Thinking of using Spitzers in your pre 1903 Mauser ? Think twice!

Well it wasn't blued by the Turks at a later point, that is indeed tarnish on the receiver. As for the possible "RC" stamp, I was incorrect. It looks like it is part of the Danzig fireproof stamp. I do not know what the letter under the stamp and to the far right is, a possible inspection mark ?

Does the rifle match overall or is she mis-matched ?
 
For comparison, here is the top of the receiver off my 88/05. There is a similar fire proof stamp but mine is Erfurt made. Notice how the crown stamp is different even though our rifles are ~six months to one year apart in manufacturing.

IMG_1450.jpg


I am also curious in comparing our 71/84s. Mine is also Spandau made, dated 1888. She is only missing the rear sling swivel but aside from that, she is all matching and in beautiful conditioning. The bluing has mostly worn off but is replaced by a nice layer of patina. She also has unit markings linking her to an Infantry replacement regiment.
 
Mine has no markings. It's actually not in firing condition as there is a crack in the stock along the magazine tube, the middle barrel band is hooped and the front barrel band pin retaining screw is missing. I paid $200 for it though. The gew88 has a matching barrel shroud and receiver, but nothing else. It has been thoroughly turked. Can't remember if the barrel matches but I think it does.
 
Sorry to hear about the 71/84. I have seen some threads at the Gew88.com forums where people are restoring some badly damaged Gewehr 71/84s. You may wish to start there if you want some hints or even help on how to restore her if you are interested.
 
Don't cry too much if you have an 88/35; I have several "complete" reference books here which don't list it at all. They are unique to Turkey and are comparatively rare. Be happy.

BTW, mine shoots just fine!
 
I don't think it was an 88/05/35 as the receiver does not appear to have been blued nor bears a Turkish arsenal stamp and date. An 88/05/35 or Turfek 1935 would have a modernized appearance and somewhat resemble a Gewehr 98 or a Turkish model 1903.

What Mikerock had, in my opinion, is an 88/05 given to the Turks but it did not undergo further modification.

Sad you don't have it anymore, it would have been quite interesting to see some more pictures and conduct a thorough comparison between yours and my 88/05 to see if there are any similarities from German and Turkish handling.
 
Haha!

Just to clarify, I still have the Danzig 1891 88/05 I pictured. I USED to own an 88/05/35 or 88/35 whatever you wish to call it, which was originally made by Ludwig Leowe in 1889.

When I get some time I'll get some family shots of my German rifles, but right now my work has me going crazy so it may not be until January where I can do some proper photo taking.

Bitte heißt du mich nur 'mikerock.' Vielen dank!
 
Also I just noticed your tip on the Gew88 forums. I'll look into it, thanks! I have fixed some stuff myself, and have also been looking for parts with some sucess but at this point the rifle is probably not safe to fire. My boss has a box of 11mm mauser for me when I get it up and running though!
 
Damn, I'd love to get my hands on a decent box of .43 Mauser, its damn expensive as is. When you do, I am would like to ask if you could post the powder loading, if it is printed on the box, so I could have a frame of reference when I hand load for my 71/84.

Looking forward to those pictures.
 
The old .43 Mauser round would have been called (if it had been American), the .44-77-385. Original loading was a .443" slug of 386 grains weight. Bore diameter suposedly was .433, but slug was nice and oversize. Charge was 77 grains. It is listed in several old manuals with this loading. Except for shape of case, you can use exactly the same loading for the .43 Spanish.

Dominion cases were engineered that they would work through the '71 Mauser, which took the original loading, through the later loading with the flat-tip slug in the 71/84 AND through the Spanish Remingtons. Very nice thing to have. Commercial Dominion stuff like I used to get at the hardware store when I was in high-school ($3.85 a box) was loaded with a light charge of smokeless powder. If you're loading with smokeless, you can use SR-4759 powder. It works fine in lots of old blackpowder rounds; just use it at THIRTY-EIGHT PERCENT OF THE BLACKPOWDER CHARGE and you should keep all your fingers, given that the gun is safe to begin with. Your charge for the Mauser will be JUST UNDER 30 grains; if your scale goes over that, you've done something wrong.
Or you could just load blackpowder, boil the crud outta your cases just as soon as you get them home. This smokeless powder's just a fad, anyway!
 
Great, thanks for the information. I think I am going to stick with black powder as that is what my Gewehr 71/84 was built around. I know it is more messy and can have damaging effects but I am prepared to deal with it as my counter parts would have done a century ago.

I was considering using a lighter load of smokeless powder but I saw a picture on Gunboards of a BP rifle where someone had loaded the wrong charge and split the barrel in two. The shooter also lost two fingers.

I told myself years ago when I got my license that I would never get into black powder and there was no need to worry about it but here I am with a 71/84, what are the odds ? Shes begging to be fired at the range so I can't hold back.

Any helpful tips for loading, cleaning...etc ? I also heard a rumor that if it is humid outside and you fire alot of BP cartridges, your barrel will actually start to rust much quicker. Would it be best to clean the fire after firing a dozen or so rounds to prevent any rusting the metal ?

I get the feeling I should move over to the BP forum :D.
 
If your 71/84 is begging to be fired, then the logical and humane thing to do is to fire the old thing. Speak softly to it in a guttural accent and make sure that it gets to eat nice, soft lead with lots of lubrication.

I will be using the load I gave you in my little Spandau Kar. '71 this coming Summer. Also, because I am too cheap to buy any more original brass, I'm thinking of making a new extractor for the old thing and making counterfeit brass up out of .458 Winchester. Sounds silly but it should blow out allright. Lee dies are fine.

Biggest point of all: have fun!
 
I would love to see pictures of that Kar 71 when you get a chance as I have never seen one before except in b/w side shots on a reference sheet.

If you grow tired of her, let me know, she will find a good home beside my 71/84 :D. Got any Kar 88s or Gewehr 91s laying around too ? ;)

Its the last real carbine I need to round out my collection and those buggers are hard to find in Canada.
 
Numrich has some Gewehr 71/84 parts. Just be prepeared to get hit with a US handling fee.

It really depends on what you need too. Trying to find say a new stock set will be difficult compared to a rear sight for example.

Here is the page for 71/84 parts from Numrich, hopefully it may help you: Link.
 
Oh I know about numrich, but the parts I want are perpetually out of stock. Using thier parts list I am looking for:

38: key retaining screw
39: middle band
 
Middle band shouldn't be too difficult to locate but the key retaining screw may prove otherwise. If you can't find the parts from a bubba'ed 71 or 71/84 on CGN, you may wish to try "Gunboards". It is an American forum but I have had more much luck finding parts on there then on CGN.
 
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