Original German Museum Grade Mauser Model 1871/84 Rifle by Spandau Dated 1887 – Serial No 1122 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. “Museum Grade” is not a term that we use often at all, so we do not use it lightly. However there is no better description for the condition of this rifle. It is the best example of the Mauser Model 1871/84 rifle that we have ever seen. It is covered with Imperial German inspection and acceptance markings on the metal work, almost as crisp as the day it was made. These have all been hi-lighted with white so they present better.

The marking on the butt plate tang tells us all we need to know: G.F.R. / R.182. This indicates use by the Garde-Füsilier-Regiment (Guards Fusilier Regiment), an infantry unit of the Guards Corps of the Prussian Army garrisoned in Berlin. In keeping with the genteel nature of the unit, most of its officer corps were nobility. At the time of the German Empire it commanded soldiers guarding the Wache. Additionally, the second “R” is for Rekrutierung (Recruiting), so this is most likely a rifle that never left the recruitment depot, and was never used. The only wear is from age, and storage.

The serial number 1112 or shortened number 22 appear on every component of the rifle. This is a completely matched, totally unmessed with rifle.

The receiver is dated 1887. and marked I. G. Mod. 71/84. on the opposite side. The rifle is complete with all major parts intact and functional, and almost all of the original finish. The receiver is bright steel, while the barrel and other fittings are a polished high-gloss blue finish. There is a bit of light staining on the bright components, but nothing major. It also shows that this rifle was not one that someone refurbished: it’s all original. The bore looks brand new. The stock only has a bit of denting in one area on the butt, and is other wise in incredible shape, with all proofs intact and clear. It even has some VERY attractive tiger flame figuring in the butt stock on both sides.

The top of the chamber is marked Crown over SPANDAU, for the Prussian (and later Imperial) Spandau arsenal in Berlin, a storied production plant that would produce weapons up until 1919, including the famous MG08 Maxim. Below this is the Crown over FW proof for Kaiser Wilhelm I, who used the F.W. monogram. 

This gun is most likely a WW1 Veteran’s “bring back” souvenir. Great quantities of these 71/84 Rifles were pressed into service in WW1 since great piles of them had been put into storage in 1888 with the introduction of the M-1888 7.92mm German Commission Rifle. This one however was probably recovered from the depot itself, or someone’s house. The action works well, as does the magazine cutoff and feed mechanism.

A true “Museum Grade” Mauser 71/84 rifle, which will will probably not see the like of again. This is a chance to add a truly magnificent piece of Mauser rifle to your collection. Ready to display!

Originally adopted as the Gewehr 71 or Infanterie-Gewehr 71, or “Infantry Rifle 71 (“I.G.Mod.71” was stamped on the rifles themselves) this was the first rifle model in a distinguished line designed and manufactured by Paul Mauser and Wilhelm Mauser of the Mauser company, and later mass-produced at Spandau arsenal.

Paul Mauser developed his bolt-action rifle from 1866 to 1871. During 1870-71 trials with many different rifles took place, with the “M1869 Bavarian Werder” being the Mausers’ chief competitor. The Mauser was provisionally adopted on 2 December 1871, pending the development of an appropriate safety. With support from the government’s Spandau arsenal, the improvements to the safety mechanism were completed and the rifle was formally accepted on 14 February 1872 as Infantry Rifle Model 1871 by the German Empire excluding Bavaria. The action was not based on its predecessor, the Dreyse needle gun which had seen service during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, and which was found to have a number of weaknesses.

The now well known Mauser “wing” type safety lever was developed for the Gewehr 71. The Gewehr 71 is a conventional looking bolt action chambered in 11mm using black powder cartridges. The action included only a bolt guide rib as its single locking lug, locking forward of the receiving bridge. The original design was a single-shot. The design was updated in 1884 with an 8-round tubular magazine designed by Alfred von Kropatschek, making this Germany’s first repeating rifle. This version was designated the Gewehr 1871/84. A version of this repeater was adopted by the Ottoman Empire. Designated the M1887, it differentiated from the M71/84 in that it had a side mounted cleaning rod, a second locking lug on the rear of the bolt, and it was in caliber 9.5×60mmR, which Paul Mauser touted as the most efficient (black powder) cartridge. In the early 20th century a few were converted to 7.65×53mm smokeless by the arsenal in Ankara.

Specifications-

Year of Manufacture: 1887
Caliber: 11x60mmR Mauser
Cartridge Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 32 inches
Overall Length: 51 Inches
Action type: Bolt-Action
Feed System: 8 Round Tubular Magazine

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