k98

What do you reckon about this one guys?

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4078&item=2278888499&rd=1

 

It's definitely better than what you have now, BWDS - but still a repro....

With a little patience, the real McCoy can be found on e-bay or via dealers recommended on the K98 forums.

It's up to you - buy it now and it'll add to your rifle's appearance, but I'd still be on the lookout for a genuine one. They're usually quite worn, always soaked with oil, but have that 'real feel'. And as Erich said, you definitely need a genuine 'tobacco tin' cleaning kit to put in your Brotbeutel ....

 

Martin it would be 1945. All the late war pics I have seen in the west and in the Ost with the smooth bore clamp by the muzzle still shows the cleaning rod being carried. In any case I think we can agree that Brat has a nice 98K and the white paint on the 762 should be removed, not trying to scratch it out since it is engraved but just some elbow grease/a little thinner and some patience and as you said Martin there are other 98K's needing a good home...

 

Actually, my K98 is 1944 dated and it doesn't have the threaded hole for the cleaning rod. I think it was down to the inidividual factory, some phased it out earlier than others. It is worth remembering that due to the German system of issue the chances are each squad would have at least one or two men with older rifles, the chances are you could always scrounge a spare rod from somewhere.

Martin, thanks for the explanation of the bolt dissassembly thingy, been wondering about that for years.

BDS, very nice, not the prettiest of beauts but it is the real thing and it has a history. Time now I think to ID factory markings and peice some of its history together maybe? One thing though, the markings are in Hebrew, not Yiddish (the two are fairly different).

 

Please elaborate on "site hoods" I hear ppl talk about them quite often and don't know what they are. I'm with BWDS, I'm new to say the least, but still very excited about my rifle!

V/R Air Force 4 Life

 

I'm hoping some of you can help me out here. As you know, I bought a k98, but I am getting a lot of flack about shipping it. I am stationed overseas and am being told that I need import licenses and ATF approval to ship it. Is there any other way of doing this, or an easier way. Maybe breaking it down and shipping it separate, please let me know.

Thank you,

Air Force 4 Life

 

It's the 'sight hood' we're talking about. Early 98ks didn't have them, but they appeared from about 1942 onwards. Certainly any 1944/5-look K98 needs one to look authentic.

Here's one ; -

 

the hood facilitates aiming, my swedish mauser is a bit*ch to bring up to bear in a rush and shoot as the sight is very small and the aperature (the rear sight even smaller. The hood is a good guide.

 

the sight hood was beneficial on bright sunny in your face kinda days. I have found it is extrememly tough to see the target when these weather conditions appear and no hood sight is present as on mine that may change come spring 2005

 

The idea of the sight hood was to protect the sight blade, deflect glare as Erich has pointed out, and also to help guide the eye onto the target.

 

Simple enough. Thx for the pic Martin. Most of the k98s I've seen do not have them, but most of them have been before 1944-1945. Thx! My dad found an M48 at a store the other day and I found out what that was, that was pretty cool. I don't know if he's going to buy one or not, but we'll see.

Thx again

 

Well I finally was able to test fire my k98 & M96 on the range yesterday (an hour outside of Melbourne).

I must say, the evaluations on surplusrifle.com are spot on, the M96 IS a "Ballerina". Very strong and accurate without an inch more fat or weight than required on the rifle, a beautiful piece.

After mucking about with a paper target at 100m and adjusting my firing position several times, I setup my targets:

I put 2 bowling pins (yes bowling pins!) one at 50m another at 100m, a coke can at 200m and a metal sign at 300m.

on OPEN sights, I hit every target first time! I needed the marshall to call the 300 as hits weren't visible to the naked eye, but it was true.


The izzy k98 was a totally different story, I think perhaps it will be something I have to get used to but simply stated, if the m96 were a ballarina, this k98, rebored to handle 7.62 ammo was a pig in a tutu. It kicks like a donkey and I could not quite get the grouping I was after. The sights definitely need adjusting and I must get an opinion about the barrel because she wasn't firing very consistently...then again, picking myself up off the floor everytime I fired it probably didn't help

I pity the poor jew who got off the boat in 1948 in the "promised land" and were given one of these + 1 hrs training to fight the arabs with...

[ 31. October 2004, 05:34 PM: Message edited by: BratwurstDimSum ]

 

Brat is the sight blade straight or worn and is the barrel slightly curved-out of whack. did you take a bore light to it to see the inside of the barrel by chance ?

yes the K98 kicks but just remember to adjust your shoulder and arm to it. It will take a little time

 

Well BWDS, that is very cool that you were able to go out and enjoy your rifles. WOOHOO! I'm also sorry to hear about your disappointment with the K98. I have never personally fired one, but from nearly everything that I've read most of them say that it is The Top or in the top three of the most favorite and accurate rifles. But maybe it will take some getting used to as Erich stated. Good Luck!!

V/R AF4L

 

Sorry to hear about the K98 being a bit of a bugger on the range, then again, there was no way it was going to perform up to the standard of your M96. Sounds like it may have a couple of problems as Erich mentioned, hopefully something you can sort out.

 

Thanks for the encouragement guys, Erich, just in case you are looking at my picture that I supplied on the previous page, remember I said that in order to combine all 5 pictures into one the barrel looks a bit bent...something to do with the camera optics I think...

I had a good look up the bore and it didn't look bent, though I didn't have the light you were talking about. To "center" the grouping, I had to aim at the 3 oclock position of the red target border and then down to the 4 oclock posi. Well, I'll try again with a scope next time and we'll see how that goes.

Just a point of interest, do people find hitting targets accurately at 200 meters with military rifles "easier" than, say, at shorter ranges?

 

While looking for other books, I finally found my copy of 'BBOTW' ( 'Backbone Of The Wehrmacht' , by Richard D Law ), the acknowledged K98 'bible' published by Collector Grade.

The front sight hood was introduced in December 1939, together with the cupped buttplate.

The buttplate featuring a hole for bolt disassembly was fitted only to the Kriegsmodell K98k which entered production very late in 1944. Other Kriegsmodell features were lack of bayonet lug and cleaning rod ( replaced by the Abdeckblech ( metal plate ) which screwed onto the bare wood tip of the stock. The band spring was also omitted ; the upper and lower bands being held in place by wood screws.

 

Bratwurst, you shooting on a rest[sandbag]? Any gunshop can bore-sight this for next to nothing,which should tell you if the barrel is straight.I might have missed this but is this gun re-barreled for 7.62 NATO, 7.62x39[AK-47]? If NATO, you've got a .308 Winchester and that's an accurate round.As mentioned,try differant brands and weights to see what your gun likes.

 

Hmmm Martin, are you saying my rifle has a kriegs stock? If it is then its again interesting, there is a bayonet lug on the end that I'm haveing trouble removing so it is pretty safe to assume its been on some time. I've managed to dissassemble the rest of the rifle. Can you define "band spring" if that is the metal bit just aft of the bayonet lug then it is there, and not nailed on, but it is a late war version. On the whole the setup is a bit of a cobble-to, with different serials all over the joint.

I tried your trick with the oiling, there was a s***load of oil and dirt that came up during the meths rubdown but after 3 x the stock still seemed sticky, even after washing the whole thing down in H20 and rubbing it with a cloth...does it have to be bone dry before the polish?

FramerT, indeed it is a NATO round and I do fire .308 Winchester rounds, willdo on the different bullets but I think I'll have to do the old driving range trick and just shoot off a "bucket of 100" till I find a technique I'm used to ... ouch!

[ 01. November 2004, 11:34 PM: Message edited by: BratwurstDimSum ]