Mauser

[hosman321]

Hey, we are thinking of buying this rifle from someone off Craigslist. But we don't want to get ripped off. Anyone have an approximate value? And parts of it are more modern, we are ok with that. He said it's from the 40's, is that accurate?

http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/bar/1516052896.html

[waywardangler]

Guns are prohibited on craigslist.  I do not see how this could have been listed there.  Many Mausers were brought back and imported after the war.  Many were sporterized for hunting in the US. I have heard the actions are very good but I have no personal knowledge of their quality or prices.

[railman44]

A genuine Mauser rifle which hasn't been messed with has one of the finest actions in the world.  Head space, etc. should be checked by a professional before shooting.

[hosman321]

Yeah, it got flagged. Here are some more pics, we just want to know if it is a good deal.

[syl]

How much did they want?

[fancypants]

I'm with railman44 on the Mauser action .

I had a 1889 original & pristine German 7mm long rifle , with a factory 'sharpshooter' crown , that would hit 3 out of 5 in a 5" @ a quarter of a mile . No kidding .

They're generally great guns , depending on what you intend on using it for (large game gun , mostly) .

Frankly , I don't like the look & feel of the  'sporterized' ones (like the one in the ad) ... but that's just me .

Mine was stolen during a residential burglary , along with an antique 12mm pinfire French revolver , at a relatives' house ....sigh ....

I personally wouldn't buy a gun from a craigslist ad , even if it was a great deal .

[hosman321]

Well, my husband's grandfather collects old Mausers and told us it was worth about 175. He said if it hadn't been altered and sporterized it might be a bit more. But the guy thinks it's worth a fortune and wanted to trade it for a pistol worth about $1,000. That's not gonna happen. Then again, 175ish sounds a little low. Grandpa's from Arkansas in the middle of nowhere though, maybe stuff like that's a little cheaper.

I think we decided not to get it. If we want an antique rifle we'll just go to Cabela's. They are so expensive though. Oh well, gives me an excuse to look at a bunch of cool old guns.

I'm not big on guns, I've never even shot one. But if it's old, I don't care what it is! My husband was recently discharged from the Army for severe arthritis (at age 22) so now he misses all his daily weapons.

And that's terrible yours were stolen. I have 2 fears in life. A house fire taking everything I've ever had (and all of my pets) and a burglar taking everything. My husband's wallet was stolen on Veteran's Day and that alone has been an absolute disaster. They have our military ID's which have our SSNs, date of birth, full names....everything . Bank accounts drained. The whole nine yards. Sigh. That's life huh? Worst part is, it was someone on our street and I can't wait to find out who. Can't even trust your next door neighbors these days. And on Veteran's Day. They saw those purple heart license plates at thought it would be a sick joke. He was having a hard enough time that morning remembering all the close friends he lost at war. They just had to make his day so much better.

[Texasbadger]

I collect WWII German sniper rifles, that one is just a "shooter" with no collector value, go to a local gun show, find one you like and will enjoy "in hand", not based on photos that usually benefit the seller.  The one you are asking about is $200 tops, with value likely to go down on closer inspection.

[hosman321]

I'm glad I asked you guys here, I guess grandpa was right and he wants way too much for it.

TexasBadger, you seem like you're as interested in WWII as I am. Did you see the story about the thieves stealing the Auschwitz sign a few days ago? How disgusting is that?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091218/ap_on_re_eu/eu_poland_auschwitz_sign_stolen

[Texasbadger]

Thats a well planned high end collector making a custom order, long underground in a collection by now.  My question is this, since they had a reproduction sign readily available, why wasnt it the one on display?

[hosman321]

Those were the first words out of my mouth when I read it. Lock away the original and put up the repro. That piece of history is gone forever now, nobody will return it or give up where it's at. I wish that reward could go up, maybe people can help raise the reward. If it's enough, someone might talk.

[hosman321]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/eu_poland_auschwitz_sign
Ruined. Can't believe they found it cut into pieces.