The Gewehr 1898 was the product of a decade of bolt action repeating rifle improvements by the Mauser company, and would be the standard German infantry rifle through both World Wars. Today we are looking at a pre-WWI example (1905 production) that shows all the features of what a German soldier would have taken to war in 1914.
VIDEO HERE (17 minutes)
I have a 1916 Spanish Mauser, in .308 WCF. I have found it to be like every other military rifle that I have handled. Built like a tank, easy to clean, and simple to use. I inherited my dad's 30-40 Krag, in carbine length, which I gave to my younger son. He reloads for it, and loves it.
ReplyDeleteI used it to kill a white tail deer years ago. And like every other person who has ever handled one, the thing that impressed me most is that the action is butter smooth. It truly is the smoothest handling gun that I have ever heard of or handled. Too bad it was in such an anemic caliber. But it is perfect for white tail hunting. Very similar to the 30-30 WCF.
The Mauser action has been copied by just about everybody, since it was invented, if that says anything. The Krag while smooth, I guess is not strong enough for heavier calibers. But it sure is nice for the medium caliber that it was chambered in.
Since we adopted the 1903 Springfield, until hostilities began for us in WWI, we paid the Germans a royalty because it was so close a copy of the Model 98...I have an 03-A3, that was manufactured my Smith-Corona, the typewriter company in the early years of WWII, it still is my favorite hunting rifle...
DeleteI was given a Gewehr 98 by a shooting buddy. Nice rifle, especially for its age.
DeleteI hunted for years in Germany with my "Ami Mauser" and it always drew a lot of close inspection from my fellow Bavarian Jäger. The ballistics of the 8mm Mauser and 30.06 are also very close. I don't feel under-armed with either.
DeleteI also had a Smith-Corona. Bill Clinton (hack-spit) would not let me bring it back to the US as it was a "Weapon of War" and as I had procured it from a German, I could not import it back into the country. Same-same with a M1C. The parting with a K98 sniper rig really hurt, too.
DOL
Finally found a G98 to go with the M98 bayonet that my Grandfather Robert Smith brought back from WWI. Bore looks like you could grow potatoes in it but ... it still groups 3-inches at 100 yards. With bayonet fixed it is about 5'3" long.
ReplyDeleteOne of the really neat features of the Mauser rifles are the stripper clip ejection system. Open the bolt, place the clip in the guides, run the rounds into the magazine, and then throw the bolt home. It will eject the clip out of the guides, and save the step of having to pull it out before closing the bolt.
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