Original German WWI Mauser 1888 Commission Infantry Rifle by Danzig Arsenal – Dated 1896 Original Items

Original Item: Only one Available. This is a good example of the iconic German Mauser 1888 “Commission Rifle”, also known as the Gewehr 88, or GEW 88. It was made at the Government Arsenal at Danzig in 1896, and then saw long service, as indicated by the large number of different markings on the gun. These were chambered for 7.92mm ammunition and had a fixed magazine. It still retains the original German Regimental Markings on the top band:

22.R. R. 9.176

This example has the the tell tale “notch” cut into the rear of the receiver ring to accept the slightly longer spitzer-type S Patrone cartridge, as well as the S stamped by the chamber. Originally this rifle was chambered for the Patrone 88, cartridge, with a rounded tip bullet, which was ballistically inferior to the spitzer-shape.

It even retains its very unusual correct M-1888 cleaning rod with double slots, which were often lost or broken over the years. The right side of the receiver is marked Gew. 88 in German Block type, and also has serial number 6747 on the barrel and receiver. Over the chamber it is marked CROWN / DANZIG /1896. However in addition this rifle was then shipped to Germany’s World War One Ally TURKEY, who stamped a CRESCENT MOON on the Receiver bridge below the S and renumbered in traditional Arabic script the bolt’s serial numbers.

Rifle is in good used condition, with a solid stock and much of the original metal finish still present. It does have wear on the bolt bearing surfaces, and the bore, while bright with clear lands and grooves, shows rounded edges on the lands. There are still traces of the original stock cartouches on the left side of the stock.

An absolutely genuine GERMAN contract M-1888 Service Rifle issued to a German Infantry Regiment in 1896 and subsequently shipped as Military Aid to Turkey during or before World War One. This possibly saw service on TWO fronts of the Great War. Fully cleaned and ready to display.

History of the Gewehr 88

In 1886, the French Army unveiled the Modelle 1886 “Lebel” rifle. There was an immediate reaction in German military circles bordering on hysteria. Why? Because the Lebel was the world’s first small bore military rifle using an efficient smokeless powder cartridge. Now, the Lebel, which used a tubular magazine located under the barrel was not a particularly noteworthy design, but the power and flat trajectory of the new French 8mm round far outclassed the 11mm Reichspatrone black powder round used in the contemporary German infantry rifle, the Mauser 71/84.

In this rather charged atmosphere, the German Gewehr Prfungs Kommission (GPK – Rifle Testing Commission) went to work. Initially, the idea was to revise the Mauser Gewehr 71/84 to use a small caliber smokeless powder round based on the old 11mm black powder Reichspatrone. To this extent, production machinery was ordered from the Ludwig Loewe Company of Berlin-Charlottenburg in December, 1887. As things progressed, the GPK became disillusioned with this technical approach, and so a rather strange hybrid of ideas took shape.

The bolt design was highly revised by a Spandau Arsenal technician named Louis Schlegelmilch and features a separate bolt head. The ensuing rifle had a Schlegelmilch/Mauser action, a five shot clip loaded Mannlicher style magazine (note: while the clip falls out as with the Mannlicher clips, this one was markedly improved in that it could be loaded with either end down as opposed to only one end on the true Mannlicher), and a full length barrel jacket designed by Armand Mieg. The pitch and profile of the rifling were copied directly from that of the Lebel. The cartridge chosen was a modified Swiss style rimless design based on the ideas of Eduard Rubin. By March 23, 1888, the Bavarian military observer in Berlin, General von Xylander reported that the development was virtually complete.

Field trials for the new rifle were completed in November, 1888, and the GPK recommended that it be adopted immediately. The adoption orders were signed by Kaiser Wilhelm II on November 12, 1888. Issue of the Gewehr 88 as the new rife was designated, were first made in the spring of 1889 to the XV and XVI Armeekorps stationed in Elsass-Lothringen. Issue to the Bavarian military units began in October 1889, and by August 1890, all Prussian, Saxon, and Wrttemberger line units had been re-equipped.

The Gewehr 88 was made by the three primary Prussian arsenals at Danzig, Erfurt, and Spandau, a smaller Bavarian establishment at Amberg, as well as several private contractors, including the Ludwig Loewe Company, Osterreichische Waffenfabrik Gesellschaft (Steyr), and Haenel. Production figures up to the time production ceased in 1897 are as follows:

Prussian Government Arsenals: 750,000

Amberg: 425,000

Loewe: 425,000

Steyr: 300,000

Haenel: 100,000

Total: 1,675,000

NOTE: International orders of antique firearms MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services (courier). USPS Priority Mail international will not accept these. This firearm is NOT considered obsolete caliber in the UK.