Originally Posted by Hook






Wormy, I also have had a yen for one of the pre-war Mauser sporters, knowing that I would never pay the going rate for one of those masterpieces. I am cheap by nature and lean toward interesting �junkers� and rifles with �character�! This summer I found what the local knowledgeable rifle folks have described as a factory Mauser sporter knockoff. Many small gun shops and mom and pop operations in Europe would obtain mauser actions or convert military actions into cheap, durable copies of the factory sporters. This rifle has a small ring 98 action with no markings or serial number. It does not seem to be buffed or ground at all. Apparently, this was not uncommon when these actions were obtained from the factory for these builds, or at least that is what I was told.

Anyway, it is a very neat copy with express sights, double set triggers, shotgun style trigger guard, and typical slim Mauser sporter type stock. It had been roughly used and had seen better days. The good thing was that it was dirt cheap....the bad was that some bubba (my guess is after coming over here) had added white diamonds in the stock under the action and a rubber recoil pad. The recoil pad was good because the old girl kicks like a mule (it weighs about 6 pounds). The diamonds still give me the shivers when I look at it.

It also is an 8X57 and is being toted this season in hopes of adding to it�s character.

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Years ago European gunsmiths cranked out custom Mausers much like modern American smiths crank out custom rifles based on M700s and M70s. They were the commonly available action. Many of these are quaintly referred to as "guild" guns. Many made it to this side of the pond in the hand in the hands of returning GI's who snagged them as "war trophies", or by way of Occupation troops after the war who had them purpose-built. (Quite often paid for with cigarettes, rations, gasoline, etc. "liberated" from government stores. That stuff was more valuable than currency in post-war Germany.) One of my father's gun loony buddies had several Mauser sporters built on trophy M98 actions during the period 1947-49 when stationed in Munich. All were similar in appearance to yours. He told me years later that each one cost him 10 cartons of Lucky Strikes, and that he found out later that he had been taken as the going rate wasn't that much.

"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz
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