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More Concerns With My GEW 88

T

TN Time

Member
I have read so many opposing points of view about the GEW 88 rifle and whether it is safe to shoot or not that I am just totally baffled. I have loaded up some 170 grain .32 Special bullets with 42.4 grains go Varget, thinking that this should be a safe load. I want to be able to shoot it, but I am still a little apprehensive.

My question is, how many of you who frequent this forum are GEW 88 owners AND shooters? What has been your experiences shooting your 88?
Joe
 
Slug your bore to figure out the correct bullet size, and load lighter if you're nervous. 42 grains is a pretty conservative load with Varget - my go-to is a 47 grain load.
 
Cyrano4747 said:
Slug your bore to figure out the correct bullet size, and load lighter if you're nervous. 42 grains is a pretty conservative load with Varget - my go-to is a 47 grain load.
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I tried to slug the barrel but the slug got stuck at about 1" down. I guess I used the wrong size slug. I had a heck of a time getting it out. I'm not going to do that again. If I can find a gunsmith who can do it I will let him do it. The slug, that only went an inch down the muzzle measured .318 and .319 depending on where the caliper jaws were placed. Is this one inch enough? I would imagine that the slug would have had to have gone the whole length of the barrel to get an accurate measurement. Should I still be nervous?
Joe
 
I will give you my take after test firing over 100 Gew-88 rifles . First , do you have a Gew-88 or a 88/05 ? If it is a /05 you will not have a barrel less than .3208 , so your .321 bullet will be fine . If you have a plain Gew-88 there can be a problem . The rifle was made with a .3208 barrel , but some of the rifles that went to South America can be found with a non standard military small bore re-barrel by CZ [ and so marked ] that can be as small as .3168 . Post a photo of the barrel markings for help . The CZ barrels were made to fire a .3158 dia bullet , so they can be a pain to load for . I do not understand all the problems people are having with slugging . Use a soft lead about .325 dia , lube the slug and barrel . Go in about 2 inches from the muzzle [ all you need for checking for shooting ] and knock out from the breach with a 1/4 inch steel rod with tape wraps every so often to protect the barrel . Check the zero on your measuring tool on a known bullet size , like a .308 bullet . A bad zero seems to be a big problem for some . You are fine with the .321 bullet for any barrel except the CZ .
 
Ernie, I don't think mine is an 88/05 as it does not have the cut outs for a stripper clip on the receiver. It also does not have a plate attached to the bottom of the magazine, just a rectangular hole. What barrel markings should i be looking for and where would these markings be located? If my one inch of muzzle slugging is OK then my bore measures .318 or .319 according to my caliper jaws. I will take a picture of the barrel markings that I can find and post them as soon as I can. I guess my is a plain Gew-88 and I guess I have a problem.
Joe
 
Pull the barrel jacket , it should just unscrew when the stock is off . Near the breach of the barrel there will be markings . Look for a CZ stamp or post a photo of the markings and if it is original German some of the guys here can tell you who made the barrel what steel and the guys name who put it on !!!!! It is hard to help with slugs over the internet . You should not have a .319 , as that is not a common used size . If you are off a 1/2 of a 1000 th per side with your measurement .318 , that would be a .317 which I would buy for a CZ barrel . What was the bore [ land ] size ? A CZ would be around .307 - 8 . Is you barrel a .307 - .3175 ???? A German barrel would be .311 or .314 [ if a real early barrel ] . What year is your rifle ?
 
TN Time said:
I tried to slug the barrel but the slug got stuck at about 1" down. I guess I used the wrong size slug. I had a heck of a time getting it out. I'm not going to do that again. If I can find a gunsmith who can do it I will let him do it. The slug, that only went an inch down the muzzle measured .318 and .319 depending on where the caliper jaws were placed. Is this one inch enough? I would imagine that the slug would have had to have gone the whole length of the barrel to get an accurate measurement. Should I still be nervous?
Joe
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Get yourself an aluminum rod (just buy one at home depot - make sure it's aluminum), a mallet or hammer, and a .32-ish caliber lead ball. Tap the ball home into the muzzle and then using the rod pound it at least a few inches to make sure you're into good barrel (not the bit right at the end that might be eroded to be larger). Tap the rod with the mallet/hammer if necessary. Make sure to oil the bore and the slug well before hand. Unless you're trying something really dumb like a .50 cal ball in a 30 barrel there isn't really a wrong slug size unless it's badly under-sized to the point where it doesn't actually fill the bore. The whole point is that the slug is over-bore enough that it has to deform to fit it and you're manually pushing it through. Believe me, as long as you're using something to drive it out that won't mar the barrel (hence aluminum or brass rod. Plastic will work too but it's harder to get. Wood is doable but has a nasty tendency to splinter. Just don't use steel or anything similarly hard) you're not being rougher on the barrel than an actual gunshot is.

