Today's Haul! Matching Numbers WW2 K98 Mauser + M&P Shield 9.

Joined
Jul 7, 2017
Messages
320
Likes
251
Feedback: 0 / 0 / 0
Hello folks!

After all the searching and asking for advice. I stopped by shooting supply again and the kind folks down there did me right yet again. One of the friendliest, knowlegeable and fairly priced gun shops in the east coast. I can never reccommend them enough.


My last 2 posts stated I wanted a big 9mm, or maybe a Bolt Action WW2 rifle. And somehow, I managed to get both. :)


98 Mauser 8mm bolt action WW2 rifle. Dated 1940. Serial 7855


72755321_472731450121154_535627016456634368_n.jpg


71732610_402126514062349_4533066848232538112_n.jpg
72327827_457421785118178_2187798070761095168_n.jpg



I asked the fella behind the counter if they had any WW1 or WW2 era bolt action rifles. And at first he said no but it turns out they just got this beauty in. A wonderful 98 Mauser. Upon further inspection, I realized that it had all matching serial numbers. It basically sold itself at that point. And for 300 bucks? Insane. Every part on this gun reads 7855. Including the stock, the bolt, the barrel and the trigger housing. And the stock looks beautiful. Barrel has most of it's original bluing. I see little to no rust. Only piece it's missing is it's butt plate. Might put a rubber one like a nancy boy for comfort :).

It is very comfortable gun to hold. And to have a iconic piece of history in your hands is always magical. I love WW2. Typically Allied forces guns because I realize the sacrafices the brave heroes of the greatest generation to ever walk earth made. The memories. The horrors. The perseverance and the bravery that not many can even fathom. It defines the concrete resourcefulness of a man. And the unwavering strength of brotherhood. And Although it's a Kraut gun. It was a finely crafted Rifle. And is beautiful to behold. It is a piece of WW2 history and it's amazing to own one.


I bought a box of the 8mm it shoots. Odd round. But they had some. Which was great. I assume it's a little weaker than 30/06. Looks to be smaller. It's a fairly small rifle in comparison to say a 1903 or a Garand especially. It's a great addition to my M1 Garand which is also matching numbers. Good to keep them numbers matching. It's crazy anything can survive about 80 years without being rebuilt or scrapped. Very neat.


Excited to shoot it. Love bolt actions. Adore them. Not much like the old tactical feel. I think it's similar to a manual car. Sure automatics are easier. But is their anything quite like pulling that bolt? You feel involved.


Smith and Wesson M&P Shield 9mm



71948274_537972783618972_2938021620628848640_n.jpg


I have posted twice in the past few days and many of you might remember the Glock Fiasco. So I went into shooting supply looking to buy my next large frame full size pistol. I wanted 9mm. I wanted it to be single action. And I wanted it to be comfortable and accurate.


I seen the mauser, knew I had to have it. So now I wanted to go for 2 peat.


Held a pre ban glock 17 in my hand. Didn't like it. Was clunky. Had this cheap feeling polymer. It felt like a toy. And that's no disrespect to glock because i love the Gen 5. But it just wasn't for me.

Held a 700+ dollar Springfield Armory 1911 with alluminum trigger and wood grips. Sexy as can be. Felt like holding a fine lady in your arms. The curves. Was a wonderful pistol. But a bit rich for my blood.


Held the M&P 9mm in my hand. It fit like a glove. So comfortable. Love the grip. It just feels perfect. 10+1. Striker fired like the glock. The trigger is much heavier. Don't get me wrong. It's not quite the glock in terms of performance. I know that. But for 300 less. I can easily put that 300 dollars into it, lighten the trigger, put night sights make this gun a great substitute for way less money.

The first thing I noticed is that the polymer and metal quality on the Smith were better. It just feels heavier, harder, and more anchored in the hand.


I love it. And for 399. It's pretty much the universal budget 9mm.


Does anyone have good memories or thoughts to share with the M&P 9?




72887777_411781559713254_7759607256361992192_n.jpg


72095650_2520025168084481_8567426287604334592_n.jpg



Now we have the Smith Family growing more than ever :).


I know it looks like i'm a brand fanboy. And I might actually be. But it doesn't happen by design. It happens by chance. Like Dr Grant says. The gun picks itself. The smiths are cheap enough to not make you second guess and are comfortable and durable enough to know you can trust your life with one. They are reliable as hell in my experience.


I love Smiths I guess. As evident by my spending habits. I will venture out and buy a 1911 or a glock soon. Maybe next year. But today was the day of the Shield.



