I'm headed to a gun auction in a few days and they have several Interarms Mark X barreled actions for sale. Most are still in the cosmoline, but some do have some minor rust issues. Most are 30/06 and 7mm Rem. Mags with a few 25/06's thrown in the mix. Unfortunately, no big bores.

Any ideas as to the value of these?. I looked on gunbroker but couldn't find any for sale. All appear to be unfired and some of them date to the 1970's but a few do, as mentioned, have rust issues.

Is there anything special I should look for? No mention in the auction description of any Manchester, England markings. The auction also has some lots of Bishop stocks for Mauser 98's, but these are being sold in rather large lots (15-20).

Way back when, you could buy them thru the mail from Brownell's for about $150.00. 'Course ATF has pushed the price up.

A basic Viscount goes in the $400-500 range. Say the stock is worth $75-100 you are still in the 325-400 range. The barrel will bring $55-75. Yes in the 70s I would buy MKX actions for $115 and barreled action for $130. Which I had the money then to stock up.

If they are the older model with the release in the bow they will bring a touch more.

So if you can pick any up for under $320 you should be good. And those are some fine action, IMO. If I was in the market for a new rifle . . .

quote:

Is there anything special I should look for?

Sure, pick one (or several) with little or no rust!

Add a B&C synthetic and you're golden for a small $$$$ amount.

Well most decent Mauser actions bring $250 to $350 with the best bringing up to $600..An Interarms action alone is worth at least $300 and the barrel is worth at least $100 to most folks if its a good clean one..

I would say $400 is a good enough price. If I build a custom rifle thats about what I pay for them, and I toss the barrels or sell them...but sight unseen isn't a good way to assess a value on anything.

Thanks everyone for the help. Ray - the barreled actions won't be available for inspection until the day of the auction. I thank you for your detailed response and I'll definately keep everyone honest at the auction. Looks like it's a sale from a gunshop/smith since there are a bunch of these actions and also a quite a few Bishop stocks for 98's. The problem is the stocks are being sold in lots of 15-20. There are also a two Ruger #1 barreled actions for sale. Don't see them very often.

I seriously doubt that if you had new Interarms barreled actions in .30-06 or 7mm Mag in the classifieds that you could get more than $325 for them....and as Ramrod said if the floor plate release was in the trigger bow it'd be a plus!

The pictures I've seen show all the actions as having the floorplate release in the trigger bow. Some are listed as having the standard trigger and some say an adjustable trigger.

The auction was Tuesday and I didn't get any of the Mark X barreled actions. They sold from a low of $172.00 to a high of $330.00 (out the door prices). Most of the actions had some serious rust problems. They had rust with pitting on the extractors and many had deep rust on the actions and barrels as well. Some had so much dirt in the bores that you couldn't tell if there was rust as well with a bore light. It's a shame because they were all new and unfired. There was one clean 30/06 that I wanted, but of course it was the one that sold for $330. There was also a clean action only that sold for $242.00 which I guess was a pretty decent price but I wasn't looking to build a rifle from scratch.

Just thought I'd let everyone know the results.

L-Man,

I appreciate your response, and I am sorry your expectations weren't met, better luck next time.

Too many Dweebs get a thread started here and then take a dive; you never know whether or not the Jerk read the responses.

For one, I appreciate it.

Over several years time, I have acquired two Mark X bolt assemblies, and one FN bolt assembly, all like new. I held onto them because they are hard to find - the old style, before speedlock.

It's difficult to have just parts, especially bolt assemblies boxed away, so I picked up some nice commercial Zastava receivers, and the bolts fit fine - perfect IMO. I checked the lug engagment, and it's real close, as close as other unlapped comercial Mauser actions I have inspected. A little lapping will ensure proper contact, which is something that I would normally have done anyway on a custom barrel job.

So, as time went on, I acquired MK X bottom metal for each, with the in-the-bow release.

I also have triggers (blackburn) and three-position safeties (Gentry) for each.

All the parts are there for three complete actions. They just need the normal attention from a gunsmith, such as lug lapping, timing the safeties with the triggers, perhaps squaring the face of the receiver. That's all I can think of, except attach a barrel and stock.

So, while you guys are valuing stuff, let me know what you think the value is of the actions/assemblies I have described.

If there is a legitimate reason to think the assemblies are not worth as much as they would be for actions that left the factory complete, then if I decide to sell them, my only choice is to part them out.

KB

I must put my oar in the water here.

