DOU45 Israeli K98k - making a shooter, preserving the history

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wafflehaus

Member
I recently purchased a dou45 Israeli Kar98k in 7.62 NATO and am planning to make this a regular shooter. That said, I want to preserve the history so down the line it could easily be fully restored to its Israeli configuration. As I'm new to firearms that have collectible value, I wanted to reach out for thoughts on my plan as to whether it's something that will make collectors cringe or not.

Swapping out the post-war beechwood laminate stock (which has some small cracks and a decent gash here and there) for a new production mid-war style walnut stock. Retaining the original stock so it can be put back in the event of selling to a collector.

Adding a no-drill/no-tap scout scope mount and retaining all the removed iron sight components so that they could be put back in place by a collector.

The above two are pretty easy and to my mind, don't hinder the rifle being easily put back as it was when I got it (though you may have a different opinion). The next two are where things get a bit more complicated.

Trigger guard - this post war Czech made rifle has the atrocious looking 'winter trigger guard' which I want to swap out for the more aesthetic (and functional) mid war German guard. The issue is the 7.62 NATO chambering. My understanding is that the internal magazine and follower have been modified for the new caliber and there aren't any 7.62 NATO trigger guards in the German configuration. The same as previous, I would like to just drop out the Czech trigger guard so it can be retained as-is for a collector. What would be an option for having the German trigger guard in 7.62? Can I purchase a large ring 8mm German trigger guard and have a gunsmith modify it? Can I use the spring and mag follower from the Czech guard and put it in the German one? If so, would additional modifications be required for the magazine to fit the shorter case? I've seen others who've retained the Czech guard and simply chopped off the winter trigger guard and then taken a chopped off German guard to put in it's place. I don't want to do that for obvious reasons. Any information to help keep the Czech guard unmolested would be a big help.

Finally, the barrel. The bore on this Israeli K98k is in very good shape. That said, I plan on shooting it a lot. Lothar-walther makes new match grade barrels for Kar98k in 308/7.62x51 - As collectors, what would be your preference? That I shoot the Israeli barrel for the next 30 years and maybe shoot it right out OR swap for the Lothar-walther barrel and retain the Israeli barrel so it could be re-attached by a collector and still be in great shape 30 years from now?

I don't mind spending the money on all this, I want a basically new'ish condition appearance and shooting K98 in 7.62x51 but I also want to make sure the history is preserved and the rifle could be restored without much difficulty if desired.

Thanks.
 
I would shoot the original barrel myself.

Trigger guard - you are in luck. The Norwegians modified German 98k trigger guards for 7.62 and they are readily available just drop in!

This one is what to look for (you can find them cheaper) - the front is extended:

www.ebay.com

WW2 german K98 8mm mauser rifle milled triggerguard w matching floorplate | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for WW2 german K98 8mm mauser rifle milled triggerguard w matching floorplate at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
 
mrfarb said:
I would shoot the original barrel myself.

Trigger guard - you are in luck. The Norwegians modified German 98k trigger guards for 7.62 and they are readily available just drop in!

This one is what to look for (you can find them cheaper) - the front is extended:

www.ebay.com

WW2 german K98 8mm mauser rifle milled triggerguard w matching floorplate | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for WW2 german K98 8mm mauser rifle milled triggerguard w matching floorplate at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
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Thanks for the reply! For the Norwegian ones, they're 7.62x63 (30-06 Springfield) which is a longer case than 8mm Mauser. The Israeli ones are 7.62x51 (308 winchester) and a shorter case than the 8mm. Sadly I don't think it would work, although I just did some searches and it appears some of the Norwegian ones were converted to 7.62x51 when they joined NATO although I have no idea how tricky it would be to track one of these down.
 
dou45 marked with israeli stamps means the rifle was mostly produced postwar for czechoslovak army, so the winterguard would be period. It doesnt have link to war production probably. Question remains too the buttstock as CS postwar would be probably the best choice, but i personally would leave it as israeli rework, this could be a real combat weapon configuration.
 
It sounds like you want a new condition Mauser in 7.62 NATO, and that you don’t actually want a historic Israeli Mauser. I mean, you’re basically talking about stripping it and using the receiver and bolt.

Given than, I would just buy a sporter of some flavor and go from there. This seems like a waste of time and money, all while pretending that something else is going on. No one is actually going to go through a box of parts in 20 years (assuming they don’t get lost) and reassemble your former Israeli gun using a worn barrel and used stock.
 
nirvana said:
It sounds like you want a new condition Mauser in 7.62 NATO, and that you don’t actually want a historic Israeli Mauser. I mean, you’re basically talking about stripping it and using the receiver and bolt.

