Howdy boys, got a question for y’all. My stepdads dad brought this Model 98 back from the good ol war and it’s literally been sitting in the attic ever since. Looks to be in decent condition for a rifle that’s almost 80 years old, but there’s some stuff wrong with it. I understand that the stock is completely wrong, don’t know how or why that is. I would really enjoy getting this piece of history restored and in working order and I want to do it myself instead of taking it to a gunsmith, but I’m a complete novice when it comes to restoration. What are some of the first steps I can take? Do you guys think it’s even restorable? My uncle took it to his gunsmith and he said it isn’t, but I fully believe that that’s bullshit. I got plenty of pictures of the gun, and I can take even more on demand. Thanks in advance Jow Forumsomrades.
Model .98 Restoration Project
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Need more pictures. The "whole gun" if you will. It's missing the trigger guard, magazine, and action screws. Maybe $100.
I would recommend against trying to “restore” it for the purpose of shooting by yourself. You’d more than likely wind up just having to pay for individual parts and you’d wind up creating a frankengun of mismatched pieces, greatly devaluing the worth of the rifle. You’d also be likely overpaying for the parts as well because the milsurp parts market is Jewish as fuck right now. Your best bet is to find a nice rifle online for shooting and enjoy this one as a nice piece of history. If you’re adamant however, try taking it to another gunsmith and explain your situation and listen to anything and everything he recommends.
I fully want to restore this rifle and not for shooting. It is my step dads, father’s gun he pried from some dead guy over in Europe and I think it would be a nice gesture to have it at least looking nice. Working order is honestly last on my mind, alrhough it would be very fun to be able to restore it to full working order. Pic is related
Ignore this man. I've restored 3 sporters now, and you don't need a gunsmith if it's worth restoring. K98s are easy, there are plenty of spare parts online. Sure, you'll have a piece with no true collectors value, but you'll have a shooter with family lineage. Biggest thing to do is determine if the barrel has been cut, if the stock has been cut, and if not then if the stock is sound.
Stock is cut. Please post a picture of the front sight
The stock is not the right one and I believe it belonged to an enfield or Springfield rifle, not too sure. We’ve known the stock isn’t right and I’ll proavbly have to have one built or find an old one.
Front sight for the boys
Your barrel length should be just under 24 inches. Assuming it's not cut, it's worth restoring, that front sight looks correct, so it probably is fine. If it is cut, then you'd need a new barrel which may not be worth it, or you could deal with incorrect barrel length and try anyway. You will need the following items
K98 stock
Front band
Front band spring
Rear band
Handgaurd
Buttplate and screws, there are two different types, depending on the stock
Trigger guard, magazine floorplate and springs
Front and rear action screws
By the way, the stock looks like a correct k98 stock that has been cut down. It's not an Enfield or Springfield stock. You'll need the metal bits from it. Expect this project to cost over $300. Here's a picture of my last saved sporter. By the way, there are numbers on the bolt, do they match the numbers on the rifle?
Just to add, Ebay currently has every part you need
Don’t believe the barrel has been cut or modified by any means. The serial numbers are matching on both the bolt and rifle. If this is the correct stock how come the receiver doesn’t sit properly? It doesn’t look like it fits at all and seems mismatched. I’m not very familiar with the term “cut stock” other than with a shotgun. I was looking to spend probably 1000 at the most on restoration, but over time of course.
Thanks that’s very helpful.
Gonna step out to the dog park y’all, don’t think I’m abandoning this thread. I will make a new one if this doesn’t stay bumped. More information from you guys than I’ve ever received in months about this rifle so stay with me.
Basically, the stock has been cut in half and turned into a sporter stock. In your case, it looks more like the stock was cut into thirds, then the two ends were stuck together leaving the middle out. Or it might just be a stock from another type of mauser. It looks very odd to me
You will be able to fix it for well under that.
You can find everything you need here:
libertytreecollectors.com
Unfortunately, my uncle sold my Grandfather's 98 for $100 of booze. Very jealous of you.
This gun was saved from my stepdads heroin addict sister, who almost sold it. She was in charge of the weapons their dad brought back and she hocked many of them for her addiction. Including several working “machine guns” my stepdad can describe them. He’s kinda a noguns faggot who can’t describe them properly or even recognize a picture if I showed him. Also part of the reason why he isn’t moved by this K98 and it’s current status. He’s owned this rifle for years and he doesn’t want to spend 300 dollars to get it in possible working condition. A gun his dad had, who also died when my stepdad was 15, so there’s not a lot of stuff around after he passed.
If you read above, step grandpa brought back many weapons from overseas and they were unfortunately sold for drugs, so not much is known about what exactly stock this, if she took apart guns, sold the stock of different weapons, no one knows. I haven’t removed any of the zip ties on it which prevent the receiver from resting properly in the stock yet.
if the barrel isn't cut you are probably best served by finding a proper k98 stock, I have restored a few over the years and your best bet (if you want to do things cheap) is to check out the local gun shows for a stock, or if price is not a concern search online for a stock set
So I just removed the zip ties and it it’s certainly not the correct stock and gets caught on pic related portion of the barrel. Not sure what that part would be called but the stock is too narrow for the gun to sit inside snugly.
I will probably be making my own. I live in Colorado and there are a lot of trees I can cut down here.
The stock is definitely incorrect, and possibly cut down too. I dont really know. Good luck making your own stock. A handmade military profile stock would be very cool
Shouldn’t be too hard, just might take a lot of time but I got that. Does anyone know what this might be worth if I did restore it with an unoriginal stock and other supplemental parts non original?
Very little, honestly. The fact that the bolt matches makes it hard to put a value on, but generally restored sporters don't hold much value other than sentimental and shooter value. Also, you will regret selling it
I would never sell it, especially if I restored it. I was just wondering.
That's good. It's a rough guess, but probably 5-600 dollars
I recommend that you buy all the hardware you need from ZIB militaria (Germany). I'm doing exactly same thing that you but my rifle is in better condition..
Do it user, I've been restoring a type 99 myself. I got it for free in a trade and got the stock for very cheap (although it had been refinished). The only thing I'm not doing correctly is the urushi finish on the stock, I'm extremely allergic to that shit so tru-oil will have to do. I will either rebend the bolt back straight or get another bolt body. Not worried about headspace, Arisakas aren't gonna blow up no matter what. If the cases bulge then I might do something about it.
But enough blog posting, don't let anyone get you down about "muh waste of money" or "muh frankengun". If you enjoy it and the gun is returned to military configuration then there's nothing wrong with it. One less bubba in the world.