Matching Gew88

[Horilka]

So this rifle was posted along with other estate rifles not long ago. I took my chances (and some $$$ and some hours of driving) and grabbed her hoping she could be all matching. Turned out she is. Looks like Gew 88 adapted for Patrone S, not Gew88/S yet.

 

[bearhunter]

Nice rifle. Very under appreciated today because so few people know how extensively they were used throughout the major world conflicts from the 1880s to WWII and even later in some areas of the world. They are smooth as liquid butter to operate and generally very decent shooters. The same can be said for Martinis and Long Lees. They are every bit as colorful and historical as Mosins and IMHO even more collectible as not very many have survived.

That rifle is a real gem being all matching, retaining its cleaning rod and much of its blue. The stock is in nice condition as well. Most of them were converted to "S" configuration during WWI and many more later for and by the Turks/Chinese etc. They usually have a small tab over the cut out in the trigger guard that allowed the empty clips to fall free when the last bullet was stripped from them. In shootable or collectible condition these rifles usually sell for less than half of what they should. I guess not enough of them survived to make movies showing them in use. During WWII many reserve units were armed with these converted rifles by the axis nations. The Turks did many conversions on them and those are what we normally see. I saw many of them in use in Africa in the late sixties for their intended purposes. They were and still would be very effective in properly trained hands. The loading system they utilized was way ahead of its time and in many ways better than charging strips. The clips could be re used and topped up while in the action etc. Very good system. I suspect the clips were considered to be a pain in the butt and the troops were likely expected to gather them up and reuse them. I read an article about the Turks having an issue where their rifles all became single shot only because the replacement ammo they were issued with after combat was all loose without clips. I can see this happening during a firefight and not having time to pick up the expended clip.

Great rifle and I am willing to bet you got it very reasonably.

Most people have no idea what they really are or how significant they are in martial history.

 

[kjohn]

Very nice! Hard to imagine that a rifle this old would surface, all matching no less. Thanks for posting.

 

[Recce21]

Is it odd for them to be all matching? All the Gew and Kar 88's that I have owned have been all matching.

 

[Horilka]

Well, I saw pictures of only one matching Gew88 here. Everything else I saw on EE or at LGSs were 88/05 with different degree of Turkerization, be it only force matched bolt or total mixmasters with Arabic numbers and Ottoman markings.
I specifically mean Gew 88 and all subvariations, there is no doubt that Gew 71, Kar 71, Gew 71/84, Gew 91, and Kar 88 are often all matching (another topic is how scarce they are). When you said "all gewehrs" did you mean Gew 88 and 88/05? Do you still have pictures?

 

[Claven2]

As an 88S and matching, that is a DROOL 88. If it were mine, it would remain mine

 

[Mike Webb]

Nice one. Just about all the 88 rifles I see have been to Turkey and are modified and mismatched to varying degrees.

 

[bearhunter]

I have a Steyr built Gew88 built in 1890 that all matches except the bolt. The bore in it slugs at .319 in and is in nice shape. Hardly any finish left on the piece and no cleaning rod. Luckily I have 3 clips to feed it with.

The other rifle I have is a Lowe Berlin S model built in 1891. It is S stamped and has the cut out receiver ring. It has what appears to be a unit stamp on the front barrel band. It also retains its cleaning rod but the bolt numbers are Arabic and in translation they match the receiver. The trigger guard was changed out and the number on it stamped out an a matching number put on. This rifle would be an 88/05 and has a tab over the trigger guard dated 1914. I use low pressure rounds with this rifle that are .323 diameter and it still shoots very well.

OP, just the fact that your rifle still has matching numbers after the conversion/ftr is an anomaly. I have seen a lot of these rifles and only a couple of them with matching numbers and those were in original condition. Yours is the first I have seen with the conversion and retaining the original bolt.

The bolt in my converted rifle was obviously replaced and marked with the Arabic numerals on all its parts to match the receiver. That is also very unusual.

Again, nice rifle. Those that understand the significance of these pieces would definitely find it very desirable for their collections.

 

[bearhunter]

Nice one. Just about all the 88 rifles I see have been to Turkey and are modified and mismatched to varying degrees.

Most of the Turkish conversions had the threads to hold the shroud on the receiver taken off or had the threaded part of the sleeve cut off and replaced permanently. Their barrels were replaced with .323 bores and their mag wells were altered along with charger guides added to the receivers. If the bores are in VG or better condition they shoot surprisingly well considering how beat up most of them are.

The Turks converted a lot of their own rifles and restocked them as well for the new barrel configurations. It is my belief they even made some of their replacement barrels but I can't confirm this. It is also my belief that many of the conversions were jobbed out in Europe as part of the sales contracts.

 

[mikerock]

Very nice G.88! I second Claven, that's a rifle that leaves your collection when you do.

 

[Horilka]

OP, just the fact that your rifle still has matching numbers after the conversion/ftr is an anomaly. I have seen a lot of these rifles and only a couple of them with matching numbers and those were in original condition. Yours is the first I have seen with the conversion and retaining the original bolt.

Why do you think it's anomaly? The "S" upgrade definitely took place as a) it is "S"-marked, b) barrel has tapered shape rather than stepped and c) cocking piece is post-1892. Two parts were replaced at arsenal and serialized to the rifle - barrel and cocking piece. You can see that font on cocking piece is different. Hard to say same about barrel font, but I've been told initially barrel had full serial number, not just last two digits. Rifle did not have cleaning rod and sling swivel when I got her, thank god these parts are not numbered. I have couple of Gew 88/05s but have been looking for matching example for quite a while, she is definitely a keeper.

 

[MiG25]

Some steel wool will shine it up nicely.

 

[Eaglelord17]

Very nice 1888'S'. Definitely cool rifles, with a very interesting history to them. I personally find the issues countries went through with smokeless powder to be fascinating, the Commission 88, is likely the poster child for those issues (poor metallurgy, lack of proofing, not understanding bore depths for jacketed bullets, issues with ammo, etc.).