just inhearited 98

[irish murphy]

I love the mauser rifles,i will own a 6.5x55 oneday.Have had the chance to buy a few 8mm mausers.Nothing wrong with them.I just dont like the rear sights.Stick to my smles i think.

Very nice mauser cooker.Good score mate.

[cooker300]

ok thanks to all you guys. on the revicer it is a eagle over the swastika. on the floor plate the lines look more like 3 little lines. not a eagle. and the "ai" is on the right side of the reciver. there is no markings on the wood at all that i have found. also on top of the revicer above the bnz there is a stamp with something that is too small to read.

[Kodiak32]

cooker300, I'll see if any of my other books has the 3 lines on the floor plate and the "ai" on the side of the reciever.

I haven't found a real great site on Mauser markings yet, maybe if someone knows of one they could post it.

Ok, I found a website that has alot of K98 codes and markings listed,

New adresses

If you have to do a google search type in German Code Page , look for the result that looks like:

New address
New URL. german.gif (5627 octets)
users.swing.be/sw017995/german-codes.htm

[cooker300]

ok now im realy lost. looked on all the sites that you guys have gave and nothing at all for the ai.. and this is a real kicker my bosses grandfather in law was in the german army during wwii and he is not even sure what it might be.

[Kodiak32]

I found the ai stamping just click on the link below.

( Mauser 98k: Factory codes ) :: ïÒÕÖÅÊÎÙÊ ÍÁÇÁÚÉÎ óÎÁÊÐÅÒ :: îÉÖÎÉÊ îÏ×ÇÏÒÏÄ :: ïÒÕÖÉÅ :: âÏÅÐÒÉÐÁÓÙ :: íÁËÅÔÙ :: íÁÕÚÅÒ :: Mauser :: ÐÕÌÅÍÅÔ íÁËÓÉÍ :: ÷ÉÎÔÏ×ËÁ É ËÁÒÁÂÉÎ íÏÓÉÎÁ :: ðÉÓÔÏÌÅÔ-ÐÕÌÅÍÅÔ äÅÇÔÑÒÅ×Á :: ðÉÓÔÏÌÅÔ-ÐÕÌÅÍÅÔ óÕÄÁÅ×Á :: éÎÓÔÒÕËÃÉÉ

They listed it as unknown.. Go Figure.. Eventually the answer will surface.

[cooker300]

thanks kodiak32

ok i got some more #'s off the gun
1st the 3 little line i found on the bottom are the german eagle over 77
ok now to the #'s on top above the bnz it looks like the eagle and swaiska then1aA623 and by the floor plate just the eagle 3A7

[Kodiak32]

Sorry Paper, I missed your Mauser link first time around and it looks like a good one. I added to my my favorites.

I'll have too agree with OZHUNTER62 on the stock looking different up front.

If you take it to a smith, he should be able to give you a run down on the rifle. He might even be able to help decipher some of the markings.

What we know is it's a 1943 Mod 98 bnz Steyr-Daimler-Puch, Steyr Austria. I think the marking 1aA623 you mentioned in your last post might actually be WaA623, as Sarge mentioned. This mark is associated with the maker of the rifle. If it is a 1, I can't even guess.

If you can't figure out all the markings, that would be another reason to keep it.

[cooker300]

it probly is a "w" its the tiniest writing i ever saw. and after talking to my uncle last night he thinks that granddad cut 2-3in off the butt end due to cracking a big hunk of wood out and the sling holes are covered over
thanks again for all the info.

[Kodiak32]

Too bad about the stock, but that's happened too many Mausers.

You can get a replacement on the net or a local gun show fairly reasonable. If possible try to get one with the WaA623 stamped somewhere on the stock (probably the butt), I think that would be a proper match for that rifle. But I would try to learn more about it first and then get a stock you think is best. Since it was your Grandfathers rifle you might decide to leave it as is.

Your rifle has some very huge points, no import or russian capture marks and it appears to be all matching. My most recent Mauser is a non-matching, Russian Capture with import marks and some lousy russian shellac all over it, so mine has many more issues than yours. I would say yours is worth more than mine even with the cut down stock.

