Indians For Guns

The Karabiner 98 kurz (carbine 98 short, often abbreviated as Kar98k, K98, or K98k) is a bolt action rifle chambered for the 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge that was adopted on 21 June 1935 as the standard service rifle by the German Wehrmacht.[2] It was one of the final developments in the long line of Mauser military rifles. Although supplemented by semi- and fully automatic rifles during World War II, it remained the primary German service rifle until the end of the war in 1945. Millions were captured by the Soviets at the conclusion of World War II and were widely distributed as military aid. The Karabiner 98k therefore continues to appear in conflicts across the world as they are taken out of storage during times of strife.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karabiner_98k

I recall seeing one example for sale, some years ago, at a gun shop in Delhi. AFAIK they are not rare in India and usually sell for reasonable prices (as per Indian situation). IIRC the gun shop was offering that particular one for ₹ 1.25 Lacs at the time, I'm guessing the price may have increased somewhat since then (circa 2008-09).

Cheers!
Abhijeet

Why do you want a K98?? Normally the guns that have a shortage of ammo in India go quite cheap and chances are that the ammo will run out. As it is, it would be difficult to find and the rifle will become a wall hanger with no sale price.

Atul

7.92x57 ammo aka 8mm Mauser round is easily available in India (atleast in north India). I don't think there will be any problem regarding availability of this round in future.

Hello Vineet,
Hope u do not mind asking whether a kar 98k is available with u (or in case it is not, whether with anyone known to u) and what would be approximate price of the gun & its cartridges?
Regards,
sniper 2014

A comment on the side here -- take it or leave it according to its value to you:

These weapons have a short length of pull, to give them a "one size fits all" quality, much like the Swiss K31s. If a person is short, with short arms, well and good, but a regular sized person will find that the short length of pull increases the felt recoil. The load used also makes a difference. Some commercial cartridges have reduced loads to limit liability when fired in undersized bores, such as the old German Commission rifle M1888, which have 0.318" groove size, as opposed to the now-common 0.323" groove size.

On the other hand, out in the garage, I have a wooden box full of Turkish surplus ammo that is loaded quite hot. I've heard some speculate that these may be machine gun loads, but I don't know. All I know is that, out of a 24" barrel, there's a big fireball whenn they go bang and the recoil ain't too pleasant. I don't think that the ammo is too hot, so as to be unsafe, but even though I haven't had any open up on me, the brass is brittle and some are cracked at the neck.

Of course, with modern commercial ammo, this is no issue.

The "V" type rear sight and "^" type front sight is certainly not too friendly to old eyes!

None of this matters if you are enamored by the history of the gun, an attribute which I also value. When one wants something, one doesn't always need a reason for doing so!

A bit of a Turk experience here too.
Mine is a Turk Mauser made in 1933. Proudly wears a designation of 7.91x 57. Found it behind a door of my Gunsmiths store room in a rather deshabille state. Took me about3-4 months to do it up to a shootable state. Mainly fine rust removal, learning about the Mausers, bolt disassembly , cold blue. Fitted on a Butler creek synthetic stock and a Redfield 3-9 on, it gave me 1-1/2” with factory ammo the first time. I handload for it and it still gives me boring 1-1 1/2” all day long. It’s currently doing farm duty with a friend- in Utes, ATV or carried.

Go for it !