value on these two rifles?
- Thread starter johndfb55
- Start date
- Location
- Western Manitoba
I can not really help about prices today, but that Gew 88 - if you plan to fire it - might want to slug the bore to establish groove size - early 8x57I from that era had .318" bullets - in 1905 German army changed to .323" bullets - 8x57IS - is alleged that "most" older ones were updated, but you would want to verify for that one.
BlackPowderBurner
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- the chesterfield
Your Gew. 88 has a sanded stock which hurts value. There should be the last two digits of the serial number on most small parts, if all the numbers are matching and the bore is good I'd say you're looking at $650. Most Gew. 88s you see are mismatched and show signs of Ottoman use.
The No1 Mk. III looks good, value is dependent on the bore condition and if the bolt body, bottom of the rear sight and nose cap have matching serial numbers to the receiver. If it's all matching and has a good bore, $1200 would be tops unless it has a nice C broad arrow marking in which case add a couple hundred. Mismatched but good bore I wouldn't pay more than $650 as a shooter.
The No1 Mk. III looks good, value is dependent on the bore condition and if the bolt body, bottom of the rear sight and nose cap have matching serial numbers to the receiver. If it's all matching and has a good bore, $1200 would be tops unless it has a nice C broad arrow marking in which case add a couple hundred. Mismatched but good bore I wouldn't pay more than $650 as a shooter.
The "S" on the receiver ring would suggest that the Gew 88 has been throated to allow the use of the .323" bullet. It would still be a good idea to use .318" bullets.
Are there any Turkish marks on the rifle? Many? Most? of the Gew 88s seen are Turkish surplus. With the unit markings on the left side of the receiver, this one may not have gone to Turkey. Might make it more collectible.
The SMLE may be a rare one. Need more photos. Could be original pre-WW1 configuration, never upgraded. If so, quite unusual to have survived unaltered.
Are there any Turkish marks on the rifle? Many? Most? of the Gew 88s seen are Turkish surplus. With the unit markings on the left side of the receiver, this one may not have gone to Turkey. Might make it more collectible.
The SMLE may be a rare one. Need more photos. Could be original pre-WW1 configuration, never upgraded. If so, quite unusual to have survived unaltered.
The Gew88 in the pic has the enbloc hole cover in place on the pics, this would indicate to me that the rifle has not only been fitted with a .323 bore barrel but that it's also been converted to be charger fed and a spring type guide rail has been inletted into the bottom left side of the receiver. The "S" stamp on top of the receiver would indicate this as well.
Without knowing the condition of the bore, it's hard to give a real value, from what I see in the pic, no more than $450-$500
The No1 LSA marked receivers aren't as common as other makers and if the bore is 80% or better $900+
One thing of note on Gew88's the bore may still be .318 despite being S marked. Interestingly it has not had the charger guides fitted, nor the receiver notched for the longer 198gr bullet. I would definitely slug that bore before firing any 198gr surplus or European ammo. A lot of them had the throats reamed larger to accept the 150gr S patrone bullet but the bores were mostly left alone and not rebarreled except for very early on. Originally the early .318 round nose bullet had major fouling issues with the long bearing surface and fairly tight .318 grooves. later the spec was changed to be a .320 groove or thereabouts to reduce wear and metallic fouling. The S patrone bullet had a relatively short bearing surface, allowing it to be swaged down slowly and not spike pressure. 198gr s.S patrone on the other hand is a different story. I shoot mine with chronographed loads up to 200fps using 218gr Spitzers pulled from 8x63 Swedish ammo, but is size them down to .318 before loading them. pretty well emulates the original m88 ammo. other than the stock being sanded, everything else looks correct, the early ones had the bolt and reciever in the white while everything else was blued. so the metal finish appears correct on that count.
Based on the look of your SMLE, it's a relatively early pre war one at 1912. LSA receiver is less common, and assuming the bore is ok and there are no significant cracks in the wood it's a pretty desirable example. As a shooter I'd want the draws to be in decent shape or you run the risk of the wood battering itself badly and cracking through the main action screw. It still has it's volley sights, or at least the screw and plate which is seen in the photo. If it's all matching i wouldn't be surprised to see over 1k for sure, in auction likely closer to $1300 or higher with the way things have gone lately. As stated above, if it's canadian marked, ad another couple hundred to the value. Overall some neat pieces!
Based on the look of your SMLE, it's a relatively early pre war one at 1912. LSA receiver is less common, and assuming the bore is ok and there are no significant cracks in the wood it's a pretty desirable example. As a shooter I'd want the draws to be in decent shape or you run the risk of the wood battering itself badly and cracking through the main action screw. It still has it's volley sights, or at least the screw and plate which is seen in the photo. If it's all matching i wouldn't be surprised to see over 1k for sure, in auction likely closer to $1300 or higher with the way things have gone lately. As stated above, if it's canadian marked, ad another couple hundred to the value. Overall some neat pieces!
This thread is what makes Milsurps here great. OP posts some pics of stuff outside the usual and folks step up with informed insight explaining what they are about and what to look for. I hope the Johndfb55 posts more pictures in support of the replies he got about these rifles.