Joe

[cooker300]

thanks joe. not sure what im going to do with it yet. its a little short for me to shoot. but im not even sure if im going to fire it. would love to but dont know.

ok now i have a really dumb question. should or would the bayonet have the same serial # as the gun or is it differnt.

[Kodiak32]

The answer to your question about the bayonet matching the reciever number is; I don't know. I know that bayonets and scabbards have serial numbers that match, I'm not sure about matching with reciever. The Mauser books I have don't go into detail on the accessories, that's a seperate book I guess. Hopefully someone who knows for sure can let us know. I was looking for a bayonet for each of mine, if I come across some info I'll post it here. If no one posts I'll start a new thread on the subject.

Before I caught the "Mauser Bug" I knew very little about the rifles, except that they are "really cool to shoot", louder than (you know) and they have a great history. Like yourself I'm still learning about the K98 Mausers and I'm sure if you shoot yours, you will want to keep it.

If you find a good deal on a k98 stock, I would go for it regardless of the stampings. If you would get a replacement stock and it has hardware, butt plate etc., keep the original matching hardware with the rifle. You might want to check Numrich Gun Parts, they are currently out of Mauser stocks, but may have some soon.

Here's the link Firearm Parts and Accessories | Numrich Gun Parts Corp. | e-GunParts.com. This company is very good to deal with and very fast shippers. I buy something from them once every couple of months and they haven't failed me yet. If you don't like something they will exchange it.

Joe

[Sarge]

No, bayonets did not have matching numbers to the rifle. They also were not issued with any regard to the date on rifle & bayonet matching. Two totaly seperate items of issue with no regard to matching.
The Soldbuch did not list any mfgr marking for either, just the ser nr of each.

Finding a stock for a bnz will be difficult and expensive. There are a lot of people looking for 623 proofed stocks, including me. If you want to put a military stock back on the rifle I'd suggest that you find a cupped butt plate stock for the best price you can and ignore the markings. Probably save yourself at least $100.
Sarge

[SwedeSteve]

Pretty Rifle! Congrats.

[ggordon]

Cooker:

Since you're a newby, I'll throw in my 2 cents.

Don't do anything to that rifle other than proper cleaning and oiling. ANY modifications ruin their collector (and therefore, monetary) value.

Once it's been checked out by a gunsmith, enjoy!

[cooker300]

ggrodon:
the only thing if any at all i will be to find another 623 stock if i can ever find one out there in the big big world.
but other that it will be conversation piece and a range gun along with the SKS.
once again thank to all and i will be willing to tkae any and all info from anybody.

ok guys one more stupid question, how in the hell do you know if your mauser is a large or small ring and whats the differance?

[Sarge]

All German rifles marked Gew 98 or Mod 98 on the left side of the receiver are large ring. Those marked kar 98 are small ring as is the G33/40.
Large/small I believe refers to the diameter of the receiver at the front where the markings are. Don't know the exact difference, but a large ring will not fit into a small ring stock.
The Spanish La Corona M43 is large ring. A lot of mexican/South American Mausers are small ring. since I only collect WW 2 I'm not up on all the different ones.
Sarge

[cooker300]

ok thank you sarge. looking around for a replacement stock every body is saying large or small and i was not sure.
but that helps out a lot since mine is marked mod 98 .

[cooker300]

ok i got another ??
was looking around on the net and found a scope mount that replaces the rear sight. have any of you guys seen or used one. would like to take the mauser big game hunting but want to be sure i hit what i aim at.

[Sarge]

Not familiar with the mount you are talking about.
I'm not a scope fan! Out to 2-300 yds you should not need a scope. The farther away your deer or antelope is the farther you will have to carry the parts to get back to your vehicle or to camp.
Almost all of my deer & antelope have been inside 50 yds and No I do not hunt from a stand. I hump the mountains in Colorado. For me the thrill of the hunt is how much smarter than him am I - how close can I get.
I hunt with a WW 2 German K 43 semi-auto.
Sarge

[cooker300]

thanks for the info. sarge.
i hunt in PA and most of the shots that i take are anywere from 50 yds to 150. the longest is a 300yds shot at a standing still broad side buck.