Interesting Mauser Gewehr 98

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Verrry Interesting, as Artie Shaw used to say. Yours looks much like mine, except mine has a turned down bolt like Scharfs', back up in post #13. Now there's an interesting point for speculation, straight vs. bent bolts. My first K98k came when I was about age 15, and it had a straight bolt. The bolt's serial no. didn't match the receiver's number, but I didn't know much about them at the time, and it took about a year for me to realize that the dished out area in the stock below the bolt handle's knob was probably a relief for knuckles, in which case the bolt would have to be bent. There weren't that many gun books or gun magazines around in those days, so I consulted my local gunsmith and he confirmed that it should be bent. He dug through his parts drawers and found one, but I had him bend the one that came in the rifle as I was worried about headspace--just something I had read but didn't know much about. He did a great job and it can't be distinguished from one that was originally made as a bent handle. Then, years later, I was reading about WW II and how German support troops were often issued K98k rifles with straight bolt handles. So I have to assume that sometime somewhere a bunch of rifles and their proper bent bolts were separated from each other, and then the rifles re-issued with available straight handled bolts, and the one I have may have been one of them. I have also read that in Europe it was not uncommon to store rifles and bolts separately so that should the rifles fall into the hands of enemies foreign or domestic they were useless. If these old guns could talk, the stories they could tell.......

[Hardcast416taylor]

One other thing on the 98a Models, they are small ring 98's that are the same action length as the normal large ring. At least all the ones I have seen were. Makes it difficult to find a semi inletted sporter stock.

Robert

I have a Danzig K98a double date stamp (1918/1920). I took my pick from 5 of these in a Gambles hardware store back in the early `60`s for $25. My son in high school about that time sportered it with a Bishop small ring 98 stock they had offered. Nowadays all that is offered as a small ring Mauser is for `93 and `95 7mm Mausers or Swede Mausers.Robert

[Ithaca Gunner]

I have a Danzig K98a double date stamp (1918/1920). I took my pick from 5 of these in a Gambles hardware store back in the early `60`s for $25. My son in high school about that time sportered it with a Bishop small ring 98 stock they had offered. Nowadays all that is offered as a small ring Mauser is for `93 and `95 7mm Mausers or Swede Mausers.Robert

That's exactly what mine is, a Danzig 1918/1920. The one below isn't mine, I don't have a picture of it, however it's exactly the spitting image of mine.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Nice photos. That's exactly how mine looks also.

[Ithaca Gunner]

I don't believe the 98a gets the recognition it deserves, later in the war it was widerspread in the German Army than we might think. I've seen photos from 1917-1918 with hundreds if not thousands of German troops on the march armed with 98a's.

[Ithaca Gunner]

A question of interest to me, I had a 1904 G98 made at Spandau, s bore and so marked with the usual markings except on the but plate were more numbers and letters along with W. Funk. Could this have been a reservist or name of the original soldier of issue?

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I suspect that it was a unit marking, with the caveat that "anything is possible." I know that we're talking about G98 Mausers, but on 1888 Mausers almost all you are likely to encounter have a unit marking on the left side of the front barrel band, and often it has been XXXXed out and a new series of numbers and letters stamped on when the rifle was removed from one regiment and re-issued to another, or when they were passed along to the Turks. That practice did not seem to carry over to the '98s. I have a Luger pistol stamped B.2.T.S.2.62 on the front strap which I've been told translates to pistol number 62 of the 2nd Battalion Hospital Train. I think that the German Army discouraged personalization of weapons by individuals, so as I said, it is more likely a unit marking. But I've never seen one on a '98 butt plate, so it may have been something applied locally after the war.

[bushwik]

Hi there found this thread via a Google search and seeking some help from anyone in hopes that someone can help me identify my Mauser Gew 98 with the flat sights (This is what brought me here!!) Super interesting reading all of this thread so I figured I would reply just by chance someone might be able to help me..... So I was gifted a Gew 98 from my Grandfather that brought it home from a tour in France and Germany during WWII, it is a Spandau 1916 with quite a few different markings, some which I have identified as possibly Prussian markings but there are also markings that I could not identify including the "s/42" with what looks like 2 small eagle marks on the receiver below the flat sights...

The rifle looks to have been sporterized at some point and has a nice glossy epoxy and uniquely has two Nazi coins glued to the stock where the circular bolt disassembly pieces used to be (Some handy work btw WW1 + WW2 I'm guessing). I presume this was either recommissioned or from someone's personal collection from the Great War and modified. Not sure how my Grandfather acquired it (He's gone now...) but I am am interested in cleaning it up and shooting it because it is in fine condition. I'd love to hear back from any of you if you have anything to add! Check out my photos of this awesome gun! Thanks everyone!

EDIT: Not sure why I can't attach my photos!

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Hi Bushwik-- welcome to the forum! I can shed a little light on your rifle. S/42 is the WW II code designation for the Mauser factory, actually in use a few years before the start of the war. The eagle marks are proof/acceptance marks and appear on many German military arms.

Spandau 1916 would, of course, be the arsenal and date of manufacture, and dates the rifle itself to WW I. Between the wars the German Army decided that they wanted a shorter rifle than the Gew 98 similar to the 98k, and many of the Gew 98s were shortened to the approx. length of the K98k and were issued for use by the German 100,000 man Treaty of Versailles army before the K98k became widely available. . From these facts I would make the assumption, that if your rifle is shorter than the WW I Gew 98 version, then it is one of these that was remodeled by the Mauser factory prior to WW II, perhaps about 1936 or 7, and not sporterized unless it has a sporter-type front sight.