I put little or no faith in getting an accurate valuation of what ANYTHING is worth by seeing what it brought at any auction.

That only tells you to what degree competitive buyers were present. By competitive, I mean buyers who decided they wanted a particular piece, and who had the money with them to make sure no one else got it instead of them. "Successful" men in the community of attending persons are very markedly that way, but not nearly so much as are women bidders.

No matter what "limit" they told themselves they would not bid beyond, very few auctions are flush with folks who stick to that pre-bidding decision on any item. Most bidders have any number of rationalizations for why they bid more than they had intended.

How many of you have seen an auctioneer look one particular bidder directly in the eye and say "I have $2050 from the buyer in the back row, will you go $2,075?"...then he will look away at other bidders for a moment, then come back to the first one and say "Are you going to let this fine XYZ get away for just $25?" And the bidder often enough goes another $25. Then the auctioneer works a different but simiarly effective approach on someone else. Likewise they often stop the action for a moment with a line something like "Folks, we're all wrong here. Rifles like this seldom come to sales, and we're way below their value on this one....blah, blah, blah." That's to give everyone time to mentally increase their justification to go higher.

The beginning of the auction and the end of the auction are when things bring the least. At the beginning, there is still lots of stuff to bid on and the really competitive blood is not running full hot yet. At the end of the auction most of the popular stuff is already gone, so, often so are the well-heeled potential buyers.

The auctioneers know that...its their business to know it, so they arrange the lots so that the less valuable stuff is sold first, and last.

If you want to see what things are really worth, keep an eye on what sells, and for how much, in stores...particularly stores which specialize in the kind of goods you want to know about. It is their job to turn things over regularly and quickly enough to make enough money to keep the employees fed and the doors open with the lights on. They price stuff high enough to make a profit and low enough to sell without gathering excessive dust in the meantime.

Any gunstore which sells very many Mausers can tell you more about the day-to-day true value of any Mauser than can any auction house.

When it comes to Mausers, in general or specifically, it's just not real easy to say a value for sure.

There are several reasons I say that. First it's not easy to just go to a gun store and buy a new Mauser rifle. So the comparison is to similar rifles, readily available, such as Rugers, or perhaps the CZ.

I'm not sure what the current status is with the Zastava Mausers. It seems that at every phase of their production, MK X Interarms, Charles Daly, Rem 798, Z98, somebody's bad mouthing them, but when production ceases, suddendly they are in demand, and more valuable.

FNs hold value well, and gradually increase in most cases. Used actions bring pretty good prices on GB.

Another thing that has a factor in the value of a Mauser rifle or action is the refinments, such as upgraded trigger and safety and bottom metal. For example, a Timney or Blackburn trigger is worth a lot more to me than a factory MK X trigger and shroud. It costs money for the conversion, yet some guys expect that to be thrown in upon a sale, stating something like they saw a nice action sell of GB last week for such-and-such $$, and fail to mention that it had the std trigger and shroud. To me, when I buy a Zastava action or barreled action, I'm buying a receiver and bolt assembly, and bottom metal if it's in-the-bow release. I replace the trigger and safety. That's why a CZ 550 action or complete rifle is a good deal to me, because I don't have to replace the trigger, or bottom metal, and converting to a three-position factory type safety hasn't been expensive or a problem, and some of the older ones come with three position safeties.

Also, looking over the offerings of sporterized milsurp Mausers on GB, they vary a lot. Some are just junk, and some are treasurers, and often the difference is in the eye of the beholder.

All that, and more, is part of what makes it interesting, but it can be frustrating too. For example, the actions I have assembled from parts. Some purists turn up their nose if the serial numbers don't match, like it really makes a difference. There are literally millions of mismatched serial number Mausers out there shooting just fine for many years.

The frustrating part is suppose I decide to sell the actions. Parted out, I can get more money than selling the complete assembly - most likely, unless I just happen to find the right buyer. Supposing I go ahead and have a complete rifle built, then later want to sell it. If so, then my "custom" rifle will be competing with used MK X, or Charles Dalys, which are currently in my estimation going for about 1/4 or 1/5 of what a correctly assembled and custom barreled Mauser built on an upgraded Zastava action is worth. Building a Mauser to use is something IMO that is done with the intention of that rifle never being offered for sale, but left to a nephew or son as inheritance.

Just try to find a well built custom rifle for sale, built on a Zastava action. Hen's teeth. Same thing with the FN. It's more common to see old original rifles, needing repairs, upgrade, or use as donor actions for a complete overhaul.

KB