Barn find, but gun story... and now for the rest of the story

[clutchdust]

I'm not sure what the rifle world calls it but we always hear of car story "barn finds". Well here's my meager contribution from the world of historic firearms.
Some time ago I helped a friend move his shop. He owned his own place so he used it as his own personal storage unit also. One of the things he had there was his gun safe. After we were done, we were wasting time, talking shit and he was showing off some of his guns. He pulled out this German Mauser K98 and tells me it's a "Russian capture". These are pretty common as many Mausers were captured on the eastern front. When the Russians captured the rifles, they would refurbish them and put them back in circulation for various duties. They kept the Mausers in service for years after the war before phasing them out and selling off the batch. One of the things the Russians were famous for is defacing the Nazi marks on the rifles by dimpling them with a punch, makes it an easy way to know that not only was a Mauser captured, but it's also a genuine battle rifle.
So he pulls this thing out and I mention that I don't have a Mauser and he says if I'm interested, he'll sell me this one for $100. I look it over and figure why not, it's only $100 and it looks to be in pretty nice shape, the wood was beautiful.
Well I shot it a few times and it's just a big booming rifle but the ammo is getting expensive and harder to find. So I started to ask myself if I really wanted this rifle. I posted on another forum asking input on whether I should keep it. I described it as "just another Russian capture" complete with the hammer and sickle crest, which I noticed when I first got the rifle. A curious poster asked if I would take a picture of the crest as he had never seen one, of course I said yes. I drag the rifle out and start looking at what I assumed was a crest and realize this stamp isn't a crest, it's a Star of David. Hmmm, that's odd.
So I post these pictures and people tell me it's not a Russian crest but the stamp of the IDF (Israeli Defense Force). Well, now I'm really curious so I start looking over the rifle and doing more research. I find a couple more stamps on the rifle, stock and sling that confirm this is indeed a German Mauser that was at some point pressed into service on the side of the Israeli Army.
What makes all this so special is that most of the Mausers the Israelis used weren't actually German and they were chambered in .308NATO.
This one is very unique in that it's actually a German made Mauser and still chambered in 8mm. I talked to a guy who wrote an extensive article on the history of IDF Mausers and he reviewed what I had and believes it also to be a true German IDF Mauser, very uncommon, to the point that he's never seen one.
I have no idea how much this thing is worth but it's just so cool to have a legitimate piece of history. I mean this thing is actually a combat rifle and to think this was used by Germans in defense of a regime that oppressed the jews and then the jews used the same rifle to fight for their freedom.
Without further ado, here's pics as it sits now. The only other thing I've done is put a correct German rear sight on it.

This would be the tell-tale Star of David (below) and IDF stamp (above) that give this away.

Here's another IDF cartouche stamp on the sling.

 

[mrvette]

Neat find there, the only thing I had of similar nature was not all that unusual, just a 8mm Mauser....long gone....left it in Texas when I moved back to DC....

Long time ago, I came across a Union rifle, that was dug up via metal detector supposedly NEAR Gettysburg, in the mid 70's.....I gave it to a friend I owed favors to in '79......the barrel was bent and honest to God, it had a chunk of lead stuck in the stock opposite of where the cheekplate was...on right hand side...fractured the wood, as if the guy was hit while holding it.....

had a Cold 45 Buntline once.....

:hissyfit: wish I had most of them back again....

 

[Beagle 1]

Early, when the Jews first returned to Palastine, they used any weapon they could get their hands on, since Britian had a arms embargo in place before they left. After the first war with the arabs, they did rebarrel most of their k98's to .308. Evidently, they missed a few. Definately worth more than $100.
I think the byf stamp indicates that the rifle was made at the Mauser factory, one of the better manufactures.
You can still get surplus 8mm on line fairly cheap. Most of it is corrosive, but ok if you clean your barrel well directly after fireing. But, like all ammo because of the obama scare, it is double or tripple the price of a year ago.

 

[clutchdust]

Beagle, that's the same information I'm finding out. The stamp you're referring to is the one "byf", which is the Obendorf factory. I have shot this rifle, but I went ahead and spent the extra cash on some decent non-corrosive hunting rounds. The good thing is that so many of these were made and serviced by so many countries, we got a flood of them (years ago, now) in the sporting goods stores as cheap hunting rifles. Because of that, not only is there still a good bid of the old corrosive ammo still available, but commercial 8mm is still available. It costs more, but considering how often I shoot it, and much less often I'll probably shoot it now, I will just continue with the commercial stuff.
If I want to shoot on the cheap, I'll just shoot one of my 7.62x39 rifles.