Gewehr 98
The standard issue rifle of the Imperial German Army during the Great War, the Gewehr 98 is the quintessential “German Mauser”; the progenitor of the most successful bolt action rifle of all time.
The French had taken the world by storm with their introduction of smokeless powder with the Lebel Rifle in 1886. Their chief rival, the German Empire, was quick to respond with the Gewehr 88, a rifle designed by a commission and borrowing many aspects of different designs of the era. Despite this, the rifle proved less than satisfactory, and a decade later a new rifle, designed by Paul Mauser, would be adopted. This rifle, the Gewehr 98, would prove to be possibly the best bolt action system ever designed.
The distinctive Lange Vizier rear sight of the Gewehr 98, commonly called the “roller coaster”. This sight was adjustable from 400 to 2,000 meters
The History
The Gewehr 98 was the pinnacle of Mauser’s years of work on bolt action military rifles, including the older black powder Gewehr 71 and his first smokeless design, the Belgian Model 1889. The Model 1898 incorporated all of the features developed over the preceding decade and a few extras to create what would become the new standard issue rifle of the German Imperial Army.
The new rifle would enter service just in time for the Boxer Rebellion. The initial contract for production called for a mere 65,000 rifles, and thus it only slowly replaced the older Gewehr 88 rifle. Initial reports were very positive regarding the performance of the rifle, but a general sense of caution by the Germans following the rapid adoption of two rifles that would end up obsolete almost immediately contributed to the dragging of feet when procuring their third new rifle in two decades.
The front sight of the Gewehr 98 is a simple unprotected blade that can be drift adjusted for windage
Production of the new rifle was done at the Imperial arsenals at Amberg, Danzig, Erfurt and Spandau, as well as by private firms Mauser Oberdndorf and DWM (Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken). C. G. Haenel and Simpson Suhl would also later be contracted for rifles during the coming First World War. Government made rifles featured a prominent Imperial crown marking on the receiver along with the arsenal location and the year of production. Those contracted to the commercial concerns bore a simple rollmark of the company name with the year. Despite limited production in the first decade of the twentieth century, production would explode to enormous numbers after the start of the Great War in 1914.
The action of the Gewehr 98, showing the iconic long claw extractor and flag safety
In its time in service, it had seen use in German Africa as well as in China, but it would take the ignition of the so called Balkan Powder Keg to see the Gewehr 98 pitted against its true contemporaries. Over the course of the conflict the total production of the Gewehr 98 would be almost seven million rifles, and in addition to finally supplanting the Gewehr 88 in most German units many would be supplied to both the Austro-Hungarian Empire as well as the Ottoman Empire during the war.
The Gewehr 98 would thus serve in quantity on all fronts, from the coast of China to the African Veldt, the trenches of France to the frozen steppes of Russia and the Sinai Desert to the North Sea. It would gain a reputation for solid reliability as well as accuracy and power, and would be respected by its users and enemies alike. The Gewehr 98 would remain in service after the end of the war, with the Weimar Republic retaining it. Later during the interwar period, the sights would be replaced and the rifle would be designated the Kar98b to bypass the Versailles restriction on rifles, and eventually the design would morph into the Kar98k that would equip the Wehrmacht throughout the Second World War. Many features of the superb action remain in use today, being incorporated into most modern bolt action designs for both civilian and military markets.
The action from above. Again note the long claw extractor, as well as the large gas shield at the rear of the bolt. Also note the stripper clip guide and the thumb relief in the side of the receiver.
The Design
The Gewehr 98 is the progenitor of the iconic Mauser 1898 rifle series. This design would of course become the gold standard across the globe for bolt action rifles in the interwar years, but as the first to see production this would introduce these features to the world.