Once you get it far enough in that you're confident you're into good barrel (a few inches) pull the rod out, feed it in through the breach, and tap the slug back out.

It's pretty simple.
 
Ok. I am going away for a few days. I will do all of that stuff when I get back; i.e., remove the barrel jacket to check for the CZ marking. I hope it is not there. Here are photos from the ad in which I bought it from.
Joe
ANTIQUE-IMPERIAL-COMMISSIONED-GEWEHR-88-LOEWE-BERLIN-7-92x57mm-BOLT-ACTION-MILITARY-RIFLE-NO-F...jpg
 
Before my trip, I took the rifle apart. There is a lone "Z" stamp, but no "CZ" stamp on the barrel. I removed the sleeve. In various places near the receiver is stamped a "21," a "GE," an L, T, V one on top of the other and just below that a V, T, L, S one on top of the other. So, with no CZ stamp, should it be safe to shoot with .321 bullets? And possibly with .323 bullets with light loads? For some reason I can't seem to get photos from my camera to load in a file on my computer. I will keep trying.
Joe
 
Cyrano4747 said:
A slug will always tell the full story. It’s the only way to get a true bore measurement.
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As I stated before, I have had lots of trouble in trying to slug the bore, mainly I believe because the slug was a little too large and probably lead mixed with some alloy so that it would not shape well. If you (or someone else) would send me a proper lead ball of the correct size I would need to slug a possible .318 bore, then I will attempt it again. My mailing info is:
Joe R. Lock
P.O. Box 712
Townsend, TN 37882
 
There really isn't much to it. You can do it with fishing weights if you want, just make sure you yank out the (usually steel) eyelet first. There really isn't a "too large" unless you're doing something really stupid. I've been moderately stupid before and slugged a bore with a probably-too-large ball because that's all I had on hand and just had a doughnut of lead left behind on the crown. My guess is that you weren't hitting it hard enough or you hadn't lubed the slug and barrel first.

Is the bore shot out? The only gun I've ever had real trouble getting a good slug on was a Gew88 that had seriously degraded rifling. I'm not talking pitted rifling, or worn rifling, or rounded off rifling, it was almost gone, and the slug refused to bite and just ended up gliding along the top of what remained of the lands.
 
The fishing weights I have found are not pure soft lead but have some kind of alloy in them that make them harder than soft lead. Yes, I was "hitting it hard enough" and of course I lubed the slug (I am not stupid). The rifling looks good. Not shot out at all. So, either send me a slug that will work or stop offering useless advice.
Joe
 
The useless advice that I am referring to is implying that I did not hit the slug hard enough or that I possibly did not lube the slug. As far as the procedure for slugging a bore, you are correct on that. If I can find a 'smith who knows anything about milsurps I will take it to him. If not I may just throw the thing into the middle of the Tennessee River; I am that frustrated.
Joe
 
On second thought, I may just shoot it anyway. If it blows up and kills me then so be it. Sean Connery, in the movie The Untouchables said, "What the hell, you've got to die of something."
Joe
 
TN Time said:
Before my trip, I took the rifle apart. There is a lone "Z" stamp, but no "CZ" stamp on the barrel. I removed the sleeve. In various places near the receiver is stamped a "21," a "GE," an L, T, V one on top of the other and just below that a V, T, L, S one on top of the other. So, with no CZ stamp, should it be safe to shoot with .321 bullets? And possibly with .323 bullets with light loads? For some reason I can't seem to get photos from my camera to load in a file on my computer. I will keep trying.
Joe
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Like I said above, there is a Z stamped on the barrel right near the receiver under the barrel shroud (and NOT a CZ). Is this not enough information to determine what bullets can be shot through it? I guess I am s_ _ _ out of luck as far as photos go as my laptop will not let me load the photos in the finder anymore in order to post them. Can't somebody help me?
Joe
 
While I am not an expert on the German barrel markings and proofs [ there are others here that are so you may want to ask them about your markings ] , I feel you have a German barrel . The 21 is a match to your serial number . I am sorry you are having such trouble slugging . My favorite slug to use is a Hornady 32 SWC swagged lead pistol bullet . It is very soft and lubed , the small nose enters the barrel easy . They are only .314 dia . BUT if you put one on the cement floor nose down and tap it with a hammer on the base it will bump up to .323 or .330 as needed with easy hits . That bullet does any 8mm , 303 , 7.7mm , 30 cal I need to slug . If I remember and have time I will try and send you a few bumped up to .324 . I keep a whole box as I slug all my rifles , as it is the best way to getting them shooting best by knowing where to start with bullet wise .
 
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