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I sold one last late last year.  It was an FN contract in 7.62NATO.  It was matching bolt to receiver which were the only numbers on it.  It was nice but it was taking up space and tying up money.

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I bought a nice one last year $200

Great bore too.  Built on a 45 dou k98

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I've got one on layaway that I should be picking up this week.

The prices for them on gunbroker have gone full retard. Several nasty Guatemala rifles have gone for a almost a grand in the last month. A few nice Erma built guns & Fn built guns have gone north of $1400.

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You are going to have a hard time finding one for under $900. They haven’t imported them in years so it’s not like they are in stock somewhere. Your best chance is to find one at a shop or a show where they haven’t kept up on prices. That gets harder to do every day.

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Mine is FN manufacture.


OP your best bet is to hit up gun shows and ask around there too.

Most auction sites will attract the people that will pay high prices.

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About 10 or 12 years ago I was searching for a nice k98 and bought an Israeli k98 as a
placeholder.  A couple of years later I found a nice all German k98.   I've been meaning
to post some photos of the Israeli so you guys can tell me about it.

I had planned to sell the Israeli till I picked up a Israeli High Power, they make such a nice
pair that I don't know if I want to split them up.

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Another source, joining the mailing list is recommended.

https://www.allans-armory.com/aa.php

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https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/188236/20210217_071426-1829099.jpg

Getting more and more opportunities to get rid of this one.

It isn't an AR but it is a carbine.



Israel; a nation born from and a people forged by conflict, bloodshed, and hardship. Originally a backwater in the Ottoman Empire and later a crucial part of the British Empire. The region we know today as the Nation of Israel was born on May 14, 1948. But how did that happen? Well, let's go back a couple of years.

At the end of World War II, the British Empire was crumbling. They were economically ruined from the war and didn't have the political or economic strength to keep their colonies in check.  The Yishuv (Jewish residents of the area prior to the creation of Israeli State) in an attempt to strengthen home rule actively recruited and smuggled European Jews fleeing the horrors after the Holocaust. Many tried to reach Palestine but many were turned away or rounded up and placed in detention camps in Atlit and Cyprus by the British Government since the Empire wanted to keep the peace in the region.

Prior to WWII and after, Jewish immigration to the region was a contentious issue for the British since the local Arab populations were not in favor of more Jewish neighbors. Even though Jews assisted the British to conquer the area from the Ottomans even even helped suppress Arab revolt against British rule in the 1920s. By the immediate post war period, the Crown simply wanted peace in the region. The Jews in Europe and in the Holy Land wanted home rule and a place to call their own.

Two groups, the Haganah and the Irgun (the forerunners to the Israeli Defense Forces) launched an attack on the British administrative headquarters for Palestine on July 22, 1946. A total of 91 people of various nationalities were killed, 46 were injured, and the location was also he site of the Secretariat of the Government of Palestine and the Headquarters of the British Armed Forces in Palestine and Transjordan.

At the time, it was considered one of the "most lethal terrorist incidents of the twentieth century." The end result was that in 1947, the British announced they would withdraw from Palestine in a short time frame, stating it was unable to arrive at a solution acceptable to both Arabs and Jews. The newly formed United Nations stepped in and attempted to split the region between Jewish and Arab residents. On May 15, 1948;  the armies of four Arab countries (Egypt, Syria, Transjordan and Iraq) entered what had been British Mandatory Palestine, launching the 1948 ArabIsraeli War.

A hard and brutal conflict was fought. But the end result was Israeli victory.



The newly formed Israeli government was short on funds and worse, short on arms. Prior to the establishment of the IDF, the Haganah and the Irgun used whatever they could get their hands on. British Enfields, American M1 Carbines, Italian Carcanos, etc. They'd buy them from friendly supporters, smuggle them in, and out right steal them if they had to. The war thought them an important lesson. They needed to standardize.

