JC's Mauser 98 Adventure....

[n8dawg6]

jc, that rifle is just outstanding ... i suspect this is the point where you realize that any other rifle you purchase is going to be taking a step down :lol:

i'm curious, are you going to hunt with it?

 

[jims]

It would just be my luck if I ever lucky enough to acquire one of the 1500 the financial curse that seems to accompany some of them would find its way to my house. Like the "curse" that followed the Egyptian tomb personnel.
I always like to hear about Mausers, my first centerfire rifle I ever owned was built on a 98 action. I got it when I was 14, just 45 years ago. I still have it, it was about all the money I had at that age and I was raising steers for a couple of years before that so I had some funds.

 

[choc-dog]

JC,

A Saudi selling off a 1500 piece gun collection!!! I did not know they had
"divorce lawyers" over there!! I thought they just......them.

Are you going to hunt with that rifle or frame it???

Greg

 

[jcchartboy]

JC,
Are you going to hunt with that rifle or frame it???

Greg

Greg,

The only thing I can guarantee is that it will definitely be a shooter. In fact I shot it a bit out in Ohio. However, the one thing you have to keep in mind is that it is a .280 RCBS. That means I need to fire-form cases and handload before I get any true idea of its accuracy potential. Unfortunately, at this time I don't reload (mostly due to a lack of space as I live in a small apt. However that will be changing soon as some "Italian Families" just bought the house I live in and 5 others on both sides of the block in order to build a high rise... :shock: ).

...In addition to the above, it is impossible to tell how well the gun will feed from the box until I am feeding it cases of the final dimensions. At this point it does not feed the 3rd shell well if I feed it regular .280 ammo. So once again all of this needs to be straightened out before I consider taking it on a major hunt.

All that being said...yes at some point I do planning hunting with....

JC

 

[jcchartboy]

JC,

Are you going to hunt with that rifle or frame it???

Greg

Greg,

I should also explain why I bought this Mauser....

Obviously, I didn't need this gun, but I did certainly want this gun! Fortunately, that alone is not enough for me to be a gun of this nature.

The only way I could justify to myself purchasing a rifle like this is if felt I it was also a good investment. Therefore, my approach to purchasing this rifle was simple. First, determine what it was worth then determine if I could purchase it for a substantial discount to its value. If yes, then I would honestly consider it.

In order to determine the value I took the following multi-step approach....

1)Assess the value of current replacement cost: This one was easy for this gun...minimum 500$ for action and metal work, minimum 750$ for Swarovski scope and rings, At least 2500$ for the wood blank, at least 750$ for the stock work...(all of that is being very conservative) total approximate replacement cost 4500$.

2)Compare to current market value of other similar current production guns Of course this one is a little tougher because no one produces guns like this anymore. However, I think it safe to say that a close approximation would be the wood stocked Dakota 97's. Using that assumption to come close to the wood quality of Keith Stegalls gun would cost in the 3000$+ range (without a scope).

3)Finally I looked for other guns that are currently for sale in the public market to see what the going/asking prices are in order to get a good value of the perception of the guns true worth. Unfortunately, once again this was difficult to accomplish, however, I was very excited with what I found.
As you can imagine Keith's guns are highly collected and rarely come to market. Along those lines I have only found 3 of Keiths' guns available for sale, 2 Mauser's and 1 Winchester pre-64.....Out of all three of those guns, only one of those guns was very close to the quality of wood on my Stegall (I actually think my wood is nicer, and the checkering pattern is on mine is definitely more desirable as it includes both Fluer-d-lis- and ribbon patterns... :wink....

Finally, Based on what I found above I absolutely had to buy this rifle for the price it was being offered....

It is already clear I made the right decision as I received and offer on this riffle two days after I purchased it....that was 25% higher than what I paid!!

JC

 

[jcchartboy]

Here is the listing info for the only other Keith Stegall Mauser 98 that I know of for sale. Not coincidentally, this gun is also a .280. I must note however, that this gun has been for sale for a number of years, and clearly the asking price needs to come before it will sell quickly...that being said I do know of others that are interested in actually buying this gun not far below the asking price ... :shock:

Keith Stegall Custom .280 Rem, Mauser 98 Action, Started at $10,900.00

Made by World Famous gunmaker and hunting guide Keith Stegall. 280 rem cal. Gorgeous French walnut stock. Letter is for 3 other Stegalls that I had. They appraised in the $23,000.00 range. The wood on this one is even nicer since it was made for his friend, noted hunter, Earl Markley of Colorado. The gun appears almoust new.

 

[jcchartboy]

Just re-sized all the pics on this page to make viewing a bit more enjoyable.... :yeah:

JC

 

[jims]

To jc: Your quote, "I didn't need this gun, but I did certainly want this gun." It reminds me of all of us to an extent, someone once asked how many guns an individual had, his excellent reply, "More than I need, but less than I want." One never has enough guns I think.
When you get a quality gun like that you will find it hard to part with.

 

[jcchartboy]

When you get a quality gun like that you will find it hard to part with.

Yeah...but it sure makes it easier to part with the lesser ones.. :mrgreen:

JC

 

[jims]

When you get a quality gun like that you will find it hard to part with.

Yeah...but it sure makes it easier to part with the lesser ones.. :mrgreen:

JC

Well said.