Got My K98 At Last !

Ouch, nasty Erich. I have heared stories of missfires, most of them i guess are fairytales to scare young cadets. It is sad that the one thing people seem to forget about firearms is how easily they can either go wrong (if handled badly) or how dangerous they can be. A friend of mine in the US told me of a neighbour who blew his 6 year old daughters head off with a shotgun when he was trying to prepare it for cleaning!Stories like that make me glad that we have our fairly strict controls on firearm ownership.

 

Stefan I know what you are saying as we have at least a dozen or so accidents every year due to the carelessness of loaded weapons around the house. We (wife and I) took an oath together that we would share our knowledge with our kids and get them through the safety programs necessary to arm and shoot firemarms safely.
the real problem I have seen repeatedly is the arms loaded sitting on a rifle rack somewhere accessible in the house to the children. And if the parents aren't wise enough to initiate some sort of responsiblibty then let the axe fall.....

two cents E

 

'My' K98 Yugo mismatch was under £200, whereas in the States I think you're paying about $200 or less for a good 'shooter'.

One last thing about that 9mm parabellum ammo. The steel-cased stuff was intended generally for MP40 use ; brass cartridges were manufactured and recommended for P.08 and ( to a lesser degree ) P.38 right to the end.....

 

Erich, I know exactly what you mean. It is rather sad that in a country where it is so easy to get hold of weapons, so many people are ignorant of basic procedures (like not keeping weapons loaded). I know one chap who says he keeps his pistols loaded 'just in case', you can't seriously tell me that it is necessary to keep two pistols loaded at all times just in case someone comes to your house!?!?

Sorry if anyone disagrees but frankly the way I see it most people woulden't have the guts to use a gun if it were necessary and apart from that how long does it take to slip a mag into a pistol, a stripper into a rifle or a cartridge into a shotgun? Surley the extra seconds are worth the reduced risk, particularly if you have kids about.

Erich, again I agree 100% about what you are saying about teaching kids. I remember when I was 5 my father taught me how to use a knife and I had my own pocket knife. The fact is that I was taught how to use it, I did cut myself once or twice but most importantly I learned to respect it. The same applies to all weapons, particularly firearms. If kids become accustomed to treating them with respect at a young age and then learn how to handle them safely when they are old enough, they will be totally safe with a lethal weapon. Thats the way I see it anyhow.

 

They're probably as plentiful as the SKS... since millions were made, which makes them a fairly "cheap" buy. When I was at Ft. Bragg, N.C. you could go into downtown Fayetteville and buy a whole case of SKS's still covered in the cosmoline packing grease right out of the crates for about $75.00 U.S. dollars!

 

how long ago was that friend ? Were they Chinese SKS ? not sure if this wepaon system is even legal anymore is it ? probaly will depend on the State law. here in Oregon I have found it tough to find one and it is not that I want one either. I think they are junk.....

The K98 has been altered as such for work in the mideast and in Central and South America, so the rifle from WW 2 has been polluted. You will pay handsomely for a prime 1941-43 piece and a bit less for 1944-45 as the condition of the rifle de-graded.

 

Thanks for the information everone. Yes we got to be careful anytime we shoot old guns. I told my dad what yall said about the Lugar that wouldn't throw the shells out and jammed and he said the Lugar that jammed was being shot woth new rounds and had the problem. When he used a friends reloads with a little more punch the shells recoiled perfect and a new one slide right in. The 9mm rounds/bullets today don't have the same punch power as they did in the war. The K98 from Greg fired each and every round perfectly, they adjusted the sight thing on top and had a good pattern at 200 yards not bad for a WWII rifle and WWII rounds. Both Greg and my dad said it was a smooth shooter. My dad says when the Lugar quits its time to chunk it cause we dont keep guns that dont work anymore. The flintlocks still fire but its alot of mess to do it but we still keep them.

 

K98 update - used a strong cleaner to remove oily marks and muck from the stock plus some very light wire-wool treatment on one rough patch. Excess cosmolene removed from all the metal parts with methylated spirit & Parker-Hale Express Gun Oil applied to all moving parts.

And then every evening this week I've rubbed in a good beeswax polish over the whole stock, left to dry overnight and then buffed every morning.

It now looks and feels really super - that lovely 'swirly-grain' laminated stock so typical of war-manufactured K98s together with the original red glue. Yum yum ! ( to use a technical term... )

 

Martin--are you really a gun collector or are you a termite?

 

Let's just say this K98 looks good enough to eat ....

 

Today - using a superb 'step-by-step' guide posted on the USA 'Curio&Relic' Forum - disassembled, cleaned and reassembled the bolt.

I'd been a little disappointed by the trigger action and a rather gummy-sounding release. No wonder - the whole 'works' was choked up with 60-year-old grease which had solidified. Very satisfying to clean all the parts, lightly grease and oil, reassemble - and now the rifle cocks crisply and the firing-pin releases with a very -sounding 'crack'.

Sorry to drone on - but I've had real fun with this addition to my collection....

 

Old threads never die.....I was browsing the Forum for something else and came across this one. That K98 is still a treasured possession - I didn't have a digi camera in those days, so here's a couple of shots to bring the thread up to date

 

Very nice, I'm jealous.

 

a very nice looking peace there martin thanks for leting us see this rifle
best krieg

 

Martin, the woodwork looks to be in excellent condition, most K98s I have seen at militaria shows tend to be in a lot poorer condition, with dents and chips in the wood.

A K98 is on my shopping list...

 

NIce one Martin, and the cleaning is superb.

Best regards-C.

 

Yes - don't forget that this was purchased five years ago now.....I really, REALLY REALLY wanted an A1+ condition laminated stock ( for no other reason than that that's what you se in so many pictures of 1944 NW Europe combat). Even then, I had to look very hard before finding this batch, and had to go through the whole lot before finding 'my' rifle - and keep in mind also that this is a Yugo re-work.....

Today, really nice K98s are much harder to find ; many are pre-war foreign contract weapons - nice, but they don't have that '1944 look'.

Even the correct slings aren't easy to find - I was really 'chuffed' when I found a perfect one at the Arlon militaria bourse in 2004.....

 

I just got the camera out to take a few more pics....







A shot which gives a nice view of the very distinctive beechwood grain, with the correct 'red' resin glue showing.....



And finally one which, if you look closely, gives a good idea of how many laminations were involved. Quite a contrast to the solid piece of walnut which formed the stock of earlier K98s.....

 

My god, what a beauty!