Of the three Turkish Mausers I own, two are M38 models. The M38 designation is somewhat confusing, and I daresay that it was invented by the American import companies. The M38 will bear the standard "TC ASFA Ankara" stamp with the crescent moon and star, but will also say "K.Kale". This is the Kirrikale factory. It is unknown whether the Turks simply assembled these rifles from parts made in Germany or fabricated the parts in Turkey.
The third Turkish Mauser I own is a reworked Gewehr 98. The Turks usually scrubbed the Imperial German markings and replaced them with their own Turkish markings. Mine still bears one Imperial Crown on the receiver that somehow survived. The original date was lost, though, when the Turks scrubbed the original markings. I estimate the date to be somewhere in the WWI years.
This first picture is one of the K.Kale Turks. It is dated 1944, and is in very nice condition externally. The bore is fairly rusty and pitted, though. It is in a somewhat new Turkish replacement stock (beech wood), which is much thicker than the original stocks. Shown in the picture is an original Turkish pattern bayonet and a couple of stripper clips worth of Turkish 8mm ball ammo, dated 1938. The sling is a black leather Swedish sling.
