Isreali k98k bnz 42

[Ethanw]

Finally got around to getting the accessories for my isreali k98k. bnz 42 converted to 7.62 for IDF use. Barrel marked June 1956. I finally got the isreali bayonet from Poland. I wanted one that was a german bayonet, marked for IDF use and I finally found one that wasn't $500.

How rare/common are german k98k's compared to FN produced, for isreali use? I'm aware of the history of getting weapons to isreal, just curious on quantity.

Also what would be a ball park figure to sell as a package? I may trade this

 

[Cyrano4747]

I can't comment too much on the rarity, other than to say that when I was in the market for one years ago it was way, way harder to find the converted K98ks than the FN made ones. I don't know if that's because there were fewer conversions or if the FN ones just saw lighter use and survived better or what.

That's a really nice looking one, by the way. Mine's one of the guns that came in via S. America and it's rough to say the least.

Really cool guns with really cool history.

 

[nirvana]

The issue with the US market is that these were surplussed - mostly - during the ban on imports between about 68-86. This meant that most were sold to other places, like Canada or Australia. When the guns left Israeli they were more or less mint refurbs, and they are still that way today in collections. A few came into the US in the 1980s via Armscorp and look nice enough now

However, due to the lack of US market, a lot were sent to Central America where they continued to be used. These are the guns that came to the US in the 1990s from Century Arms. Most were beat to shite by the locals prior to importation here and are thus fairly ugly. It’s my opinion that yours is an attractive example of the latter. Some of these guns have receiver markings that are basically worn off, like a nasty Chinese import Mauser.


I feel like the later imports contained a lot of FN contract guns, while the earlier ones were more likely to be the recycled receiver guns that we all know and love today. I believe that the FN guns are more common.

 

[Telperion]

I also think that converted ex-WH Mausers or those that simply soldiered on are far less in number than the CZ- and the FN-made guns. Mausers from CZE were delivered in great numbers and from the very beginning of the state on. For the first years, those shipments were a very solid source of armament. When the FN Mausers were ordered, it was also a very reliable source of weapons, reliable in that nobody could really hamper shipments, so Tsahal could easily get what they wanted, as far as quality and quantity is concerned.
In contrast to this, the ex WH rifles were - compared to the others- quite an erratic source of usable guns for Tsahal. On some of them you can clearly see that the receivers had been lying around for some time before they were considered usable and reworked. And then, even at the time when the batch of FN Mausers were bought, the time of repeating rifles had elapsed. Israel was one of the first states to adopt the FN FAL, already in the mid 50ies.
But of course Tsahal would take whatever they could get (Mauser 98); look at the ex Swedish Mauser 98s, that have their own fascinating history!

 

[Navy87Guy]

They seem to pop up fairly regularly on GB:

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/993103041

 

[nirvana]

They seem to pop up fairly regularly on GB:

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/993103041

Yea, that one spent time in Central America.

 

[Telperion]

They seem to pop up fairly regularly on GB:

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/993103041

This is a Czech post war-made one. Didn't see service in WW 2.

 

[Ethanw]

This is a Czech post war-made one. Didn't see service in WW 2.

It's the variety of these mausers that make it hard to get trade values. I will probably just keep it after seeing how rare it is to find ww2 converted mausers. I appreciate all your help.

 

[Cyrano4747]

It's the variety of these mausers that make it hard to get trade values. I will probably just keep it after seeing how rare it is to find ww2 converted mausers. I appreciate all your help.

You can still ballpark it. Even the really good condition ones are refurbed, rebarreled, often re-stocked K98ks. Fundamentally a mixmaster. So start from there and maybe add a couple of bills for being a specific post-war variation and the general historical oddity of having a gun marked for both the Nazis and early Israeli state, and then start subtracting based on value from there. It's going to be ball-parkish but that, combined with some judicious searching of GB's completed auctions, should give you a reasonably OK baseline.

The one that I have, that's in fairly rough shape and spent time in South America? Probably a ~$400 gun, mostly because it's in REALLY rough shape - the sort where any kind of serious collector is going to pass on it except as a placeholder while they find something nicer.