OnlyMil
Junior Member
Not a German rifle, but still a Mauser! Something to post to switch things up a little bit. This was Mauser's first adopted smokeless powder rifle design, and adopted by the Belgians which used this rifle into WWI. Unique in it's use of a barrel jacket, the only other widely adopted rifle with a barrel jacket being the commission rifle. An interesting concept to try and free-float the barrel and dissipate heat, but absolutely terrible in practice. Acting more like a condenser to collect moisture and subsequently rust.
Many 1889s were captured by the Germans and converted to 8MM Mauser but this is not one of them. In fact, this rifle looks like it could have been made yesterday at FN. However, this raises more questions than it answers. This rifle lacks army acceptance on the stock, has an old numbered brass tag, has a serial number prefix that was specifically blocked out by the Belgian government, AND has a FIVE digit serial number when typically they only had 4. This is not the first "I" block 1889 to pop up, and the other two I saw studied likewise had brass tags, no acceptance, and were in excellent condition.
Through some threads over at Gunboards, I had a chat with JPS who tried to help narrow down this rifle's history by process of elimination. It is unlikely that it had anything to do with Hopkins & Allen pattern rifles, as when they went bankrupt, would have sold everything and the kitchen sink. It is unlikely that whomever would have purchased their pattern room examples, would keep them in their original state as they would have been simple surplus at the time. (The curse of Bubba) These rifles might not of even been made pre-War, as practically all those rifles saw use, on either side, pattern room or not. FN was charged with providing spare parts after the War, and could have come from a small order after the war was concluded. The brass tag is the key: it is a Belgian Artillery Museum tag, hence explaining why the Army never got it. The going theory is that these rifles were specially made for Belgian museums. This would also explain why it's still in the original pattern, and was not cut down to the shorter M1935 pattern. The extra serial number digit being a possible mistake (although there is at least one other example with a 5 digit serial number, close in range to this one). Really rather remarkable that a country would produce an antiquated rifle simply for posterity. Could you imagine if Mauser made a run of 2,000 Gewehr 98s, including the original markings, in 1938 simply for posterity? Or if the Soviet Union put together PEM Snipers after WWII? Simply an unheard of notion. Nevertheless, this rifle probably sat out WWII in a Belgian museum and due to it's obsolete status, was overlooked by the Belgians and the Germans in that conflict. After the War, a GI more than likely brought this home, and kept good care of it knowing what it was.
This rifle came to me in a private sale, the previous owner having it for 50 years. I'm not much for Belgian rifles but could not resist given the condition. The bolt internals, the magazine, and the barrel under the jacket were caked in old grease. I left the grease in the barrel jacket and on the barrel as it was. While this rifle was probably a museum piece, somebody definitely shot it at some point. The bolt face shows definite signs of use, and the bore had some old fouling concentrated closer to the throat that took a week of patience to clean up completely. Nothing Hoppe's couldn't cure. The bore is excellent, bright and sharp. The bluing is superb. A really pretty purple case hardening on the stripper clip guide/bolt release as well as traces on the magazine follower and trigger. An all-around timepiece.
Markings by Part:
Receiver roll0mark: FABRIQUE NATIONALE HERSTAL-LIEGE
Receiver S/N: I11028
Barrel: I11028
Barrel Jacket: I11028
Bolt Body: I11028
Stock: I11028
Stock (Internal): 11028 (in Pencil)
Triggerguard: 1028
Magazine: I11028
Buttplate: I11028
Front Sight: 28
There are various FN markings and Liege proofs throughout.
Many 1889s were captured by the Germans and converted to 8MM Mauser but this is not one of them. In fact, this rifle looks like it could have been made yesterday at FN. However, this raises more questions than it answers. This rifle lacks army acceptance on the stock, has an old numbered brass tag, has a serial number prefix that was specifically blocked out by the Belgian government, AND has a FIVE digit serial number when typically they only had 4. This is not the first "I" block 1889 to pop up, and the other two I saw studied likewise had brass tags, no acceptance, and were in excellent condition.
Through some threads over at Gunboards, I had a chat with JPS who tried to help narrow down this rifle's history by process of elimination. It is unlikely that it had anything to do with Hopkins & Allen pattern rifles, as when they went bankrupt, would have sold everything and the kitchen sink. It is unlikely that whomever would have purchased their pattern room examples, would keep them in their original state as they would have been simple surplus at the time. (The curse of Bubba) These rifles might not of even been made pre-War, as practically all those rifles saw use, on either side, pattern room or not. FN was charged with providing spare parts after the War, and could have come from a small order after the war was concluded. The brass tag is the key: it is a Belgian Artillery Museum tag, hence explaining why the Army never got it. The going theory is that these rifles were specially made for Belgian museums. This would also explain why it's still in the original pattern, and was not cut down to the shorter M1935 pattern. The extra serial number digit being a possible mistake (although there is at least one other example with a 5 digit serial number, close in range to this one). Really rather remarkable that a country would produce an antiquated rifle simply for posterity. Could you imagine if Mauser made a run of 2,000 Gewehr 98s, including the original markings, in 1938 simply for posterity? Or if the Soviet Union put together PEM Snipers after WWII? Simply an unheard of notion. Nevertheless, this rifle probably sat out WWII in a Belgian museum and due to it's obsolete status, was overlooked by the Belgians and the Germans in that conflict. After the War, a GI more than likely brought this home, and kept good care of it knowing what it was.
This rifle came to me in a private sale, the previous owner having it for 50 years. I'm not much for Belgian rifles but could not resist given the condition. The bolt internals, the magazine, and the barrel under the jacket were caked in old grease. I left the grease in the barrel jacket and on the barrel as it was. While this rifle was probably a museum piece, somebody definitely shot it at some point. The bolt face shows definite signs of use, and the bore had some old fouling concentrated closer to the throat that took a week of patience to clean up completely. Nothing Hoppe's couldn't cure. The bore is excellent, bright and sharp. The bluing is superb. A really pretty purple case hardening on the stripper clip guide/bolt release as well as traces on the magazine follower and trigger. An all-around timepiece.
Markings by Part:
Receiver roll0mark: FABRIQUE NATIONALE HERSTAL-LIEGE
Receiver S/N: I11028
Barrel: I11028
Barrel Jacket: I11028
Bolt Body: I11028
Stock: I11028
Stock (Internal): 11028 (in Pencil)
Triggerguard: 1028
Magazine: I11028
Buttplate: I11028
Front Sight: 28
There are various FN markings and Liege proofs throughout.
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