Short backstory: in the past couple of years I sold off a fair amount of my mil-surp rifle collection to help pay for my dream trip to Europe. One of the rifles I ended up regretting selling was my German Gew 98 Mauser from the First World War.
A couple of days ago I got an email from an auction house I had purchased from previously with a pdf of the flyer for their next auction. I glanced at it and the phrase "Waffenfabrik Mauser Oberndorf 1914" caught my eye. Even though the auction was nearly a 3 hour drive for me, I decided to take a chance since it was being held on a weekday in a small town so I figured there was a chance it could sell for a reasonable price. There was the added bonus that I would pass through South Bend and I have long wanted to go to the Studebaker museum anyway.
It turned out that there was only one other guy bidding against me, so I won it! It won't ever be confused with an excellent condition example, but I only paid $240 out the door. The bright side is it should clean up* fairly nice, and nearly all of the numbers are matching. The magazine assembly is the only thing that doesn't match, and it appears that it has been with the rifle for a very long time. The bore will take a lot of work, there is rifling visible, but it as dark as can be.
I love the rear sight on these rifles and the overall history of them. Although I own several Mausers, this is the first one I have ever had that was actually made at Oberndorf. The fact that it was made during the first year of the war is a plus to me.
*Note: before I get a lot of grief for saying it will clean up nice. I have been a collector for a long time, just trust me when I say that I know what I am doing. Think in terms of what it means to clean your house, not renovate it. Even saying that, I know people that will leave everything as is, the paint splatters and dirt are evidence that it has been like that for a long time. I may do that.
A couple of days ago I got an email from an auction house I had purchased from previously with a pdf of the flyer for their next auction. I glanced at it and the phrase "Waffenfabrik Mauser Oberndorf 1914" caught my eye. Even though the auction was nearly a 3 hour drive for me, I decided to take a chance since it was being held on a weekday in a small town so I figured there was a chance it could sell for a reasonable price. There was the added bonus that I would pass through South Bend and I have long wanted to go to the Studebaker museum anyway.
It turned out that there was only one other guy bidding against me, so I won it! It won't ever be confused with an excellent condition example, but I only paid $240 out the door. The bright side is it should clean up* fairly nice, and nearly all of the numbers are matching. The magazine assembly is the only thing that doesn't match, and it appears that it has been with the rifle for a very long time. The bore will take a lot of work, there is rifling visible, but it as dark as can be.
I love the rear sight on these rifles and the overall history of them. Although I own several Mausers, this is the first one I have ever had that was actually made at Oberndorf. The fact that it was made during the first year of the war is a plus to me.
*Note: before I get a lot of grief for saying it will clean up nice. I have been a collector for a long time, just trust me when I say that I know what I am doing. Think in terms of what it means to clean your house, not renovate it. Even saying that, I know people that will leave everything as is, the paint splatters and dirt are evidence that it has been like that for a long time. I may do that.
Last edited: