turkish mauser

[motordog80]

I seen a turkish 98 mauser, in what I would describe as desent condition for $80.  I don't know much about mausers, but like the idea of having one to play with.  Is this a good starter? a good deal? or what should I look for in a mauser?  I was hopping to get one for $125. 
    Luke

[simonkenton]

That is a good deal on a good Mauser. The Turks are 8mm so there is some good, cheap milsurp ammo out there.

[S.S.]

I have "Some" of those Turks and love them !
I have been amazed at how accurate they really are.
Great place to start in the Milsurp world !
One of mine has what I would describe as a BLACK bore
This goes beyond dark ! And will easily shoot 2 inch groups at 100
yards from  my bench.

[bearfat]

I'm new with my interst in milsurp world. I've been reading the term "dark bore".

I assume it's what S.Sumner meant by usage of "BLACK bore".

Does it mean the bore is extremely dirty, or God forbid rusty?

[S.S.]

The bore literally turns a dark color.
I am not honestly sure what causes it.
Some people say it is from copper fouling,
Some say the Hot Military Powders temper the steel.
Some say it is a chemical reaction between the Corossive primers and the steel.
I have used most forms of copper removal to no avail, so I do not believe
it is from copper. It is not dirty because no amount of cleaning will remove it.
Mine has no rust or pitting that I can find so it isn't rust..
This to me leaves the chemical reaction of some sort between the primer and the steel.
It does not affect the shootability at all in mine.

[DonW]

S.S.,  Guess you have already considered this:  Two of my Turks had "dark" yet clean bores.  They both are impressive shooters (considering the Tschitty Mauser sights) and show no pitting.  Both have been arsenal refurbed and my guess is that the darkness is blue.  When they reblued they dunked the bbl'd action with no bore plugs. But to add the the original post, the 38 Turks are one of the best buys out there. If you buy a good one with all the metal in good shape you can choose to leave it as is and shoot it with the el cheapo 8mm out there or do a modest sporter conversion.  There are also 1890's  and 1903 Models out there, but they are not as good a platform as the 38.   Don

[S.S.]

I have actually blued the inside of revolver barrels as an experiment.
It would last about 30 or 40 shots before the bore was shiny again.
I have also blued the inside of muzzle loader barrels,
Some of them have lasted for years ? Still nicely blued
after many,many firings.

[flintlocknfur]

Sarco is selling Turks for $59 right now. If you have a C&R thats the way to go!!