Now, as to the rest, we can only speculate. Many rifles used by German honor guards were given shiny black finishes, much as many of our rifles used by color guards were nickel plated or chromed. As for the Nazi coins in the stock, that sounds very much like something a G.I. would do to customize and personalize his bring back trophy.

If you figure out how to post photos here (very easy, really) we'd enjoy seeing them and could perhaps tell you more. Again, welcome to the forum.

DG

[Wayne Smith]

Try making your photo's smaller. I have to reduce mine by about 50% to get them on here.

[Texas by God]

Thank you all for an informative and entertaining thread on the best bolt action of all time- the Mauser 98.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[bushwik]

[bushwik]

Try making your photo's smaller. I have to reduce mine by about 50% to get them on here.

Yup it was the image size apparently! I will push some addt'l photos after I edit them, thank you sir!

[bushwik]

Thank you so much for the feedback and great information! Here is a few more pictures of the firearm. I do believe it is shorter than a standard issue Gew98 so this would make sense

[Rich/WIS]

Had an Erfurt 1918 that had been sporterized by Bubba that I bought for the action. Never did use it and ended up gaving it to a friend. They are a smaller ring action but are not the true small ring Mausers. Mine had a bent bolt handle that was flat on the bottom and checkered. Was told that they were a bit "softer" than later Mausers and should be heat treated but not sure how true that is.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

The photos do help. Could you post one of the front sight? Based on what I see in these photos it would appear that the finish is a reblue, but not the honor guard finish. Probably reblued when it was reworked by Mauser, and beginning to show a severe rust problem here and there. This style eagle dates from 1891 and is what was in use when the rifle was manufactured in 1916. The style of the eagle was later changed to one with spread wings, and in WW II there was a swastika under the eagle. The script dd under the main serial number on the left side of the receiver ring is the series number, meaning that a series went from 0001 to 9999 with a letter following the number, and then started over. So this is the second time through the alphabet. Interestingly, since the serial number on the barrel doesn't match the one on the receiver it was likely re-barreled when it went through the Mauser factory. The flat rear sights became standard between the wars and was found on all newly made and reworked rifles. The stock was cut down to make a sporter and given a coat of stock finish. I see a black square in the last photo where the stock's recoil lug would be. Has it been removed? If so, it should be replaced before you start shooting it, or you risk splitting/cracking the stock. Based upon what you said about Grandpa bringing it home from Europe, I'd assume that he sporterized it and added the coins.

[bushwik]

Hi Der Gebirgsjager! Thanks again for all of this great knowledge. What a cool story! I am attaching a few more photos per your suggestion...Some of the sights and foot as well as the stock...Take a look.

Regarding your question about the recoil lug, I am not sure what happen to it. I am pretty sure it was not there when I received this firearm. Are these easy to come by and/or install?

Lastly, I am a newbie to vintage long guns like this...What are your suggestions to clean it up? Foremost, I wouldn't mind removing some of that rust you see! Also I am pretty sure the barrel is pretty gunked up but I dont have a long enough tool to get down in there. I was looking at picking up a tool and foaming bore scrubber to get into the barrel a bit.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

My curiosity about the front sight was to determine if it was the original military sight (it is) or if it had been replaced by whomever shortened the stock.

It is about 99% certain to be chambered for 8x57mm Mauser, but I'd have that determination made before shooting it.

Hopefully the bore isn't too bad, and by using a rifle cleaning rod, bore brush, patches and bore cleaner you should be able to take it to the range.

About the recoil lug: A replacement should be very available from Numrich Gun Parts Corp. www.gunpartscorp.com or 866-686-7424. It is kind of unusual for this part to be removed from a Mauser stock, and my guess is that the previous owner was attempting to reduce the rifle's weight by removing it. This is going to tax my descriptive powers, but the block looks kind of like a "T" with the downward leg being thick and wide and the horizontal arms being short and threaded. The unit fits into an inlet inside the stock and the horizontal arms into the holes on the side where you can see something is missing. Two round, flat nuts are then threaded onto the horizontal arms from the outside of the stock where they remain visible. The nuts have two little holes in them for a special tool used to install them or remove them that has two little pins that mate into the holes for turning. This can be done satisfactorily with a small pin punch and small hammer to drift the nuts into place around and around and tighten them, but care must be taken not to deform the holes.

Since it is relatively uncommon to remove the recoil block I can not tell you if they are interchangeable on various models of Mausers made in various different countries. So when you order one you should specify that you want one for a German Gew 98 rifle. The bottom of the receiver has a lug that mates with the recoil block in the stock to hold the action is the same location shot after shot, and it's hard to believe that you could get any consistent accuracy without the block. When you visit the Gun Parts home page it will give you the option to shop by manufacturer. Click on "M" and then select Mauser and look through the pictures until you find your rifle, then order the part by part number and item number from the schematic drawing.

About the external rust: You can remove it by using some fine gun oil or Hoppe's No.9 bore cleaner and some 4-0 steel wool. The rust will come off, but will leave shiny spots and probably pits where the rust was. You can touch these spots up with cold blue.

[bushwik]

Thanks for all of this great info. I'm going to try to order the lug and get this cleaned up. I will take it to the gunsmith to ensure I purchase the correct cartridges. I'll be sure to keep the thread posted with any updates! Really appreciate the help here

[Texas by God]

bushwik, if you will take several measurements of the lug recess, PM them to me and I might be able to help you out. I can also provide an empty sized 7.9x57 case and .323” bullet to check your chamber with. If you want to that is.