi, RyanE, that military receiver was not "scrubbed", it was a German military contract receiver and the markings are correct and intact. To use it to build a commercial rifle could have been illegal diversion of government property.

It might have been a reject, but then would Mauser have wanted to turn it into a sporter? And why not remove the military markings? If the rifle never left the factory, there would have been no point in putting on commercial marks, but then also no point in proving it or serial numbering it either. And if the rifle never left the factory, why did it need rebarrelled? Was it fired so much in testing that front sight change that the barrel was worn out? And if the factory did the rebarrelling, why bother to number the barrel at all? A military depot might have done that, but if it never left the factory, how would a depot have had it? And the military would never have accepted a rifle without the proper inspection marks and with a shiny receiver. And who stamped the "8x57" using individual hand stamps with the "X" looking like it was made from two chisel marks? That has the look of some gunsmith (American?) not the Mauser factory.

(The barrel proof means little; it was done when the barrel was made and proven in the barrel test fixture; every barrel that left the barrel shop at that time would have had that mark.)

I don't pretend to know the answers. But I will say again that the rifle raises so many questions that I would not pay any premium for it, or consider it anything especially desirable. It is intriguing, but not everything intriguing is worth a lot of money.

Jim