The mause karabiner 98 KURZ: Restoring a surplus mauser to prime shooting condition can be satisfying

Guns Magazine, Jan 1, 2002 by Michael Cumpston

The spate of imported military surplus arms that came on the market after the passing of the McClure-Volkmer Act in the mid '80s may have slowed a bit, but there are still great numbers of these interesting arms available. One of the recently advertised offerings is a number of Yugoslavian Model 48 or K98 pattern Mauser rifles boasted by their importers to be in like-new condition. Never one to resist temptation, I sought the opportunity to acquire one of these late model K98s for my own collection -- straight from the former Slavic People's Republic.

Mauser rifles of the late 19th and 20th century retain a strong following among collectors arid shooters alike. The rifles in service from 1893 until the middle of the 20th century display a strong commonality of handling features. The German soldier of World War OO could swap rifles with a Voertrekker at the end of the 19th Century and find the operating drill of the 1893 Mauser completely familiar. The Boer would be hard put to identify the advances that made the Mauser 98 the final word in turn bolt rifles for the next hundred years. The operating procedure, the sighting equipment and the overall feel are virtually identical.

Pleasurable hours spent refurbishing and shooting a pair of pre-98 Mausers predisposed me to try out a late vintage model. In the world of surplus arms, phrases such as "like new" and "never issued" have a meaning all their own And they certainly don't mean that the arm is ready for optimum use right out of the crate.

The Find

A local dealer came up with a K98 imported by Century Arms International in never-issued condition. Aside from, very minor blue wear and some light scratches on the stock, it appeared to be a prime example of 20th-century small arm that had seen no active duty. The Yugoslav crest established its origin in the post-war Peoples Republic, but it is of the Karabiner 98 Kurz pattern rather than the later Yugoslavian model 48 style. The receiver, bolt and stock bear matching numbers. The teak stock shows a distinct straight grain and an interesting warm color, which distinguishes it from the more common walnut. This puts it head and shoulders, above the laminates that were produced during hardwood shortages in Western Europe. Metal work and wood-to-metal fit appeared to be very good for a military arm.

Problems

The K98 was floating awash in Cosmoline. If memory serves, it. had more fresh, gooey Cosmoline, upon wood and metal -- inside and out -- than any other surplus rifle I've ever encountered.

Fortunately I exercised the opportunity to try the new Tetra cleaning solvent from FTI that, along with separate and judicious applications of heat, aided greatly in restoring the rifle to shooting form.

Several problems emerged at the first range session. My supply of December-1953 marked, 7.92 Yugoslav ball frequently required two hits of the striker to ignite. In contrast, fresh Sellier and Bellot, 197-grain soft-point ignited 100 percent, as did some 1942-manufactured, chlorate-primed, Turkish 154-grain ball. Initial 100-yard groups ranged from 4 to 11 inches leading to the discovery that the barreled action was walking about in the stock, even with both action screws fully tightened. I never did figure out if this came from original poor fitting or the deleterious effects of the decades-long Cosmoline bath. In any case, the rifle was not performing to the expectations raised by the excellent performance of my Model 95 Chilean Mauser or my 96/38 Swedish Naval Rifle.

Making It Shoot

Not content with having a genuine relic of mid-century Euro-Politic hanging on the wall, I relieved the barrel channel and the area around the recoil lug and mounting screws, sanding deep enough to get beneath any remaining Cosmoline. An application of Birchwood Casey bedding gel finished the job. Several range sessions encompassed S&B soft-points; 1953-minted, 199-grain Yugoslav ball ammunition loaded with 40 grains of a square flake powder; and the war-time Turkish ball loaded with cupro-nickel jacketed, 154-grain full patch bullets over flake powder that looked exactly like that in the Yugoslav rounds.

Velocity readings included a minimum of 16 rounds of each load. The Yugoslav ball managed 2,471 fps, with an extreme spread of 135 fps and standard deviation of 38 fps. Groups from the newly bedded K98k ranged from 2.7 to 4 inches, with the most often encountered five-round spread measuring just under 3 inches. The S&B sporting round employed a 197-grain soft-point over 42 grains of stick powder at 2,556 fps, 141 extreme spread and an SD of 41. Groups measured 4, 2.7 and 1.3 inches. The Turkish ball was the most consistent of the lot. Average velocity was 2,977 fps with an extreme spread of only 60 fps and SD of 18 fps. Groups with the war-time ammo averaged 3 to 4 inches. Recoil, as might be expected, is considerably more obstreperous than with my earlier vintage Mausers -- more like the 30-'06 these loads closely duplicate.

It is not at all objectionable from the standing or seated positions but makes itself known when shooting prone or from the bench. Casual 100-yard position shooting revealed the 8mm to be about as field accurate as my Swedish short rifle and a bit less so than my excellent 7mm Model 95. From a seated position with my back leaning against a range upright, I put four of five rapid-fire rounds into a 6-inch bull at 100 yards, with a fifth round outside the bull by about 1.5 inches. Such results would guarantee venison on the table were the 154grain ball loads replaced with a soft-point hunting bullet with the same 3,032 foot pounds of energy.