What's it Worth?

[Eddie2002]

A buddy had a pre WW2 Mauser in 8mm which has been "sporterized" or bubba'd. Haven't seen it yet but he said the stock is a bit rough and cut short, the bore in decent shape, all the numbers match and the barrel is still the original length. Don't know anything else about it, he is asking $150.00, is is a good deal? If I get a look at it what should I look for? It's the first time I've been around a Mauser so I'm out of my comfort area.
Thanks

[Outpost75]

Yes, that is OK.

[Mk42gunner]

Kind of depends on what you want to do with it, but that isn't a bad price these days.

Robert

[Eddie2002]

I'm planning to shoot J word bullets and mainly cast in it, maybe get a replacement stock but that could be a can of worms cause it would never be "original". I'll need to get a set of dies, have plenty of 30-06 brass to resize to that caliber. Seemed like a decent price for what it is. If I get I'll post some pictures.

[gnoahhh]

I'm planning to shoot J word bullets and mainly cast in it, maybe get a replacement stock but that could be a can of worms cause it would never be "original". I'll need to get a set of dies, have plenty of 30-06 brass to resize to that caliber. Seemed like a decent price for what it is. If I get I'll post some pictures.

Sounds like a fair deal. Since it isn't "original" now, go ahead and get a replacement stock. Don't sweat making a milsurp Mauser into something non-original. They made untold millions of them, and it's not like there aren't plenty of original examples extant to satisfy the collectors.

[Andy]

The best thing with a sporterized mauser is you don't have to feel bad when you mod it to be what you want. At that price, for all matching numbers, if the gun doesn't have any functional issues and you like it I think it is a definitely go-ahead. It will probably work as-is and you have a base action/barrel to do something else with it in the future if you change your mind or something ends up not being right with it.

Might also find it is original except for the stock swap and you can turn it back that way with a replacement stock for the historical value, this isn't likely but you never know until you see it.

[Wayne Smith]

You don't "size" -06 brass to 8mm. The -06 is 63mm long, the 8mm is 57mm long. When you trim the -06 brass to 57mm you begin to get into the thicker section of the brass when making the neck of the 8x57 and may need to thin (ream) the necks. This is almost always true with military brass. It is not as simple as it may sound. You are much better off buying 8mm brass.

[Scharfschuetze]

I'll need to get a set of dies, have plenty of 30-06 brass to resize to that caliber.

RCBS makes a good form and trim die for converting 270, 280 or Ought-Six brass to 8 X 57.


When you trim the -06 brass to 57mm you begin to get into the thicker section of the brass when making the neck of the 8x57 and may need to thin (ream) the necks.

While I have never had an issue with converted brass (both LC and Winchester) that's defanately something to watch for and is good advice.

[funnyjim014]

Get it. Like you said the barrel is full length and bringing it back to something respectable should end be to bad.

[frkelly74]

If the receiver isn't Swiss cheese with extra holes drilled all over it, and the bore looks good, that sounds like a good enough deal. Wood can be found if need be.

[Dan Cash]

Price not bad. Agree, buy 8mm brass rather than convert -06. If you want a rompin'stompin something different, get a smith to rechamber to 8mm-06. That is an easy brass conversion and is a super cartridge but is strictly a reload proposition.

[Eddie2002]

Been resizing and trimming 30-06 and 270 brass to 7.7 Jap for years with no problems. The 7.7 Jap and 8x57 are pretty much the same except for the bullet size and one mm difference in length. An extra couple of thousands in the neck thickness could be an advantage if it has a worn throat like one of my Arisakas has. Need to pick up the rifle first and see what it likes.

[frkelly74]

Been resizing and trimming 30-06 and 270 brass to 7.7 Jap for years with no problems. The 7.7 Jap and 8x57 are pretty much the same except for the bullet size and one mm difference in length. An extra couple of thousands in the neck thickness could be an advantage if it has a worn throat like one of my Arisakas has. Need to pick up the rifle first and see what it likes.

good point, sometimes an imperfect conversion situation can be an advantage.

[Eddie2002]

Got some more information on the rifle, it's pre WW1 stamped 1915 on the receiver with the orignial long barrel. Guess it is still worth he is asking for it. Might be a nice project. What do you all think?

[jimb16]

Make sure you check the bore size. Some of those early Mausers were a slightly different bore size.

[Scharfschuetze]

Check the bore condition as most of the WWI rifles that I've seen have badly pitted bores. If rebarreling is in the action's future that's no big deal, but if you are planning on using the current barrel, make sure that it is usable.

German military rifles from all of their little disagreements had most parts serial numbered to the action with all or at least the last two digits of the receiver's number. While not important for most non critical parts, a bolt numbered to the receiver will ensure that its headspace is correct for the current barrel.

German WWI Mauser rifles were made by different manufacturers. Erfurt and Mauser are often seen. This info will be on the receiver ring. All of them have good reputations, but I once bought a WWI action and made a sporter out of it only to find that the locking lug abutments had been set back due to faulty war time manufacture. This fault is generally not noticeable when just operating the action, so if you can test fire it, do so and then check how easy it is to open the bolt. If the lugs are set back, then it will be noticeable when opening the bolt.

If you plan to use the issue sights, keep in mind that the battlefield zero of the sight of the Gew 98 is 400 meters and the rifle will shoot very high at closer ranges. To correct that a higher front sight is needed and that will negate the range settings on the rear sight. I have an original Erfurt Gew 98 so I'll check those sight settings the next time I open up the safe.

If you totally sporterize the rifle, then many of the parts like the odd WWI rear sight will probably sell well on Amazon and may recoup much of your investment and sporterizing costs.

[Eddie2002]

Scharf, thanks for the list of things to check. The rifle is only about 1/2 hour away at a friends house but I'll need to add it to my collection when my wife isn't looking if you get my meaning.
All the number are supposed to match and the bore is in good shape or so I've been told. Going to slug the bore when I bring it home and then take it from there. Still doing research on it so I know what I'm looking at, thanks again everybody for all the help so far

[skeettx]

What model Mauser? 88, 98? Etc
Thanks
Mike

[fivefang]

Wayne, please don't make that mistake, do a chamber cast first, you might be surprised, the less blow-by a cast boolit gets due to a loose chamber, the better it will shoot,

[Eddie2002]

The receiver is dated 1915 so I would think it is a pre WW1 Gew 98. I haven't seen it yet so I'm passing on second hand info about it. The current owner was looking for a WW2 98 and this one came along for a good price so he snapped it up. He then realized that it was an earlier model 98 than what he was looking for, bought a second 98 of the right vintage and put this one up for sale for what he had into it. A Gew 98 would fit in nicely with my small collection of military bolt action rifles and just about any bolt action rifle for $150.00 is a good deal even if it is a sporterized milsurp.