Rusty Gew 98 NOW WITH PICS

You shoot that carcano yet? I would love to hear how a gain twist shoots. If the GEW looked that good, it wouldn't be an issue, that carcano has blue, patina & a bit of relatively light rust, my m-28 is worse & i left it alone.
 
desporterizer said:
On another point everything I found on the net states erfurt stopped making GEW 98 in 1908 or 1909, this one is a 1916. Any idea why?
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I'm in the GTA.... up in the Stouffville area, but work downtown...........

I'm beginning to wonder exactly what you have....... ;)

Graf's Gew98 Site (click here)

Next was rarity of the individual makers? There of course are no set in stone figures that I am aware of, though there are some generally accepted views on what is rare. Generally one can consider the government arsenals as common during the war (except Erfurt Arsenal who stopped Gew 98 production early- not sure exactly, but probably about 1908-09, -although they did put to use some receivers in 1915-17 for the Stern Gewehr- these are fairly desirable, especially the 1915 production) as are the top producers, which include DWM & Mauser Oberndorf.
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Regards,
Badger
 
PM sent.
Inspired by Claven2, I also acquired a Carcano, an 1891/41. Just got new cartridge cases, clips are coming, and I should be able to use my 6.5x54 dies to assemble rounds. Looking foreward to shooting it.
 
The whole erfurt mystery is the reason I bought it, along with the vet bringback/ regimental museum story(which I have yet to research). I will do my dammedest to post some pics, but I got it at epps & if they sold it for $150 you get a pretty good idea of the condition(they have only sold 4 GEW in 15 years). As for loading the carcano, I had to use lee dies with .268 bullets, with a 308 seater die it was "entertaining" but possible.
 
DO NOT...DO NOT....use naval jelly or the others...

There is only one product which will remove the rust and will NOT take the bluing. It is called "Blue Wonder" and comes in a tube. It should be available in most good gun shops. It is thick and goes on over the rust and should be left for a period before removal. Repeated applications may be in order. I have used it for years since finding it in the U.S.A. I have used it on surface rust and on thick cruddy rust and it works. It will not remove the finish but will take the rust. Do not scrape or wire brush this fine old rifle.......lots of blue wonder and #4 (oooo) steel wool and patience. I can't believe I still hear of guys using these other invasive tactics. Good luck, Dave
 
desporterizer said:
The whole erfurt mystery is the reason I bought it, along with the vet bringback/ regimental museum story(which I have yet to research). I will do my dammedest to post some pics.........
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Well, I'll make you a deal....... :)

If you can arrange to get her to me, I'll shoot (and host) a detailed photo montage of her in the current condition, similar to the ones you see on my web site for my own Gew98.

At least then, you'll have higly detailed photo historical record of what she looked like when you got her. ;)

Regards,
Badger
 
Good photos. The rifle looks as if it has even light pitting/etching overall. If the rifle were mine, I would carefully disassemble it, and gently clean - not scour - the surfaces with 0000 steel wool and oil. Just to get rid of any loose or active rust. That's it. Wouldn't do any more. Just stabilize and prevent further corrosion. To refinish/restore the rifle to its original appearance, every surface would have to be taken down to bare, smooth steel, and then refinished as appropriate. This would be an enormous job, and the results would not justify the effort and expense. Similarly, I would gently clean and BLO the stock. It would be worth trying electronic cleaning in the bore, just to see how bad it is. My impression is that the overall condition of the rifle is better than I expected. It is an interesting old rifle.
 
The stock is coated in varnish, I need to strip it off & blo it. Also has a crack in the inlet I need to glue. I will give it a light scrub with some copper wool & see what happens. On the up side the stock is not oil soaked, it wasn't user long enough to absorb much oil & the folks who had it before me obviously didn't use any. Damm shame though, it was probably near mint when brought over.
 
Had a Lithgow stock set that someone had generously coated with gloss varnish. Stripped it chemically, lightly cleaned it with 0000 and BLO. It turned out very nicely. Fortunately they had not sanded it before varnishing, so the stock marks are clear and remarkably sharp.
 
desporterizer said:
You shoot that carcano yet? I would love to hear how a gain twist shoots. If the GEW looked that good, it wouldn't be an issue, that carcano has blue, patina & a bit of relatively light rust, my m-28 is worse & i left it alone.
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No, sadly have not shot it yet :( Too busy of late :(
 
Try "Poly Suppa Strippa" on the varnish, give a LIGHT rub with #0000 wool and then BLO that bad boy up! Looks way nicer than your original description IMHO.
 
hunterhenderson said:
Hey Badger where did you go, what do you think???
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Well, it's kind of hard to tell from the pics, but I think from the maker and date description, there's a good chance she may be a rare piece.

It certainly needs some tender loving care and minor protective restoration, however, I wouldn't touch it until I had someone with deeper expertise than mine take a good look at it. There's a couple of guys in the U.S. who are Gew98 specialists, so I'd recommend passing it by them before breaking out the steel wool and belt sander. :D

Regards,
Badger
 
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