Small Scale Military Headquarters

Several years ago I purchased a 1945 K98 Mauser, that was re-chambered to 7.62x51mm NATO (308) round. Last November I dropped it off at a friend of mine who is far more knowledgeable about fire arms than I so he could look it over and give me a no BS answer if the gun was safe to fire. I picked it up Monday night and was given the go ahead to fire it. So this Saturday I will be at the range to see how this 60 year old rifle fires. The anticipation is killing me.

Wish me luck.

Good luck bubba. Has the rifle been sporterized in addition to being rechambered? Or does it retain it's original appearance/configuration?

The rifle still looks like a K98 with the original stock. The rifle is considered an Israeli K98. After WWII the Israeli's purchased stock piles of these and re-chambered them for the NATO round. I bought it cheap as a display piece from a dealer who said it was still a fireable weapon. I cleaned a little of the cosmoline off but never took it apart to inspect (didn't know how). I told my friend about it and it peaked his interest and wanted to give it a once over.

You wouldn't know it was re-chambered until you took a closer look at it to see the stamp on the receiver.

Very nice. Let us know how it shoots.

Sounds like you will have a lot of fun! I finally took my Enfield SMLE III MK 1 and 1944 Colt 45 (Ithaca) out early last year for some shooting. It's amazing just how powerful they are......

-Ski

My friend in college got an old russian military rifle at a gun show for like 30 or 40 bucks. It was in sad shape, but he cleaned it up and only had to replace one part on it. My parents have some property and I had set up a shooting range in an old creek bed. We filled a gallon milk jug up with water and took turns shooting at it with his russian rifle. MAN! one of us (I would like to say it was me-but I would be lying! ) nailed that jug. As the bullet hit the jug it just blew it to pieces. BOOM! I fired it and noticed: how loud it was and how much kick it had.
I have a M1 Carbine and in comparison to my friend's russian rifle - mine is like firing a pop gun! I love my M1 Carbine- make no mistake. It fires as fast as you can pull the trigger and is very light to haul around. If I had to use it in combat - I would be looking for a Thompson or M1 Garand.

Had another friend in college who purchased a french handgun used during the French fight in Vietnam 1954. The handgun looked nice and felt good in your had, but the ammo (French long) dated from the mid 50's and fired half of the time. We called it the 50-50 gun because it only fired 50% of the time.
Good times.....

Well I fired 104 rounds through the old Mauser this Saturday and Sunday. Holly cow was that fun! My shoulder was a bit tender Sunday morning but that didn't stop me from putting 50 more rounds through it. After an adjustment to the sights I was able to hold a grouping of about 4 inches. At 75 yards. I still couldn't hit the water filled soda cans at that range. With iron sights I could barley see them.

My brother came out with his scoped, Russian SKS. That was allot of fun. We had no problem taking out the soda cans with that.

The two of us are researching a 1942 Russian M38, that we found at a local sporting goods store. It fires a 7.62x54mm round and has a flat piece of steel for a but plate. The gun is extremely simple and light as hell. Maybe 5 lbs empty??? Compared to my Mauser which fires a 7.62x51mm and is much heavier, we can only speculate that the thing must kick like an ox.

Since my Mauser is a bastard child anyways. Re-chambered and no matching numbers. I am thinking of looking for a reproduction German scope, like one that would have been mounted to the sniper K98s during the war.

Now I need more cheap ammo, I can't wait to fire it again!

Oustanding! Glad you had a good time.

My K98 still shoots, But itd in its Oruginal 8mm. I did have a 1944 G43 that was rechambered to 308. It fired well also. Alot of European countrys in the west used leftover German weapons and rechambered them for the nato round in the early postwar years.

Wow, a G43?? Neat!

Happy your K98 fired ok! I have my 1942 Moison Nagant complete with bayonet. I haven't fired it yet, even though I bought a couple hundred rounds for it. You should not spend more that maybe $90-$100 for a Nagant. In shotgun news, they literally go for $65 including the bayonet!!!

-Ski

Yep I miss my G43, Had to sell it when I lost My Job back in may. I still have the K98 along with the bayonet and frog made in occupied France.

Well I bought that 1942 M38 Mosin Nagant last Wednesday for $130. I felt it was worth every penny since it was in such great shape. Then they went on sale on Saturday, so I went back and got $50 back. I then took their add to Fleet Farm (a local hardware store) and purchased a 1948 M44 they had that was in even better shape. This one is like brand new, except for the excessive coats of varnish and all the numbers match with no force matching. The finish of the post war rifle is way better then the war time production units.

Last Saturday I fired the M38. Holy Cow! Talk about loud! The M38 and M44 are carbines, overall length is about 40" so when fired the powder is still burning after the bullet leaves the barrel, creating a large muzzle flash. Even with ear plugs properly inserted, my ears still rang after every shoot. The M38 held a nice group at 70 yards, although a little high and right. It started to rain before I had a chance to adjust the front sight.

This weekend I will be shooting the .308 K98 and both Mosin Nagants at a 100 yard range. With any luck I will get both Mosins sighted properly.

I dunno. Someone may come and arrest you for having too much fun.

Yeah, carbines using the same ammo as the long rifles tend to be flashy, loud and hard kicking. This is exactly why the .303 Lee Enfield Jungle carbine has the flash hider and rubber pad on the stock. It was notorious for loosing it's accuracy over a couple hundred rounds.....

-Ski