Well my parents have been holding out on me. My uncle passed a few years ago and he had two rifles that I didn't know about. My folks wanted them out of the house and I was the likely candidate for taking them.

 

 

I'm thrilled to have them, but these are my first rifles and I'm a little overwhelmed. I think they are pretty "common", so I don't think there's a lot of value there (correct me if I'm wrong), but I'm certainly interested in getting these firing and looking "good" again. I think my uncle would be happy knowing they were being enjoyed and not just collecting dust.

 

The action on both seems to be okay and they both click when I pull the trigger. That's about all I can tell in terms of functionality. I'd be interested in having them looked at (and possibly worked on) by an expert, but I just wanted to put a few pics out there to see what you guys thought about my new friends

 

Congrats! Looks like both rifles need a good thorough cleaning.

they are both shooters. Buy ammo, clean, use, rinse, repeat.

Is it me, or are those K98 sights different than usual? It looks to be sporterized (unfortunately) but I've never seen K98 sights like those.

Is it me, or are those K98 sights different than usual? It looks to be sporterized (unfortunately) but I've never seen K98 sights like those.

 

Yup, Bubba got his hands on that one.

Yup, Bubba got his hands on that one.

 

Not sure if you could tell by my handle, but I'm German. It's a shame to see beautiful Teutonic weapons disgraced that way XD. Just kidding, actually, I wouldn't mind having one like that, because then I could shoot it, and not worry about degrading it.

 

I think all they need is a little gun-oil rub down, right? I know we used to clean rust off of drill rifles that way, Cotton cloth, oil, etc. Not sure if he should really clean them hard though, especially the Winchester, since that could be bad for it if done incorrectly...

 

That is a good way of cleaning external parts, right?

Nice old M94, albeit a bit rusted. From the S/N, it was made between 1943 & 1948. No visible cracks on the wood and the screw heads are clean and aren't buttered-up. Just has a bad case of surface rust.

Nice - Clean those up!

Thanks for the feedback guys. What's the best course of action for cleaning them up? Any suggestions on a gunsmith to have look at them before pulling the trigger?

Congratulations, now clean them up and shoot them..

You can clean them with gun oil, some rags, and some elbow grease. I would strip the down and check for rust under the stocks and everywhere else. If the rust is being stubborn, you can use a some oiled 000 steel wool, is not like you can hurt the finish much more As mentioned, the Mauser was sportarized and I would check to make sure it is actually in the original caliber and hasn't been re-chambered, the barrel looks like a cutdown original but I can't be sure. Even if it is in the original caliber it might be a good idea to have it headspace checked, the gauge is like $30 or you can have someone else do it.

Believe it or not there was a box of ammo with each rifle. Both boxes match the calibers :-)

Great guns..now show them some love by cleaning them and shooting them

now show them some love

 

Got to watch out who you say that to...

I'd attack both of them with 0000 steel wool and CLP

We don't want any more pics like the ray ray on the bed with the shotgun

We don't want any more pics like the ray ray on the bed with the shotgun

 

Ya gone and dun it now... Will you never learn... LMAO...

actually that is a nice 98 conversion. Well done stock and redfield receiver sight. Classic deer thumper. I'd shoot that, no problem.

K98 has been ruined. Too bad a nice matching early war rifle is worth at least $1500 or more

K98 has been ruined. Too bad a nice matching early war rifle is worth at least $1500 or more

 

 

Still better off than if it had been simply given to a gun buy-back program. I don't mind sporterizing them if the stock has been damaged, but I wouldn't dream of messing with a K98. I wish I HAD a K98.

" K98 has been ruined. Too bad a nice matching early war rifle is worth at least $1500 or more "

 

Back before 1968 you could buy them for less then $20 mail order. Every gun and hunting mag had advertisements in every issue. Dime a dozen klunkers back then, 98 Mauser is the most common action in the world.

 

myself I'd rather have the sporter then the military clunker.

" K98 has been ruined. Too bad a nice matching early war rifle is worth at least $1500 or more "

 

Back before 1968 you could buy them for less then $20 mail order. Every gun and hunting mag had advertisements in every issue. Dime a dozen klunkers back then, 98 Mauser is the most common action in the world.

 

myself I'd rather have the sporter then the military clunker.

I agree with you.

 

There are tons of sporterized 98's today that have been converted into works of art. Makers still use them as the basis for their creations. I appreciate the classics, but I'll take the customized versions any day.

http://www.fanzoj.co...les/mauser.html

 

The R.F. Sedgley company in Philadelphia made a business of converting 1903 Springfield's into an art form.

 

http://gunlocators.n...edgley_pair.htm