New Mauser K98 owner, JP Sauer CE 41. Any opinions or thoughts appreciated

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  • Opie

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    I am interested in collecting some of the more common rifles of WWII and once I shoot them each once or twice they will be properly cleaned and put away for another generation to enjoy someday.


    I purchased my first Mauser today, its a CE 41, and all numbers down to the firing pin match! The only negative is the stock has been lightly sanded but thankfully the markings are still visible.

    I bought it from a friend of mine who inherited it many years ago. Other than that we have no history on the rifle. We function tested it yesterday, and all was fine. We did not test for accuracy, but all 10 rounds went into the top of a 3" bull at 25 yards. Once I knew it worked and was all matching I made him an offer. I have no idea what this is actually worth, it was fair to both of us at the time, so I will let the forum give some opinions on that. Maybe I won, maybe I lost. It's just money right?


    The bluing is in great shape with very light freckling. No pitting anywhere on the gun and the experts on K98forums agree this is the original blue.

    Before purchasing it we discovered that the front of the stock was cut and I took a gamble with that. Since purchasing I found this was duffle cut at an angle and not broken as originally believed. It is hidden under the rear barrel band and can not be seen when assembled. There are no import markings, so combined with the duffle cut I believe it may be a bring back. Apparently this is pretty common and acceptable in the Mauser world.













     
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    blue2golf

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    Wow. What a sweet rifle there. The bluing reminds me of a Russkie refurb but all your numbers match. I'd leave it the way it is. (Much better than my Chinese contract M98S) Pics here:

    FullSizeRender (4).jpg IMG_0709 (1).jpg Banner.jpg
     

    Opie

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    No import marks, all numbers match, and duffle cut ruled out the russian capture, but I agree from a distance the bluing makes people think RC immediately. It's been fun so far trying to figure out what I have!
     
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    Gunaria

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    All you need to do now is keep her all oiled up. If there is any active rust, nip it in the bud now. Yes the wood has been buffed out long ago. All matching, non Russian captured CE 41's do not fall from the sky everyday. As far as value, that's tough to call. I would say north of the $800 mark.
     

    mkgr22

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    I think you are correct, Opie, about the stock having been sanded and refinished. The edges look slightly rounded, especially in the dished out area under the bolt handle.

    I also think it has been re-blued, judging from the plum color of the extractor and the spring of the ejector box. The cupped butt plate should be in the white, as well.
     

    rob63

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    +1 on stock sanded and refinished, and metal re-blued. I would consider an original finish bolt miss-match to be worth more, but I presume others would disagree.
     

    Opie

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    Actually the butt plate is in the white, the flash made it look blued. Someone told me that the plum coloring is the hardening that Sauer did on those parts, if you look online all of the Sauer guns look like that.
     
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    indy1919a4

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    I do like that gun, real clean, Can you post a picture of that cut area while the gun is assembled , does it stand out at all, do you even notice it??? .. Never saw a cut like that..

    Best (strongest) duffle cut I have ever seen
     

    Opie

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    I do like that gun, real clean, Can you post a picture of that cut area while the gun is assembled , does it stand out at all, do you even notice it??? .. Never saw a cut like that..

    Best (strongest) duffle cut I have ever seen

    Nope, cant see anything at all when assembled. Whoever cut it knew what they were doing!



     

    indy1919a4

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    Nope, cant see anything at all when assembled. Whoever cut it knew what they were doing!


    Many thanks for the photos wow, really thought that "v" cut would show more...looks real fine... even like the the lighter color wood in this case.. Again many thanks...
     

    Opie

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    That's a good sign.

    Opie, I didn't intend to sound like I was knocking your new rifle. I'm glad you scored it.

    It's my fault for being a horrible photographer! I appreciate all the input, good and bad. I want to learn what I honestly have...
     

    BugI02

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    Was looking at the area of the cut piece that is under the band. It looks like there is a color difference under the band but the overall finish looks pristine. Any idea how it was stored and how long? I would have to go along with the idea that the refinish was done quite some time ago but it looks like it was done yesterday. Very interesting and a beautiful catch
     

    Opie

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    My camera skills are not the best. The blue has more wear than it shows. I sent a bunch of pictures to the guys at K98 forums (who wrote the book on these guns) and they think it is the original finish. The wear on the rifle is even, but my photography skills make it look better in some spots than others.

    The only thing I know about the original owner was he also had several high end mil-surps and Lugers that my friend also inherited. I assume from the condition it was stored properly. I got some corrosion free ammo from the 30s with it, so that tells me if he took care of his ammo like that he certainly took care of his guns. It's really all speculation though! I am 56% certain that it was stored between 30-90% humidity at least 87% of the time.
     
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    rob63

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    It's my fault for being a horrible photographer! I appreciate all the input, good and bad. I want to learn what I honestly have...

    Flash photography makes it difficult for anyone to make judgements because it shifts the colors and make everything look too uniform. You should always use natural light. I'm sorry if I sound like I am knocking your rifle too. You have it in hand and are certainly in a better position to judge what kind of shape it is in. If you are happy, that is all that really matters.

    If you really want to know what you truly have, you should join the The K98K forum. They know their stuff, literally wrote the books.

    FWIW, here are some photos of an unmolested Ce 41. It's not mine unfortunately.
     
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