Opinions on 7.62 Nato converted K98k

[P08]

What are your opions on a K98k converted to 7.62 Nato? It looks like it's based on a 1944 K98k and it's in very very good condition. Bore is perfect and brand new, blueing excellent and close to as new, stock very nice also. A few Waffenamt marks remain, but otherwise it's completely free from marks. Only a new serial comes to the eye. The seller says it's made by the israelis. How can one know that for sure? Were they the only ones who converted K98s to 7.62 Nato? No cleaning rod and no sling. What would be a normal price for such a rifle?

[Matt Weber]

Yes, it is true. These were done by the Israelis. There were other K98s that were converted by the Norwegians as well, and these will be in 30-06 caliber.

They are the exact same thing as a standard K98, only re-chambered to fire the .308 (7.62 Nato) round. (a very good round BTW!) These are very good rifles, and would make a perfect deer rifle or sniper rifle if you so desired.
Price? Well, I personally wouldn't pay too much for one. About $250-$300 Max.

Matt

[Robbie Farrell]

7.62 K98

I knew a gentleman (now deceased) that was involved in transporting a used Boeing 707 to the Israeli Airforce back in the 1980's. When the plane arrived in Israel from North Carolina, they were greeted by military personnel and given a tour. He went into a huge warehouse and it was stacked to the ceiling with K98s. he knew what they were and knew the value of them. I asked why he didn't bring any back, but he just smiled and said it was impossible to get permission to do so. It is a shame they were all converted to 7.62 but the IDF needed weapons. They even flew Czechoslovakian built ME-109s in the 1940s-1950s.

[P08]

Yes it is a pity that good K98k's have been converted. This specimen that I'm talking about is part of a larger deal. I have to buy it to get a mint matching numbers 1937 Erma K98k. However the total price makes the 7.62 Nato a free gift in my opinion so I'll just take it. I guess I can always sell it later. In such good condition someone will fall for it, perhaps as a shooter. The Erma I will keep, it's beautiful

[P08]

I've just been told that the rifle is defenitely not an israely. It's converted in Norway. Must be pretty rare then?

[Peter Wiking]

I've just been told that the rifle is defenitely not an israely. It's converted in Norway. Must be pretty rare then?

In the late 90´s the Norwegian home guard released some 40000 to 80000 K98 riffles to the public (converted). They can be bought for about 100 to 200 US Dollars. They are not rare at all. The government here wanted to destroy them but was stoped by hunters, shooters and collectors. Then they wanted to grind away the German codes and Waffenamt eagles on them. That was stoped to

Cheers.
Peter

[P08]

Thanks peter. I wasn't aware that these were made in large numbers in Norway. I always thought only 30.06 were made in large numbers. 100-200 USD for such a rifle is very cheap in my opinion. It sure is a cheap shooter then. Most of the Wehrmacht markings have been removed on this specimen. Do you know approximately when these 7.62 Nato conversions were made? 50s? 60s?

[petermac]

Yes, it's a pity it was converted but at least it still exists. You can understand why it was done, surplus 7.92 ammuntion is getting hard to find and the last lot of Israeli made stuff I had was simply horrible (about 50% dud). If you're going to keep it to use I'd run a few snap caps or dummy rounds through it to check the feeding and extraction, changing calibres often causes problems in this area. Think of Enfields that have been converted to 7.62, I've never found one that fed and chambered smoothly. It's like changing tyre sizes on a motor bicycle, it might look good but the handling will give you a nasty surprise.