I'm seeing stars

[Occasional Marksman]

Hello All


I have a 1913-manufactured Gewehr 98 with an S-type rear sight that has stars stamped into the range scale left and right at the 750m and 950m notches. I have the books Rifle & Carbine 98 and Mauser Rifles Vol 1 and neither book mentions stars on Gewehr 98 sights, but there they are. Does anyone else have a Gewehr 98 with these stars on the sight scales or know what their purpose is?

Prost!
David

 

[chrisftk]

Hello All


I have a 1913-manufactured Gewehr 98 with an S-type rear sight that has stars stamped into the range scale left and right at the 750m and 950m notches. I have the books Rifle & Carbine 98 and Mauser Rifles Vol 1 and neither book mentions stars on Gewehr 98 sights, but there they are. Does anyone else have a Gewehr 98 with these stars on the sight scales or know what their purpose is?

Prost!
David

Hey David,

You have a great pre-WW1 wehrmanngewehr. I have one very similar, albeit with a factory bent bolt. These were commercial rifles sold to private individuals for target shooting. Check the bolt head on yours and the barrel markings under the wood-- most of these were chambered in 8.15x46R, a prevailing civilian round.. some in military calibers were made though.

1913 WMO Pre-war Wehrmanngewehr

Hey Guys, Been busy, then sick, then busy again. Hello 2024! Anyway, I took some pictures of this one for a conversation I was having with a friend the other day, so I thought I'd share it here. I got this one back in 2020 in trade with another member for one of my nice 71/84 Jagers. It's a...

www.k98kforum.com

I'm not sure on the stars (mine has them too)

 

[PrayingMantis]

My understanding is that the stars there to help the shooter account for the difference in 8mm and 8.15x46 since the sight base was made for 8mm. I can not remember where i read this, but if you look at the commercial Gewehre posted on this forum you'll notice only the ones in 8.15x46 have the stars. Hopefully someone else can explain it more/better.

Would love to see more photos of this one, by the way.

 

[Fal Grunt]

I would be interested to see more pictures too!

 

[Mauserken]

@PrayingMantis- That is my understanding as well. Below is a link to a discussion of a Geco in .22 that’s rear sight still retains the original 8mm range settings, but has the two stars added corresponding to the 50m and 100m setting for the .22 caliber round. I think this is mentioned in Simpson’s book, but I would have to check.

Geco Wehrmannsgewehr

Just recently picked this one up, neat to examine the conversion work. Neat mix of parts on it, the rear band is e/43 the ejector spring is e6 as well as the sear. The TG has rough, as forged areas on it, and it’s even rough inside the bow, which is thicker than normal and mildly rounded...

www.k98kforum.com

 

[Occasional Marksman]

Hello Gents

Thank you for your interest and input in helping me solve the mystery of the stars!

Chris, my bolt face does look like yours; I attached a 3rd rate iPhone photo showing the Gewehr bolt face alongside a K98 bolt to show the difference between the two. I did not take the rifle out of the stock to check for caliber markings. Way too much work that would cut into my scotch drinking time

But here's the scary part, 8mm Mauser ammo fits the magazine, chambers, hammer drop, safety function and ejects no differently than the other K98s or Gewehr 98s I've worked the bolt on prior. I've included a photo of a Dummy 8mm round fitting comfy in the mag well after being striper-clipped in.

So the new mystery is: If this rifle is chambered in 8.15x46R, which is a shorter cartridge than 8mm, how the heck is 8mm fitting into the chamber? I'll be taking this old boy to the gunsmith to get the caliber established before it goes anywhere near the firing line.

Chris, I included a photo of the Gewehrs magazine follower. It is the same shape as the follower in my K98. Is the follower in your Wehrmanngewehr the same shape, or is it distinctly different to accommodate the 8.15x46R cartridge?

Mantis: Good catch on the stars; it's the logical answer. I'll get some more pictures of the rifle up if the wife isn't too upset that it's not a military issue and wants to sell it now. The Gewehr is hers. She's a Great War history buff, and once I tell her that Hanz...Hanz is what she named the rifle, was a draft dodger, and never served in the Kaiser Army, I think poor Hanz is going to lose some of his appeal.

 

[Fal Grunt]

There are a couple of options, but it would be best that you pull the barreled receiver from the stock.

First instinct would be to say that it is a "Patrone 88" rifle, but the bolt face and extractor say that is not the case.

Second would be that someone, like an idiot, may have reamed the chamber out for 8x57.

Third.... well, let's stick with one and two for now.