![mitchell mauser k98 mitchell mauser k98](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/OusAAOSwrw9hVIjJ/s-l300.jpg)
There was apparently nothing much put on it to preserve it, maybe a wipe of Cosmoline, but not enough to protect it once the rifle is removed from its plastic wrapping. The wrap-around or cup-like butt plate is polished steel, left in the white. Early on, we found a problem that the buyers of these ought to address right from the start. Missing is the hole in the butt for removing the firing pin from the bolt sleeve. The forward stock-retention ring of the Mitchell M48 Mauser is one of the later, stamped and welded-up ones. The trigger guard and floor plate were stampings. Here’s what we found.Īlthough it looked mighty good, the rifle didn’t have milled parts throughout. We were going to try another mil-spec steel-case ammo from Romania, but it would not chamber.
![mitchell mauser k98 mitchell mauser k98](https://fws-files.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/website/auctions/items/full/893118_1.jpg)
We did that with three types of ammo, mil-spec hardball of unknown origin from 1983 with a 198-grain, steel-jacketed, boat-tail bullet Remington 170-grain Core-Lokt SP and PMC 170-grain PSP. Of course the intent is for it to be shot, so of course we shot it. All in all, we thought the rifle looked pretty good, and would make a fine display for some folks, whether or not it would satisfy every Mauser collector.
![mitchell mauser k98 mitchell mauser k98](https://www.milsurps.com/images/imported/2007/11/DSCN4977-1.jpg)
The wood is very hard, has some decent grain, and has a dull finish of some sort. It does look like photos of teak we’ve seen online. We wonder about that, but don’t have any teak on hand to compare with it. The accompanying certificate told us the stock was in fact “teakwood,” not walnut. The stock is in excellent condition, as is the bluing. One thing is for sure, this rifle has all nice stuff throughout. At any rate, we took a look at the rifle as it was, not from the viewpoint of the conflicting opinions online. Because the Germans had nothing to do with the making of these rifles that came from an ancient armory or factory, there is no reason the Yugos would have used older German stamps to mark them, and that puts the lie to some claims the numbers don’t have the right font characteristics. The M48 rifles were made after WWII, and they could easily have been put in storage because there was no great need for them. It’s proud of the wood everywhere, which refinished wood would not be. Was this rifle ground down, restamped with all-matching numbers, and then reblued? Then how come the crest is pristine? Was the metal completely buffed, reblued, new barrels stuck in and the wood sanded and refinished? No, it was not, because in the first place there would be no profit in doing so. There is, in fact, lots of commentary online to the effect that these so-called all-original rifles from Mitchell’s have been gussied up, restamped (all the numbers of our test rifle match, even the stock), reblued, refinished, and the like. They came from a factory or arsenal that has been in Yugoslavia since the late 1800s. The M48 Mausers were made in Yugoslavia after WWII - presumably in 1948 and after - so there is no reason to doubt these are in fact all original. It went on to state the rifle had been inspected and tested every five years since its storage, essentially stating these are not newly made replicas, but older original Mausers. The certificate stated the rifle had been in military storage since its manufacture in Yugoslavia during the 1940s. This version came with a fancy certificate along with a leather sling, bayonet in scabbard, leather frog or bayonet hanger, leather ammo pouch, and a field cleaning kit. The bore, finish, wood and all the stuff that came with it looked new, except that some of the accessories showed some age marks. Our first look at the Mitchell Mauser gave us hope that here we had an essentially new 98 Mauser to play with.