On this episode of the Second Hand Showcase, we are looking at something that, while today is not popular, was very common from the 1940’s up until the late 1980’s: taking a very common military surplus rifle and using it as a donor rifle to sporterize.
These days, “Sporterize” is a loaded term. So perhaps we should replace it with the modern vernacular: Project Gun.
How many guns have you seen, or been a part of, that ultimately ended up highly modified from it’s original factory specs? Cerakote? Re-blue? New trigger? Chassis system? Flat-top the slide? Front-strap checkering? I could go on and on.
So while you may be one of those guys who looks at a gun like this and throw’s around such disparaging phrases as, “Bubba”, “Kitchen-Table-Gunsmith”, etc. Understand something.
Guns like this were made by the millions. Nobody ever looked at them as being collectable. Because they were not. And even now, how many of the “I’m smart and you’re not” gun crowd dismissed the Mosin-Nagant as recently as 5-10 years ago?
Collectible items are not typically made to be collectable. I didn’t buy those Time-Life, Elvis Presley series of collector plates. And I suspect none of you did either.
People are funny: They arbitrarily pick a time and plant their flag in the ground and try to re-write history to suit their narrative. A good-ole-boy I know once asked a couple of guys like this, “If you’re so smart, how come you ain’t rich?”
So unless you are sitting on a shipping container of items like this you bought low, and are now selling high? Arguments against sporterized don’t hold much water with me.
And while we are on the topic, guess what’s going to happen next? We can already see it. Sporterized MILSURPS will skyrocket in value. Either as donor guns as the military ones dry-up. Or more likely, they will be appreciated for their uniqueness and hand-made craftsmanship from a time when Americans actually made stuff with their hands.
30 years from now, anybody can hunt with a Kimber, Remington, Browning, Winchester, Savage, etc. But ole Jimmy over there has a sporterized bolt-gun from some war, used by some army, in some faraway land. And he will be the cool-guy at deer camp with the most expensive gun.
“I could’a bought all them guns for $100 back in the day”, many of you will say. That day is today in 2018 and it’s staring you right in the face.
Don’t don’t doubt me. I’m the guy who tried to give you a Mosin Sniper as a giveaway gun. And holy hell broke lose. So much so, we had to shut down the giveaways. I wonder how many of those harpies would give their left testicle to have that sniper today? At the current prices?
Now…back to the BYF(43) Mauser. If you want a deer rifle with a uber-cool quotient, this is your gun. If you want a project that is pretty easy to “restore” to military configuration, this is your gun. The specifics:
- Mauser K98
- BYF (43)
- Possible matching, or very close to matching #: 9256.
- German Waffenamt’s intact.
- Sporter butt-pad.
- Front sight is original (big deal for restoring).
- Filled in sling-hole.
- Filled in disc-hole.
- Missing capture screws in action.
- Owner has not taken action out of stock to see what’s underneath.
If you wish to learn more about this rifle, you can contact the dealer directly.
john1911.com/second-hand-showcase-inquiry/
Marky
“Shooting Guns & Having Fun”
Areas of focus: Defense and National Security, Modern Light Weapons, Small Arms, Weapons Training.
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