As its designation of Gewehr 98 (literally “Rifle 98”) suggests, this is a long rifle of the type typically encountered in the early twentieth century, ableit slightly shorter than those used by some nations of the time. It features a full length stock made mainly of walnut, but with many wartime rifles made of birch or beech to save material. Later rifles also used maple and elm for the same reason. A short handguard is also present, covering approximately 7.5 inches from the rear sight to the rear band. The front band enclosed a steel endcap that incorporated a large bayonet lug, this being done to allow the bayonet itself to not use a muzzle ring, thereby reducing loss of accuracy with it fitted.
The markings on the receiver ring, showing this example was made by the Imperial arsenal at Danzig in 1917. Also note the slightly larger diameter around the chamber as opposed to the receiver wall. This was intended to provide additional strength
The rifle had two symmetrical grasping groves in the stock along with a large recoil lug, as well as a disk in the butt. This was a solid unit on early rifles and bore a unit marking, but by the time of the war this was replaced with a washer that is used in disassembly of the bolt.
The rear sight is the Lange Vizier, a distinctive sight commonly known to American collectors as the “roller coaster sight”. It is adjustable from a 400 meter battle zero up to 2,000 meters. This was a relatively complicated and bulky affair, which notably obscures some peripherial vision when used at range. The zero was also somewhat problematic, as the changeover to the new spitzer bullet in 1903 had seen the sights simply remarked rather than adjusted, meaning that the rifle always shot somewhat high at closer ranges, requiring troops to use “Kentucky windage” to aim the rifle at targets closer than that, which unfortunately was quite common in the First World War.
The receiver side markings, including the serial number, a Prussian Eagle, and the designation Gew.98. Also note the receiver was left in the white by the factory
The actual mechanism of the rifle is a cock on open bolt action. The bolt itself features a long, straight handle, which although slightly less ergonomic than a bent bolt, but offered significantly greater leverage if the rifle was dirty or experienced a swollen case. The bolt also features a notable series of gas relief systems to protect the shooter in the event of a ruptured primer. The bolt itself has dual vent holes on the side, combined with a large gas shield at the rear behind the handle. These work together to deflect gas back and channel it out through the relief cut on the side.
The bolt also features two large front locking lugs, as well as a redundant third safety lug located near the bolt handle. The long claw extractor serves a dual purpose; both providing a very smooth controlled feed of ammunition from the magazine as well as serving to help guide the bolt during operation. The magazine itself was a staggered interna affair, fed via Mauser’s five round chargers. These allowed fast loading of the weapon before automatically be ejected by closing the bolt.
The bolt of the Gewehr 98. Note the large gas shield and the safety lug near the bolt handle
This Example
The example seen here is a typical Gewehr 98 as produced by the Imperial arsenal at Danzig in 1917. It features matching serial numbers on all components, including the screw heads, a common feature of German small arms of the period. Also it should be noted that the receiver and bolt are unfinished metal, or “in the white”, as was done by the factory. Many were later blued by German refurbishment after the war or by the American soldiers who took the rifles home, and thus this is slightly less common to retain the original blued finish as well.
The loading procedure of the Gewehr 98
Opinions
There is a good reason the Mauser 98 is so well regarded. The action is smooth, and the rifle generally handles very well. The Gewehr 98 is, of course, rather long, with the lange vizier sights indeed somewhat obstructive, but the author has an admitted bias toward long rifles, and finds the Gewehr 98 to be his favorite Mauser 98 variant. The pronounced gasping grooves and semi-pistol grip on the stock only add to the pleaseant experience of firing this rifle, which has proven to be quite acceptable in the accuracy department as well. All in all the Gewehr 98 is a solid weapon in the context of the First World War, and remains both a fascinating collectible and a fun rifle to shoot to this day.
German soldiers training with the Geweher 98 in 1914
Observed Values and Frequency
Updated: February, 2024
AVERAGE VALUE (USD): $750 - $1,000
FREQUENCY: Rare
COLLECTOR’S NOTES: Early examples may have unit marking disks in place of the takedown washer in the stock
Receives were originally unblued and left in the white by the Germans