Being that the newly formed nation was also poor at the time, they couldn't go and buy the upcoming latest and greatest designs just yet. But this was the later 1940s. Europe was awash in arms, German 98k Mausers to be exact. The Germans in their short lived expansionist era set up a number of arms plants in the occupied territories scattered across Europe.

One of the largest was in Czechoslovakia. A nation with a long history of arms production,  Czechoslovakia was converted to crank out Masuers for the Third Reich. After the war, the Czechs and Slovaks were hurting for work and had an ample supply of parts, machinery, and the skilled labor to make rifles. Thus, a business deal was struck and the rest is history.



Israel bought rifles from Czechoslovakia and other European nations through surplus sales and contracted with FN Herstal of Belgium to make brand new Masuers. By 1954-1955, Israeli was looking to update their front-line units with FN's new darling, the FN FAL. Israel had an issue. What to do with the thousands of Masuers and 7.92x57mm ammo they had? They could keep them original and have two separate supply lines of arms and munitions to equip front-line troops and reservists or they could convert the Mausers to 7.62x51mm NATO and make ammunition logistics far easier. They went with the logical answer. They converted the Mausers of course! Starting in 1956 and not officially ending until the cessation of hostilities of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.



Israeli converted Masuers were reworked from top to bottom. The rifles were stripped down to their basic components and anything not serviceable was thrown away. Keeping rifles original by serial number was not a concern for the IDF. Everything was literally simply thrown into large parts bins and when rifles were being rebuilt, parts were pulled and rifles were assembled. In fact, every collector guide states that if you run across a serial matching Israeli Mauser. It is a fake. The Bolt and Receiver might match, but everything else sure won't.



The Israelis made brand new barrels, new internal magazines, and new front sights due to the different ballistics with the 7.62x51mm NATO. If the stock was not serviceable, newly manufactured breechwood ones were used. The Israelis also scrapped the cleaning rod and the new stocks didn't even have a provision for them since the IDF issued a pull through cleaning kit for the FN FAL.



IDF Issued Cleaning Kit.



A common myth associated with the Israeli Mausers is that the IDF purposefully struck any Waffenamt markings, thus purifying the rifle of any Nazi connection. This isn't the case. A number of WaA markings are found intact on my rifle and others I've seen and handled. But one fact that is true, all converted Masuers had 7.62 marked on the receiver to clearly alert the shooter that the gun is not chambered in the older 7.92x57mm.





The Israeli Masuer saw service in the Israeli War of Independence of 1948, the 19511956 Retribution Operations,the Suez Campaign of 1956, the Six Day War of 1967, and finally the Yom Kippur War of 1973.



In the Six Day War, the FN FAL was the front-line standard for the IDF, but the numerous reservists called to active duty were issued the Masuers. This was the last large scale use of the Mauser. to see combat action. It served with distinction alongside the FN FAL and Uzi SMG.


IDF soldier with FN FAL.


IDF in combat with Mauser Rifle.


IDF in combat with Mauser Rifle.


IDF at the Western Wall wih Uzi SMG.

By 1973 and the Yom Kippur War, the Masuer was only assigned to rear communication specialists as a defensive weapon. After the war, they were pulled from service and mostly given to Guatemala as military aid. Israel and Guatemala have always had a close relationship due to the small Central American county being the tie breaking vote to admit Israel into the United Nations. The Guatemalans rode the Masuers hard and put them away wet. You can tell an Israeli surplussed gun versus a Guatemalan one due to the condition.


Typical Guatemalan Condition

My rifle is a Czech built gun. With a 1944 dated receiver and a near mint re-arsenal overhaul. I got mine around the 1999/2000 time frame. In fact it was the first gun I purchased with my own money. In fact, I got mine at the Fort Lauderdale Gun Show, the very one the Gun Grabbers recently shut down. I worked hard and saved up my pennies for a military grade rifle in .30-06 Springfield or .308 Winchester. I was hankering a M1903 and ran across one at a table. The vendor had it priced at $300 and poor teenage me couldn't afford it. I saw plenty of Mausers but didn't want one since they were in 7.92x57mm and I didn't want to buy and stockpile another chambering. But luck shined upon me, the vendor that had the M1903 also had an Israeli Mauser for $225 and was willing throw in 500rds of surplus 7.62 NATO. I had a budget of $250 and was set. There was a loud BANG! when wallet broke the sound barrier. I took the rifle home and since then I've enjoyed it.

