Unmarked '98 sporter...thoughts?

[robinpeck]

I have been offered this Mauser 8X57JS fullstock sporter by a reliable individual. The problem I have with it is that it is apparently completely unmarked...no maker's name, no proofs, no serial number, no nothing...I have requested close up photos of checkering, sights, butt, etc...I am hesitant to buy unmarked rifles, but it looks nice, the metal is in 90% "very good" condition, the wood even better, and supposedly it has a near perfect bore and the glass (TEII Wetzler 4X)is very good as well. The seller is calling it a "guild rifle'...which means ...to me...nothing.......Any thoughts?

It looks like a Brno/Czech rifle to me...the bolt handle, the checkering pattern, the trigger guard, etc.....The last two photos are of my 1945 Brno 8x57JS

[sharps4590]

Of all the descriptions I've heard of "guild guns" the term has to me the same meaning as "I don't know". Anymore I just take it as unmarked conspicuously as to the maker or retailer. I'm not well enough versed in Mausers to offer an opinion of "who, what, where or when". If you really like the rifle and its condition don't turn it down because it's unmarked, if the price is right...but I am a sucker for full stocked Mausers and Mannlichers.

[mike ford]

robinpeck,
I agree with sharps4590.The seller saying the rifle is unmarked may not mean it is unmarked, it may just mean he hasn't taken it out of the stock.The rifle looks nice, is in a very good caliber,has a good scope in claw mounts,a lever release floor plate(may be hinged-can't see it), all good signs.I have serious doubts that it is truly unmarked, but if it is, I believe it would have been built for a GI close after the war, when proof houses were not in operation and times were hard enough that someone might take a chance on building one w/o proofs. Since US didn't have proof laws, being unmarked wouldn't bother a GI, and at the sametime, there was no one to punish the maker, except the people it was possibiliy built for. This is a rifle, I would like to have to hunt with, myself.
Mike

[Mt Al]

Personally, wouldn't be an issue for me at all and, per the others above, I'm guessing it's marked somewhere. I'd take it in a jiffy: full stock, butter knife bolt handle, claw bases WITH scope(!), double set trigger, great caliber...what's not to like?