Geha Mauser converted shotgun

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shotgun986

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Hello, I am wondering if anyone on here shoots their Geha converted Mauser bolt action shotguns? I know there are some around. As you know, they were converted from Gewehr 98's after WW I because the treaty of Versailles prohibited Germany from having very many rifles. I think it was also a make work project for the German gun industry. I inherited one and was thinking of shooting it. It's a 12 gauge. I know, have it inspected before I shoot it and chose a light load. Does anyone have a range report to share?
I will post a pic or two when I'm given that privilege.
 
They are supposed to be chambered for shorter loads... occasionally CGN sponsor TradeEx has 2½" shotshells, which they were chambered for, but I've also successfully used Aquila mini-shells 1¾".
I've never had any luck loading a second shotshell from the magazine.
I think it would be a great shotgun to use to shoot down trespassing drones!
 
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I used one many years ago. Also had a gameco. Mine function ok but was a slow clunk. Did not think it was much of a step up from the Cooey single. Army and Navy in Red Deer had some smoke damaged Ithaca 37s. That was what I thought was my first real shotgun.
 
One was in a collection of kibbles'n bits a few years ago.
I sure dint think much of it.
And had no desire to shoot it either.
Sold it el cheepoh at a gun show tagged as parts.
Maybe nudder corner lamp project?
 
I've never owned or shot a Mauser 2 shot shotgun but I did some research on them some time back after reading Frank de Haas's excellent book called Bolt Action Rifles and he says that while he doesn't agree with the crowd that claims these guns are junk, he won't outright say that they are safe to fire either. He states that the majority of them were converted by Geha in the 1920's and were made in 12, 16 and 20 g calibers, all chambered for 2 3/4 in shells. He stated that he didn't know anyone who had personally had one blow up but I've found stories of disaster regarding the guns floating around and at least some of them seem to be substantiated by eye witness.
The gun uses the bolt handle as the sole locking lug because the front locking lugs have been milled out to accommodate the large diameter of the shotgun shells. Therefore the action has no back up in case of a lug failure and it seems like high pressure loads can weakened the bolt and eventually cause a failure. One account I read about in the 60's had a young man killed when the bolt handle failed and the bolt came back into his head while out hunting. This story was supported by another hunter who claimed to have come upon the scene right after the accident. Another story had the bolt come back into the shooters arm as he didn't have the gun shouldered when he fired it. The bolt handle on the 98 rifle acts as the back up locking lug in case of failure and was never designed for prolonged use as a locking lug so I suppose it's possible that prolonged use may weaken it. I did see one gun listed for sale several years ago that came with a "disclaimer" saying that the bolt handle/lug was cracked so this would definitely be something I'd check before firing any of these guns. While the guns were proofed for the shotgun calibers when the they were converted from rifles to shotguns, evidently they were not re-heat treated since they were going down in working pressure. There is some speculation that some guns were not heat treated properly before being converted to shotguns but as mentioned, I think this is speculation.
de Haas also mentions in his book that the special bolt head fitted to the bolt for use with the large shotgun shells can easily be lost and that the gun can be fired without the head in place. This would result in a bunch of flame and smoke coming out of the action and could possibly be responsible for a lot of the "blow up" stories. It's reported that the bolt head can get ejected with a spent shell so it's conceivable that the second shell be fired without it in place without the shooters knowledge. Another of his criticism's of the conversions is that the receiver rails were thinned and thus severely weakened by the modifications and remember that the action locks on the rear of the receiver soooo... that's probably not a good thing.
I seems that most gunsmiths agree that the guns are safe with light loads and the failures seem to be few and uncommon but the part that would concern me the most is not knowing the history of the gun. Some of these have had many previous owners that would have fed any ammo they could find through the guns and may potentially have weakened even a well heat treated action to the point of it being a ticking time bomb.
I think it's only fair to mention that there are a bunch of these guns out there that have been used for thousands of rounds with no problems but I always think it's good to know the risks going in!
 
I have one I bought really cheap as a curiosity. Stock was broken; repaired it, but I don't know if I would trust it with recoil. The workmanship in the conversion is quite decent.
Instead of speculating about chamber length, measure it.
Customer brought me a Geha with missing bolt head. Bolt head is retained only by the altered original extractor engaging a notch, and can be easily detached. Made a replacement bolt head. Customer did not report any problems.
These guns became available in the '20s. The basic M98 actions are all over 100 years old. The conversions are close to that.
The guns would have seen a lot of use over the decades, would have been shot many times - with whatever shells were at hand.

As far as export guns from 1920s depressed Germany, I have a nicely sported 98. Light, handy. Name on the bottom of the barrel? Krieghoff. Anything to keep the shop open, I guess.
 
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