Between my time when I reenacted WWII Partisan or took part in local rifle matches. My Mauser trucked right along. As I grew older, my Mauser migrated from the front of my safe to the back. But but it was never forgotten. A real treat with my Mauser happened with an elderly neighbor I had in Miami. He was a veteran of the 1948 Israeli War and retired from the IDF right before the Six Day War and moved to sunny South Florida. We always saw me loading up and going to the range and asked one day what I had. When he saw the Mauser, he suddenly opened up and went back to being a young man in the IDF fighting for Israel's freedom. He told me about how he was tired, scared, and hungry. But full of hope and pride with the belief that his sacrifice would be for the betterment of his people. I could tell with the glint in his eyes that he remembered carrying a Mauser just like mine and sure enough. He remembered when he shot it at the range.



In the end, these rifles are a gem to have. They tell a story of hardship, struggle, and rebirth. A rifle originally made by a government set to eradicate a specific people were then used by those people to gain independence and then used to secure their freedom. It really is an amazing story and they proudly belong in anyone's armory of liberty. Mine sure is a beaut and a hell of a shooter. If you run across a nice conditioned Israeli Masuer, give her a good home and some range time. You'll be surprised with a smile. Trust me.

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Your K98k was originally made by J. P. Sauer & Sohn in 1940, under a contract for the Swedish military.  It would have been originally produced in 7.92x57mm (8mm Mauser) but rechambered before use by the Swedes into 8x63mm caliber, for issue to Swedish machine gun team members whose MGs were in 8x63mm so they could share ammo.  The Swedes referred to these rifles as the "Gevär m/40".  Sweden's m/40 rifles were later surplused and sold to the Israelis in 1948, who later rebarreled all their various K98k and K98k-like Mauser rifles into 7.62 NATO in the 1950s, for use by second-line and reserve troops alongside the IDF's primary FN FAL rifles.  They marked the receivers and stocks with prominent "7.62" markings, to ensure that the correct ammo was used with these converted Mausers.

The GB stamp on the left side of the receiver is an inspection stamp by the Swedish inspector Gustaf Bjorkenstam.  Other m/40s are marked SS for Sten Stenmo.

The Star of David and circle stamps with Hebrew letters within are Israeli markings.  The original Nazi eagle proof mark next to the serial number has been chiseled off by the Israelis.

(These are a cool little subset of the Israeli Mauser family, and should command a small premium compared to a more typical Israeli K98k of the same condition.)

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Here's mine, along with some of my other K98ks.  (It's the bottom one.)

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/2298/xrdsyp.jpg

Mine's one of the rifles that came in via Guatamala a while back.  The exterior metal's got a decent amount of patina due to less than ideal storage during its stint in Central America, which is common for rifles from this batch, but it still shoots just fine.  It's from the Israeli rifle contract with FN, produced with the IDF crest on the receiver.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/3171/IMQZ1W.jpg

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Paid more than I care for, but it's a clean one & came with the goodies.

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/239279/Resized_20210219_142728-1833161.jpg

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/239279/Resized_20210219_142750-1833162.jpg

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/239279/Resized_20210219_142832-1833163.jpg

The bayonet is a 1936 dated s/172 in near mint condition.  Mismatched scabbard and frog unfortunately.  Israeli grenade launcher adapter,  proper cleaning kit, & wooden chamber cleaner.  Israeli sling & leeper too.

Also got the original receipt from when it shipped from Armscorp on 19 November 1985.

Theres been a few on gunbroker in the last few months that are real similar, go around $1500 & up. That's without goodies.

The last 7.62 Israeli mauser I had was 10 years ago & was a beat to shit South American example I got for 2 bills.  It'd shoot minute of barn... Somedays.