K98 mauser

DeRoche?
Alsatian?

 

Hey talleyrand what about my last name?
Member of the 2nd Panzer Div.
Jason "Axel" DeRocher

 

Jasom, I have to agree with you that the Mauser is a very good rifle. Its only drawbacks were a 5 round capacity magazine, and no way to have a larger supply of ammo redily available to fire without having to reload after 5 rounds fired(as in a detachable 20 or 30 round magazine) Only a few had a 20-25 round magazine--such as the one I have in my collection. It was deemed un-constructive for general usage because you could not change magazines as they are fixed, you could not lay on the ground and fire it accurately nor get close enough to laying down because of the fixed extended magazine.

Now there were ww1 mausers that had magazines holding I think 10 rounds, but these were not fixed and it wasnt too long in changing magazines.

 

My grandfather says that the Mauser is an excellent rifle, he has got one and I have got the luck of shooting it. It is wonderful! But he also says that the "bloody Garand" was a little bit better for its fire speed (semiautomathic). He saw several of his men being killed by those damned rifles. He accepts that amerikan light guns were very good. But from not authomathic rifles the Mauser is the winner! Since the first world war it showed how good it was. The number manufactured reinforces that: nearly 11.000.000, am I right?

It was the main weapon used by the average soldier in the infantry. It was part of the equipment which my grandfather can remember: the 5 pounds steel helmet, the Mauser, 60 cartriges, 2 hand granades, a bayonet, a canteen, an antigas mask, a ( how do you say Schaufel in English? ), a backpack and a personal stuff pack.

 

Schaufel=Shovel

The G98 was probably the best small arm developed in the 19th century(the only other contender is the Winchester lever action series). It has influenced almost every long gun developed since. But by 1936 the then K98's time had passed. The Garand, AVS, and SMLE had all surpassed the venerable 98. Had a G43 type rifle been developed before WWII German soldaten would have been much harder to defeat.

 

Jason have you live fired a k98 or just used blanks yet?

 

I just got to live shoot one not too long ago. They have a nice punch to them.

 

Oh yeahhhh---they feel almost like firing a .30.30 Winchester, which also has a "kick" to it.

 

Jason weekend down at rnslr I got to see the tvs Dennis destroyed with his K98. Now if only he would take out his G43.

 

Hey, hey...c'mon people!
If your looking for small-arms then you can't overlook the Luger!

Possibly one of the best handguns of it's time, anyone agree with me?

P.S. If anyone has one i'd luv to hear about it?

 

The P-08 WAS great--for looks but, as for an accurate pistol--nope. The P-38 wins that contest hands down. Yep and I have owned and fired several P-38s and 2 Lugers.

Now lets see how the Browning Hi-power stacks up to the Colt .45

 

My great uncle has p-38 he brought back with him, which is basically now mine. I still haven't been able to take it out and fire it, but hope to in the near future.

 

The Luger is not the best of side arms. Its loading mechanism is overly complicated and has many moving parts, which doesnt lend itself to making a reliable weapon. The magazine's are easily clogged with grime and dirt, because of their fit into the gun, plus they have many sharp edges with which to cut fingers and hands.
Under most conditions the P-08 is a nice weapon as long as its kept nice and clean. On the dirty, nasty, battlefield using the P-08 can be jam clearing fest.
The P-38, being the first good double action auto loader, was a great gun. But it suffers from the same problems as the P-08 with its loading mechanism. The P-38 is much more reliable.
I have a Luger 1908 model for sale. Its an American import model chambered for 7.65mm(.32 calibre)ammunition, not 9mm, repeat, NOT 9mm. The weapon is in perfect working order and good overall condition for being almost a century old. One of the original grips was cracked and broken when I purchased the weapon, so I have put walnut grips on. The original Bakelite(?) grips will still go with the pistol. I only have one magazine for the pistol, be warned these are very hard to find. First $1,500 takes this fine shootin' iron.
The man I bought this Luger from told me,"My grandpa brought it back from WWI" and went on to tell a long story. Although the pistol says Made in Germany on the reciever and it has a US serial number

 

Sounds good but...for an early P-08, the grips should be checkered walnut only--bakelite came out much later.

 

notice I typed a ? after Bakelite as I am unsure of what the original grips are made of. It does not appear to be wood, the interior of the cracked grip does not have the look of wood grain.

 

Please excuse my ignorance but what is Bakelite? A type of plastic?

As for the P38/P1... I liked the looks of it, and could shoot it, but I hear that there has been some improvement in pistols over the past few years, and won't really be sad when our army gets rid of the last few ones.

 

Tally, its possible that the grips could be early replacement grips or replaced in the late 80's or early 90's as plastic griped molded to look like wood.

Some Lugers also had Black Rubberized Grips in ww2.

Bakelite is a plastic, which was used in the making of radios and other products.

 

Back to the original question. The K98.
I rate the K98 with the following advantages:

1. Reliable- You just can break a Mauser bolt action! It is simply the best and safest bolt design in history!
2. Accurate!- You can't beat the K98 in accuracy either. I think it partially due to the lack of moving parts, and sturdy design. I don't have a sniper version (not yet!), but I am sure with a scope you pick off targets up to 1,000 meters!
3. size- The K98 is a nice size for a standard infatry rifle, and its' weight is a little better than the M1.
4. Maintenance- as a mechanic myself, this is one of the most important items to me. The K98 is easy to strip, and clean. Or you could just neglect it in combat, and it would still function!

The main disavantages are:
1. Lack of firepower- because of its bolt action, and small magazine capacity of only 5 rounds, the K98 does lack the firepower of the M1 and Enfield rifles.

I think that is the only disadvantage that I can think of.

Now for some of the other topics discused.
The P08 is just as accurate as the P38. The P38 is just more rugged, and reliable.
Balkalite is a German plastic that was used extensively during WWII. The P38 grips are made of it. MG34 and MG42 grips are made of it. MP40 grips and guard are made of it. Radio cases were made of it. K98 cleaning oilers were made of it. PP and PPK grips are made of it. Need I say more? It is usually found in black, brown, red-brown, and the very rare grey! If anyone has a Walther PP or PPK with grey balkalite grips, PLEASE CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY FOR RE-SALE$$$!!!

Matt

 

I agree absolutely with mp38 in everything!!!

As I have posted in earlier treads, my favourite rifle ever is the K98!

It is strongly made, it is very accurate, light, very reliable, easy to mantain, fast to reload, etc. It is simply marvellous. It had only got five bullets instead of Lee-Enfield's 10 or Garand's 7, beside, this last is semi-authomathic. But I think that the larger caliber gave it fire power. So it is an excellent rifle because it is powerful and accurate. Then who cares about the 5 bullets? My grandfather has six of them, including a sniper one (he was a middle-time sniper) of 1936, two WWI Mausers and even a nice 1898! I just love them. I do not like the Garand, I love bolt action rifles.

And the Luegger could be very accurate, styleful and beautiful, but it is not reliable and the P38 is far better pistol.

 

The K98's muzzle velocity is only marginally higher than the Enfield No 4's, and significantly lower than the Garand. The K98's rate of fire is significantly worse than both the Garand and Enfield No 4. Also, the sights on the Garand and Enfield rifles were superior. The Garand's action is extremely solid, as is the Lee bolt used in the Enfield.

In my opinion the Garand was the best standard infantry rifle of the war, with the Enfield a close second and the K98 third.

The Garand's capacity is 8.

If you were a soldier being overwhelmed by hoardes of Russian soldiers and being forced to reload every 5 rounds, you'd probably care quite a lot.

[ 13 July 2002, 09:21 AM: Message edited by: Greenjacket ]