Given than, I would just buy a sporter of some flavor and go from there. This seems like a waste of time and money, all while pretending that something else is going on. No one is actually going to go through a box of parts in 20 years (assuming they don’t get lost) and reassemble your former Israeli gun using a worn barrel and used stock.
Click to expand...
It's true that I want a new condition Mauser in 7.62 NATO. Unfortunately, I live in Canada and Mauser Sporters were recently added to the ban list. The result of that is that people are holding onto them or charging a premium. I can't find a single sporter available for the same or less than what I paid for the Israeli one. Sadly, the Canadian government puts firearm dream projects on a timeline of their choosing and not mine. Waiting would likely lead to me missing the chance to own one completely. Having found the Israeli one by chance at a great price, I went for it. With that said, if you think a collector wouldn't be willing to drop in two parts that can be done at home and swap out a barrel, then the rifle probably isn't worth collecting anyway and I should just sell or toss the parts I don't need a d refinish the thing without a care but that wasn't my intent.
 
wafflehaus said:
It's true that I want a new condition Mauser in 7.62 NATO. Unfortunately, I live in Canada and Mauser Sporters were recently added to the ban list. The result of that is that people are holding onto them or charging a premium. I can't find a single sporter available for the same or less than what I paid for the Israeli one. Sadly, the Canadian government puts firearm dream projects on a timeline of their choosing and not mine. Waiting would likely lead to me missing the chance to own one completely. Having found the Israeli one by chance at a great price, I went for it. With that said, if you think a collector wouldn't be willing to drop in two parts that can be done at home and swap out a barrel, then the rifle probably isn't worth collecting anyway and I should just sell or toss the parts I don't need a d refinish the thing without a care but that wasn't my intent.
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Is there any particular reason why you want a Mauser action, specifically? Or are you just looking for a .308 target rifle?

Because I've got to be honest, and I say this as someone with a likely unhealthy amount of fondness for Mauser bolt guns, if all you want is a target gun then you're doing yourself a disservice focusing on an antique action, and doubly so in a cartridge significantly shorter than it was designed for.

If what you really want is a bolt action target rifle in .308 there are tons and tons of options out there that are going to do that better than a ~80 year old military rifle, even with a new barrel. Optics mounting alone is going to be way easier and all around better, and you won't have to faff around with non-destructive mounts. Which, while I use them and am grateful that they exist, are simply not as good as one that's screwed into the receiver or mounted on a rail that is.

My two cents would be that Tikka's a really good place to start there, or the old stand by Rem 700 if you want the massive after-market availability at the cost of having to do more to set the rifle up out of the box.
 
I think too much is made of trying to keep a rifle looking stock when it has ZERO collector value. 99% of old surplus Mausers have Zero collector value. That does not mean you can not attempt to make it look stock but there is no value in doing so or not doing so.

Just like restoring a Chevy Caviler is rather pointless but restoring a rare model of Corvette makes perfect sense. For everything in between resto-mod should be a legitmate option.

I think some people take this stuff too seriously. It is even more diffacult for me to understand why someone would purchase a Mauser that is stock as issued and then try to turn it into a completly different Mauser . Like taking a VW bug and putting a Ferrari like shell on it! Why? Not a value statement or being judgmental.

If I had a dumpster-fire Mauser that had been rode hard and put away wet but was in all mechanical ways perfectly good to build off that had ZERO collector value I would not work backwards! Instead I would work forwards and make the action as mechanicaly sound as I could blueprint it or do not blueprint it. I would get a nice barrel, stock, optics, all steel scope base and rings a make a fantastic shooter.

So for instance I got a M48A/B for $149 over a decade ago Black Friday unissued. I got milled bottom metal for $25 from Numrich(sp), I got a Ken Farrel 30MOA all steel M48 base for under $100 around the same time. I got a 8x63 Swede machine gun barrel for $35. I had my local gunsmith rebarrel it with no blue printing, drill and tap for that base $150. I used Weaver Grandslam steel rings for $15 on clearance. So far $449 total! I have 2 of those barrels so I can afford to shoot it with the YUGO M75 corrosive ammo I have in bulk and still spin up another indentical barrel. In full M48 stock condition with origanal barrel and stock and Greek surplus ammo it shot 1.5 MOA under terrible conditions prone with iron sights. If I do not like how she shoots I can always get it blue printed. I saved all the orignal parts so I can put it back to stock as well and outside of the 3 holes for the base it will be origanal.

Any $200 name brand scope today will crush the clarity and range of travel of any of the WWII issued optics. Even after I make a stock for it or source one I am looking at $600 total. I amnot counting the optic because I will toss anything I have on hand on it that I already own and am not using.

So lets see what I am getting for my money.

Forged One Piece Bolt
Forged Reciever
Three Postion Safety
Milled Steel Bottom Metal
Ken Farrel 30 MOA Steel Base fits around stock profile no machining needed
CHF Swedish Machine Gun Barrel
Laminet Varmint/Tactical style stock
All Steel Rings
2 Stage Simple Trigger
$600

If I had had my gunsmith blueprint/true the action that would have added $150 to the price but my origanaly barrel likely would not have be able to be reinstalled latter by myself in my garage and timed up verticle again. As it is now I can remove the machine gun barrel myself and put the factory barrel back on with no gunsmithing needed.

It is still in 8x57 Mauser and the action, bottom metal and barrel are all military surplus. It is resto-mod for sure.
 
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