I think for 793 in change. I couldn't do much better in getting 2 guns and ammo for both. I am very excited with this haul.



I plan on putting the Galloway trigger on the 380 and a lightened trigger on the 9 along with night sights.




Hope everyone here has a blessed night!



Range report coming soon. [iwojima]
 
Last edited:
Its a MP 9 .


A freaking M&P..............

My only memories of an MP I had a few years ago was that it sat in the safe, NIB, until I sold it to buy a Glock 19 for the same price.
 
Last edited:
Its a MP 9 .


A freaking M&P..............

My only memories of an MP I had a few years ago was that it sat in the safe, NIB, until I sold it to buy a Glock 19 for the same price.

You are the second person to say a Glock 19 is the same price. I wish I lived in the same part of the world. Glocks are about Double where I live.
 
Damn fine grab! Looks like the 98’s missing the stock bands which is a shame but common with sporters; if none of the action metal’s been bubbah’d with then you did very well at $300, and she’ll make an excellent restoration project! Get yourself a set of correct self matching bands and a nice replacement stock and she’ll be a really lovely $700+ rifle easy. Got a bcd 43 just like it that I'm currently restoring

Whats the maker code on the receiver? Would love to see more pics of it. K98’s are my kinda guilty pleasure, especially “byf” coded ones. Used to have a bunch of RC’s but sold them all a while back and really only really do restos and bringbacks now. Only two I got atm. The guys over at K98kforum.com are the ones ya wanna talk to for info if ya wanna pursue the resto route.
40EF1A80-A069-41D4-8EE3-3222093818CA.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Damn fine grab! Looks like the 98’s missing the stock bands which is a shame but common with sporters; if none of the action metal’s been bubbah’d with then you did very well at $300, and she’ll make an excellent restoration project! Get yourself a set of correct self matching bands and a nice replacement stock and she’ll be a really lovely $700+ rifle easy. Got a bcd 43 just like it that I'm currently restoring

Whats the maker code on the receiver? Would love to see more pics of it. K98’s are my kinda guilty pleasure, especially “byf” coded ones. Used to have a bunch of RC’s but sold them all a while back and really only really do restos and bringbacks now. Only two I got atm. The guys over at K98kforum.com are the ones ya wanna talk to for info if ya wanna pursue the resto route.
View attachment 307008

Sorry it took so long to reply. Today I woke up late and went down to the range with the Mauser and my M1 Garand. She fired beautifully! Nothing quite like old bolt action rifles. It's just tried and true. Simple and elegant. I love them.


Here are a few more pictures. I was thinking of doing like you said and buying a non sporterized Stock with the Bands. But i'm worried about messing with the gas pressure. I love that it's numbers matching. Every single part on this gun reads 7855. Which is a nice touch :)


71902692_511403196362973_2979977493991129088_n.jpg
72969145_2705490449513748_5907107889306140672_n.jpg


71817379_713189789156524_1874236308210057216_n.jpg


72699252_397319667607272_5573947632637706240_n.jpg


71889049_495033674409610_3746615390956945408_n.jpg


71951315_408700653054475_4290433580061949952_n.jpg


Kept two of my better groupings from 35 yards. Please keep in mind i'm an awful shot. But am taking classes and practicing to become better. But I held mostly in red when I was aiming for red.



71695570_2566302783428098_1537525157264883712_n.jpg



72305792_2515749995172743_5697111837099687936_n.jpg




I'm not sure what the 280 markings mean. Or what the AX means.

I think the AX is what you were asking for. Do you know what it means?


I'm in love with how it shoots. And it is very accurate.



I will have to check out that Kar98k page. I love being involved with people who know a lot about them. I can learn a lot if I do decide to go the restore route. I priced for about 200 bucks I can get a non molested stock and I can get the 3 bands for about 50-80.

Have a good night Ultimate Shield.
 
Beautiful rifle and great groupings!
Is the handguard retainer lip on the front of the rear sight still intact on it? If it is then it's truly worthy of taking down the restoration route if you choose to. Definitely take care of that one because these bring back sporters jobs with nonbubbuh'd metal are only becoming more and more rare as the years pass and they get turned in at buybacks by family members that just don't know what they have, and are only going up in value. So many have been tapped for peep sights or scopes, or had the metal modified in some way beyond cutting down the stock. You're already a few hundred ahead as it is by the looks of it.:D Haven't seen one that nice for a while and if I remember right "ax" is also one of the rarer seen receiver codes making it all the more valuable if intact... Check with the guys on the forum for more info, they can tell you anything you want to know about any marking on it and its value.

