This question comes up on this forum and on others I am apart of so I thought I would help settle the issue.
As a courtesy to others and to help share what I have learned about my Gewehr 88/05, Gewehr 98 and Kar98a, I thought I would post these quotes from a favourite book of mine; "German Gew. 88 'Commission' Rifle" by Paul S. Scarlata (You may remember it from another post of mine in a similar thread):
"Adopted by secret directive in April 1903, the new spitzer bullet...had a diameter of 0.323 inches (8.22mm) [and] weighed 154gr."
As for the 198 gr spitzer, a quote from the author (based on the Gewehr 88 but I think it still applies to all late 19th early 20th century German service rifles):
"I feel it is necessary to include a caveat here. While the German army and others apparently felt that firing a Patrone S (154 gr spitzer) in the Infanteriegewehr 88 was perfectly safe, over the years many ballisticians, gunsmiths and others have attempted to dissuade shooters from doing so. The reasons are many but the primary one is that you must look with askance upon the practice of pushing a .323" diameter bullet down a barrel that was designed and bulit for one measuring .318".
...
Then there are the large quantities of surplus 7.9 Patrone sS (198 gr spitzer) ammunition presently available on the surplus market, usually at very attractive prices. This version of the 7.9x57 cartridge was developed late in the Great War for use in machine guns and features a 198-gr. boattail spitzer bullet... , it goes without saying that firing the Patrone sS in 88 type rifles or carbines cannot be discouraged too strongly!"
Be warned and think twice before using Patrone sS in your late 19th, early 20th century Mauser.
The infamous "S" stamp
"Doesn't this mean I can safely fire a 154 or 198 gr spitzer in my rifle ?"
Not necessarily. The "S" stamp means the rifle was rated as being able to accept the new Patrone S round introduced in 1903. The conversion process to "S" involved: reaming out the neck portion of the chamber, the lead being lengthened, and the rear sight being modified.
Because bore diameters may vary by design or by fouling build up, it is always best to clean your rifle's bore as best as you can and slug the bore.
Not sure how to slug your bore ?
Heres a good youtube video on the subject. The only thing I would do differently in the start is use the rod to help push the steel ball or bullet weight down the barrel from the muzzle as you do not want to damage the crown of the rifle (as that will drastically affect your shooting afterwards).
Link.
As some of the bore measurements from my reference book have been noted as not being accurate by a fellow who has slugged and dealt with hundreds of these early barrels, I have posted this information as a guide, It deals with the Gewehr 88.
I would like to ask this be stickied for future reference.
As a courtesy to others and to help share what I have learned about my Gewehr 88/05, Gewehr 98 and Kar98a, I thought I would post these quotes from a favourite book of mine; "German Gew. 88 'Commission' Rifle" by Paul S. Scarlata (You may remember it from another post of mine in a similar thread):
"Adopted by secret directive in April 1903, the new spitzer bullet...had a diameter of 0.323 inches (8.22mm) [and] weighed 154gr."
As for the 198 gr spitzer, a quote from the author (based on the Gewehr 88 but I think it still applies to all late 19th early 20th century German service rifles):
"I feel it is necessary to include a caveat here. While the German army and others apparently felt that firing a Patrone S (154 gr spitzer) in the Infanteriegewehr 88 was perfectly safe, over the years many ballisticians, gunsmiths and others have attempted to dissuade shooters from doing so. The reasons are many but the primary one is that you must look with askance upon the practice of pushing a .323" diameter bullet down a barrel that was designed and bulit for one measuring .318".
...
Then there are the large quantities of surplus 7.9 Patrone sS (198 gr spitzer) ammunition presently available on the surplus market, usually at very attractive prices. This version of the 7.9x57 cartridge was developed late in the Great War for use in machine guns and features a 198-gr. boattail spitzer bullet... , it goes without saying that firing the Patrone sS in 88 type rifles or carbines cannot be discouraged too strongly!"
Be warned and think twice before using Patrone sS in your late 19th, early 20th century Mauser.
The infamous "S" stamp
"Doesn't this mean I can safely fire a 154 or 198 gr spitzer in my rifle ?"
Not necessarily. The "S" stamp means the rifle was rated as being able to accept the new Patrone S round introduced in 1903. The conversion process to "S" involved: reaming out the neck portion of the chamber, the lead being lengthened, and the rear sight being modified.
Because bore diameters may vary by design or by fouling build up, it is always best to clean your rifle's bore as best as you can and slug the bore.
Not sure how to slug your bore ?
Heres a good youtube video on the subject. The only thing I would do differently in the start is use the rod to help push the steel ball or bullet weight down the barrel from the muzzle as you do not want to damage the crown of the rifle (as that will drastically affect your shooting afterwards).
Link.
As some of the bore measurements from my reference book have been noted as not being accurate by a fellow who has slugged and dealt with hundreds of these early barrels, I have posted this information as a guide, It deals with the Gewehr 88.
I would like to ask this be stickied for future reference.
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