i just picked this up last week. shot it last weekend. all i can say is holy gawd. id hate to be an ally on the recieving end...

sorry for the crappy pic. i couldnt fit the gun and the bayonett in the frame. also, sorry for buying a nazi gun. its all i could afford. i was looking at garands and enfields and springfields, but for 1500 bucks, well, lets just say im not rich...

thanks for the compliments. i think its a good purchase. its all original, manufactured in '43. even the bayonett.

this is dead sexy/that mauser is cool ive been a fan of them for years

cool

ANARCHY_SCOUT wrote: Freaking amazing man.

I agree, Very nice

Very nice, very nice indeed.

__sneaky__ wrote: My Grandpa has a Mouser, I love shooting it.

did he take it as a souvenier from the war?... i remember hearing that whatever you could fit into your duffle bag or carry you could keep...they got rid of that after i think ww2

tecumseh wrote: thats soo cool!  next you should try to get a mosen negant.  Not very much $ and was used by the russians in ww2

Ocelot: i got it from a local gun store here in houston.

Hoytshooter, those are japanese Arisaka type 99 rifles.

Also nice Mauser, it looks to be in really good shape. But I'm reasonably sure it's a nice M48 Yugoslavian Mauser, not a German 98k. Take a pic of the crest on the front receiver ring and I should be able to tell you with more certainty.

I hope you didn't over pay for it, they generally run *<$200. Still nice rifles of course, and probably in better condition than most German 98k's are. I'd reccomend a scout-type scope if you're going to go with optics to avoid damaging the collector value of the rifle. Also, S&B ammunition and non-turkish 8mm is cheaper than what you're paying. I'd avoid the turk stuff if you want to have a functioning shoulder. That stuff is supposedly loaded very hot.

Again i repeat:

The rifle you have IS NOT German. It was made in Yugoslavia.

The rifle you have WAS NOT used in WWII. I bet if you look closely at the date of manufacture it is 1948 and not 1943

It is also NOT a model 98k. It is an M-48 (if the date is 1948) or an M-48A if it has a stamped steel floorplate and triger gaurd.

The rifle differs from the 98k in quite a few ways, the bolt handle is not turned down as much and is flattened on the bottom to clear the stock, this was easier to produce because it didn't require releiving the stock to fit a bolt handle. The stock is also totally different, as is the barrel, bolt head and receiver. The receiver is shorter than a 98k's and is made as small as it can be to handle the cartride. A 98k's receiver can handle a longer round if it is rechambered for one.

The trigger and maybe the safety might be interchangable with a 98k. But don't quote me on that. It operates and comes apart and goes back together like one, but it isn't one.

Not to say it's not a nice rifle, it should be a great shooter, but I hope you didn't get conned into thinking it's a valuable German 98k. There's a lot of that going on now with military surplus stuff, and if that rifle was imported by and refurbished by the company I think it's from, they're notorious for misrepresenting their products.

sorry to bring up a dead subject, but ive been away. i did some research, and i figured i should let you know what i learned.

My rifle is an M48, machined in Nazi-occupied yugoslovia (according to the websight of the importer), if im not mistaken. im pretty sure it was made in 1943, for the crest on the back of the reciever has the (or "a") date on it: 1943. this is not a serial number, because that is a 5 digit # stamped on the bolt, stock and barrel. There are four grades available: military ($200ish), collector ($300ish), premium ($400ish) and finally museum ($1000ish). i purchased the collector grade rifle, which is numbers matching, excellent wood stock, clean rifling, etc. including tax, i spent $372, including ammo. even if it is not the real deal, it is still a great rifle for the price, and i did look up a genuine 98k, which was about 500 bucks. too much for me right now. i was not conned, for now i remember the seller mentioning "m48."

anyway, for more information go to:

http://www.mitchellsales.com - www.mitchellsales.com

they sell the m48, as well as accessories, real deal mausers, and their custom .50 cal rifle. check them out

oh, and sorry for the misinformation. rednekk wins.

That's the importer I was worried about.

Search some military surplus forums and see what people have to say about them. The stock on that rifle is either new or (most likely) has been sanded and refinished so it looks clean. That's a no-no in rifle collecting. There's also speculation that their "Museum Quality K98s" and others may have had the Nazi markings faked. Meaning they were captured arms that had the marks ground off and had been refinished, and Mitchell's restamped them as well as probably refinished the stocks.

If these rifles have redeeming ualities it's the warantees and the fact that they look nice. In the long run they will probably be worth less than those imported by other companies.

However, I bet it's a good shooter.

If the date really is 1943, it's possible the receiver is from an FN M24 type rifle that has been used to make an M48. I'm almost positive that the receivers were close enough for this to have happened. In that case the bolt movement would be a bit more smooth than a post-war receiver. I'm still betting it's a badly stamped 1948 by the crest.

Also, the Yugoslavian .50 they import is a heck of a nice rifle.

Relax, I'm not saying it's a bad gun, just saying what it is and isn't. I'm only trying to inform you, and other about the differance.

Milsurps like that have a way of skyrocketing in price once they stop importing them. Great examples are the Swedish Mausers and Finnish Mosin Nagants(I have an example of both, they used to be $80 rifles until people realized how good they were and they dried up)

If you're into shooting military surplus arms there are some good sites to give you pointers. I try to balance collectability with shoot-ability when I buy surplus rifles. I almost bought an M-48 until I got a great deal on a Swede M-38 Mauser. Surplus ammo is more expensive, but I'm in love with the 6.5X55mm caliber.

oh well, its cool. so, what are these sites you speak of.

http://www.gunboards.com - www.gunboards.com

http://p102.ezboard.com/bparallaxscurioandrelicfirearmsforums - http://p102.ezboard.com/bparallaxscurioandrelicfirearmsforum s

You'll have to register for the second one. There are others out there, try a google search.

Nice to see you posting again, it's been a while.

Interesting rifle Kayback. Still not as good as the SMLE? I've been thinking about picking one up sometime since they're relativly cheap but have been really confused as to which version from which manufacturer I'd like.

This is a bit off topic, but what are your thoughts on the R4? How's the accuracy? I've heard good reports about galil varients but wondered if that meant accurate for an AK-type or accurate for a rifle in 5.56mm.