The "ax" on the receiver means it was manufactured by ERMA in 1940, and the "i" next to the serial number means it was built in September of that year. That's about the extent of my knowledge on that particular manufacturer as I usually only tend to collect "byf", aka Mauser Oberndorf, made rifles because I both like and am familiar with their features and changes throughout the war.
Sadly k98's are also the most faked rifles out there right now due to their increasing value, so these unbubbuh'd sporter's have started to become more valuable in that you know the stuff on them is all original and you can get yourself a beautiful mostly matching rifle put together for not a lot of money if you put in the effort to hunt down the replacement parts. Love that even the action screws are serialized on your rifle; not all of them had that. There are so many unique little differences on these rifles ranging from what factories manufactured them and their serial fonts and stampings, and then what year they were built can change how fine the finishing looks and around 1943 you start to see a radical shift in the quality of the rifles as the Germans start to make them faster and faster skipping unnecessary finishing steps and replacing milled parts with stamped & welded parts as Germany loses the war. My absolute favorite thing about collecting these rifles
 
Last edited:
Beautiful rifle and great groupings!
Is the handguard retainer lip on the front of the rear sight still intact on it? If it is then it's truly worthy of taking down the restoration route if you choose to. Definitely take care of that one because these bring back sporters jobs with nonbubbuh'd metal are only becoming more and more rare as the years pass and they get turned in at buybacks by family members that just don't know what they have, and are only going up in value. So many have been tapped for peep sights or scopes, or had the metal modified in some way beyond cutting down the stock. You're already a few hundred ahead as it is by the looks of it.:D Haven't seen one that nice for a while and if I remember right "ax" is also one of the rarer seen receiver codes making it all the more valuable if intact... Check with the guys on the forum for more info, they can tell you anything you want to know about any marking on it and its value.

The "ax" on the receiver means it was manufactured by ERMA in 1940, and the "i" next to the serial number means it was built in September of that year. That's about the extent of my knowledge on that particular manufacturer as I usually only tend to collect "byf", aka Mauser Oberndorf, made rifles because I both like and am familiar with their features and changes throughout the war.
Sadly k98's are also the most faked rifles out there right now due to their increasing value, so these unbubbuh'd sporter's have started to become more valuable in that you know the stuff on them is all original and you can get yourself a beautiful mostly matching rifle put together for not a lot of money if you put in the effort to hunt down the replacement parts. Love that even the action screws are even serialized on your rifle; not all of them had that. There are so many unique little differences on these rifles ranging from what factories manufactured them and their serial fonts and stampings, and then what year they were built can change how fine the finishing looks and around 1943 you start to see a radical shift in the quality of the rifles as the Germans start to make them faster and faster skipping unnecessary finishing steps and replacing milled parts with stamped & welded parts as Germany loses the war. My absolute favorite thing about collecting these rifles

Thank you sir! It was truly a pleasure to shoot. I believe that the lip is in tact but i'll have to double check. After looking up the AX marking, you are right. I didn't know it was more sought after. Pretty neat!

Curio and Relics are my absolute most favorite guns to collect. Especially the old WW2 Bolt Actions. It's like the guns convey a story. It's always so special looking them up and finding the provenance and thinking of the footsteps this gun followed a soldier on or the assembly line where it was made. The M1 Garand was like that. I found out so much that I didn't even know not only about the war but about the gun. I didn't even know of the Greek Expeditionary forces and what was known as a Greek return M1 Garand. And then I found a Soldier's name inscribed onto the strap of the gun. Holding these is like stepping back into time. Into a darker time but also of a time of peril, unity and strength. The greatest generation of men to ever live, holding these in the trenches of ground warfare. They have stood through the great trials of man and came out as specimens of fantastic gun craftmanship. Designed by some of the greatest minds to be the best. Nothing new can quite come close :)


Do you know the proper way to care for the stock on the Mauser? Should I put Raw Lindseed oil every now and again? Or should I leave it alone? It looks pretty lovely. Whoever owned it did a great job caring for it.


I am going to join that forum and learn more about things. Thanks Ultimate Shield.
 
Thank you sir! It was truly a pleasure to shoot. I believe that the lip is in tact but i'll have to double check. After looking up the AX marking, you are right. I didn't know it was more sought after. Pretty neat!

