@#$% posted this before and it never showed up...

anyway, I bought a sporterized 98 mauser recently at a gun show and am now somewhat wondering what is it. The guy had said it was a turkish mauser, but now I'm not sure as it doesn't have any of the arabic writing or anything I see in pics of these. Though I'mnot sure this means much as this may have simply been polished off. On the top it says 1954 in a crescent shape underneath what may be the letters A, T and F on top of each other. Not sure though if these may be somebody's intials, whether the owner, gunsmith or whoever. On the side it says 98. Th.

I was somewhat skeptical not knowing what kind it was, but my brother said it was hard to believe the headspace and such hadn't been checked before someone took all the time to do the work on it, which is well done--Parker Hale walnut stock with cheek piece, nice checkering, bore in excellent condition, turned bolt handle, etc. Any help or a site that shows various kinds with identifying marks would be appeciated.

Thanks!

You have what started life as a G98. It was refurbed by the turks in 1954. This usually consisted of counterboring the front of the receiver to act as the recepticle for rear of the hanguard.

thanks for the info So is there any way of telling who made it? Or are you saying it was a German Mauser which they refurbed?

Anyway, it seems nice/in nice shape and my brother had said if it was a Turk they usually had decent reps. Haven't had a chance to shoot it yet and am looking forward to trying it out.

It was German made.

z1r is correct. The history and serial number distribution of this late ATF series has been extensively researched on the Net, mostly by DocAV from Australia.

They are well-made, and can be accurate; I own one myself. Be warned however, that these ATF conversions are NOT suitable for hot loading experiments, not for any cartridge with higher power than the original 8x57 IS loads. The counterboring has made them lose a number of receiver threads, and presently, the barrel is held only by 4 to 4.5 remaining threads.

What is the chambering of your sporter - 8x57 IS ?

Regards,
Carcano