“The 98 Mauser”….the Standard by Which……

............all other bolt action rifles are measured.

And so it has been since the Brothers Mauser---Wilhelm and Peter Paul, built their first bolt action rifle in 1871, that their rifles that followed would become the very standard, by which every bolt action around the world that followed it....would be compared.

With every major modification and improvement, the model number would be changed as per the year of its introduction.  Mauser rifles were so good, many countries found it smarter to buy them from Germany, than even attempt to try to build any rifles for themselves.

Over the span of the 20th century, no fewer than 53 countries purchased Mauser rifles for their armies.  It has forever been copied, but never improved upon, and to this day, it is still a favorite action to build a custom rifle from.

One of it's most popular chamberings was the 7 x 57mm cartridge, which was not only successful on the battlefields of the world, but found much favor with hunters.....even in Africa, in the skilled hands of guide D.M. "Karamojo" Bell, who took several elephants with it.

The Model 1893 and 1895 Mausers are extremely popular (and I have one of each), but my favorite has always been the '98.

When it was decided to "up the ante" and build an 8mm to supercede the 7, Mauser built a heavier rifle with a massive chamber to handle the additional power of the new 8.  (It is actually a 7.92 x 57), but it is so close to 8mm, they CALL it an 8mm.

The heavy-duty receiver on the '98, incorporates a 3rd locking lug that the '93's and 95's do not have.....again, to contain the power of that cartridge.  It is said, while never actually verified, that our 1903 Springfield was built in ITS 30.06 cartridge to "counter" the big German 8-millimeter,

The German 98 is so strong, its receiver has been used to build custom rifles from.....even all the way up to the 458 Winchester Magnum cartridge.  And THAT's a lot of case pressure, for a receiver design of 1898!

My particular '98 was a Stalingrad-captured gun, according to it's Russian arsenal markings, but the original German Wermacht markings are still there, along with unit markings, the German eagle and swastikas. (These photos are quite as clear as I'd like them to be).

Look closely and you can see it's "1940" date of manufacture over the chamber.  The "42" is a German Arsenal marking identifying the plant where it was built.  The graduated rear sight was notched-out to 2,000 meters and the 8mm will do every bit of that, although its maximum EFFECTIVE range is around 800 yards.  The ballistics are very close to our 30.06, and the Mauser will drive its big 174 grain bullet through just about anything.

Smooth, incredibly strong and reliable,  to this day, many collectors (myself included), still  consider the old 98 Mauser as THE "bolt action rifle.  Like most oldtime combat rifles, if that old Mauser could talk, it would tell you stories that have never been recorded in any history book.

THIS one, as I mentioned, was captured during the battle for Stalingrad in 1942 (see "Enemy at the Gate")............so it's a certainty that whoever this gun was issued to, was either killed or captured.

Every time I bring it home from the field, clean it and finish wiping it down.....I always get that  old "where's it been?" thing going on in my imagination.  And hating communism like I do, I often think to myself......"I wonder how many "hammer & sickles" this thing dispatched before they got HIM?"

A bit morbid perhaps, but it IS a part of history just the same.