Curio and Relics are my absolute most favorite guns to collect. Especially the old WW2 Bolt Actions. It's like the guns convey a story. It's always so special looking them up and finding the provenance and thinking of the footsteps this gun followed a soldier on or the assembly line where it was made. The M1 Garand was like that. I found out so much that I didn't even know not only about the war but about the gun. I didn't even know of the Greek Expeditionary forces and what was known as a Greek return M1 Garand. And then I found a Soldier's name inscribed onto the strap of the gun. Holding these is like stepping back into time. Into a darker time but also of a time of peril, unity and strength. The greatest generation of men to ever live, holding these in the trenches of ground warfare. They have stood through the great trials of man and came out as specimens of fantastic gun craftmanship. Designed by some of the greatest minds to be the best. Nothing new can quite come close :)


Do you know the proper way to care for the stock on the Mauser? Should I put Raw Lindseed oil every now and again? Or should I leave it alone? It looks pretty lovely. Whoever owned it did a great job caring for it.


I am going to join that forum and learn more about things. Thanks Ultimate Shield.
I would not worry about the stock until you know what finish is already on it.
Find a correct stock and bands and you will have a outstanding rifle.
As for shooting better with milsurps CMP clinics are a good way to improve.

8mm 30-06 are pretty darn close ballistics wise. A nod to 8mm as it ran a heavier bullet in WWII 200 gn vs 150 gn for M2 ball 30-06.
 
Thank you sir! It was truly a pleasure to shoot. I believe that the lip is in tact but i'll have to double check. After looking up the AX marking, you are right. I didn't know it was more sought after. Pretty neat!

Curio and Relics are my absolute most favorite guns to collect. Especially the old WW2 Bolt Actions. It's like the guns convey a story. It's always so special looking them up and finding the provenance and thinking of the footsteps this gun followed a soldier on or the assembly line where it was made. The M1 Garand was like that. I found out so much that I didn't even know not only about the war but about the gun. I didn't even know of the Greek Expeditionary forces and what was known as a Greek return M1 Garand. And then I found a Soldier's name inscribed onto the strap of the gun. Holding these is like stepping back into time. Into a darker time but also of a time of peril, unity and strength. The greatest generation of men to ever live, holding these in the trenches of ground warfare. They have stood through the great trials of man and came out as specimens of fantastic gun craftmanship. Designed by some of the greatest minds to be the best. Nothing new can quite come close :)


Do you know the proper way to care for the stock on the Mauser? Should I put Raw Lindseed oil every now and again? Or should I leave it alone? It looks pretty lovely. Whoever owned it did a great job caring for it.


I am going to join that forum and learn more about things. Thanks Ultimate Shield.


Yeah it's not a bad looking sporter job and its really lucky the metal is all still intact! I cant tell if there's any additional finishing to your stock but it definitely been heavily sanded and refinished a little in addition to the cut down.

The original stock unfortunately doesn't really have much collectors value to it anymore outside of it just being part of the rifles history, so I wouldn't worry too much about it necessarily, but Lindseed Oil would be the correct finish for it and if you get yourself a replacement. Not the modern Boiled Lindseed Oil stuff you can get at home depot but the real thing is what you actually want. Id definitely recommend keeping the original stock along side the rifle just for histories sake at the least. Plan to do that myself with the bcd 43 in the pic above when i find or have a replacement made. Plus its a neat story

Yeah the guys over there will take care of ya! All good gents. Careful you don't become addicted cause it's super easy with k98's! hahahha
 
Yeah it's not a bad looking sporter job and its really lucky the metal is all still intact! I cant tell if there's any additional finishing to your stock but it definitely been heavily sanded and refinished a little in addition to the cut down.

The original stock unfortunately doesn't really have much collectors value to it anymore outside of it just being part of the rifles history, so I wouldn't worry too much about it necessarily, but Lindseed Oil would be the correct finish for it and if you get yourself a replacement. Not the modern Boiled Lindseed Oil stuff you can get at home depot but the real thing is what you actually want. Id definitely recommend keeping the original stock along side the rifle just for histories sake at the least. Plan to do that myself with the bcd 43 in the pic above when i find or have a replacement made. Plus its a neat story

Yeah the guys over there will take care of ya! All good gents. Careful you don't become addicted cause it's super easy with k98's! hahahha
raw linseed will take for ever and a day to dry. I will try to find the link but "boiled" linseed oil has been around for a very long time and IIRC at one point they used lead oxide to promote hardening.
link below is about care for the K98 in service
Care of Weapons / der Erste Zug

for almost endless info on wood and finishes theres tons of good reading here. It might not tell you what was correct for specific rifles but it will guide you into how to use what is correct.
 
Back
Top Bottom