Mauser Gewehr 98
Mauser · Rifle · Out Of Production · 1898
Also known as: Gew 98, G98, M98, Mauser 98, Infanteriegewehr 98, Model 1898
Overview
The Mauser Gewehr 98 was the standard service rifle of the Imperial German Army from 1898 until the end of World War I, and arguably the most influential bolt-action rifle ever designed. Developed by Paul Mauser and adopted on 5 April 1898, it combined a cock-on-opening striker-fired action, a three-lug rotating bolt, a non-rotating Mauser claw extractor providing controlled round feed, and a five-round internal box magazine loaded from stripper clips. Chambered in the powerful 7.92x57mm Mauser cartridge and fitted with a 740mm barrel and Lange Visier tangent rear sight graduated to 2,000 meters, the Gewehr 98 delivered exceptional accuracy, range, and reliability under combat conditions. Its design proved so sound that it became the template for virtually every military and sporting bolt-action rifle that followed - directly inspiring the U.S. M1903 Springfield, the British Pattern 1914 Enfield, and the post-war civilian rifles of Winchester, Ruger, Remington, and Mauser itself.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 4090 g (144.3 oz) |
| Weight (loaded) | 4400 g (155.2 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1250 mm (49.21") |
| Barrel Length | 740 mm (29.13") |
| Sight Radius | 655 mm (25.79") |
| Action Type | Bolt Action |
| Firing Mechanism | Striker Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 5 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Internal |
| Muzzle Velocity | 878 m/s (2881 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 3700 J (2729 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 500 m (547 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 3700 m (4046 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 15 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Rifling Twist | 240 mm (9.45") |
| Number of Grooves | 4 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 7.92x57mm Mauser · primary — also known as 8mm Mauser, 8x57mm IS, 7.92x57mm IS, 8mm Mauser JS, 7.9mm Mauser
Features
- Firing modes: Repeating
- Feed systems: Internal Box Magazine, Stripper Clip
- Safety mechanisms: Three Position Wing Safety, Cock On Opening
- Features: Controlled Round Feed, Mauser Claw Extractor, Three Lug Bolt, Internal Box Magazine, Stripper Clip Loading, Lange Visier Tangent Rear Sight, Blade Front Sight, Straight Bolt Handle, Full Length Wooden Stock, Bayonet Lug, Cleaning Rod
Variants
- Karabiner 98AZ — Wwi Carbine
- Karabiner 98a — Interwar Carbine
- Karabiner 98b — Interwar Short Rifle
- Karabiner 98k — Wwii Shortened Rifle
- Gewehr 98 Sniper — Wwi Sniper
Service history
Operators
- Imperial German Army · adopted 1898 · as Gewehr 98
- Weimar Reichswehr · adopted 1919 · as Gewehr 98
- Ottoman Empire · adopted 1914
- Austro-Hungarian Army · adopted 1915
- Kingdom of Yugoslavia · adopted 1919
- Republican Faction · adopted 1936
- Polish Army · adopted 1919
Conflicts
- Herero and Nama Genocide (1904-1908)
- Boxer Rebellion (1900-1901)
- World War I (1914-1918)
- Russian Civil War (1917-1923)
- Polish-Soviet War (1919-1921)
- Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)
- World War II (1939-1945)
Production
Estimated total produced: 5,000,000 · Production years: 1898-1918
Approximately 5 million Gewehr 98 rifles were produced between 1898 and 1918 across multiple arsenals including Mauser Oberndorf, Mauser Berlin, DWM, Erfurt, Danzig, Spandau, Amberg, and Schilling. At the outbreak of WWI in 1914 the German Army held approximately 2.27 million Mauser 98-type rifles on hand, with an additional 7 million rifles and carbines of the 98 family manufactured during the war across all variants.
Origin
Country of origin: Germany
Designer: Paul Mauser
Discontinued: 1918
Notes
The Gewehr 98's principal perceived weaknesses in WWI were its length (1,250mm - awkward in trench warfare) and its five-round internal magazine, which could not be topped off mid-fight with the same ease as a detachable magazine. These criticisms drove the development of the Karabiner 98AZ during the war, and ultimately the Karabiner 98k for the Wehrmacht in 1935. Early rifles used a round-nosed 14.6g 'Patrone 88' projectile; from 1905 onward the rifle was re-sighted and widely used with the new 9.9-10.0g 'S-Patrone' Spitzer boat-tail loading, which gave significantly higher velocity and flatter trajectory. The action itself - claw extractor, three locking lugs, flag safety, controlled round feed - remains the gold-standard architecture for dangerous-game and premium hunting rifles to this day. The Gewehr 98 is frequently described as the rifle all other bolt actions are measured against.
Background
When Paul Mauser's 1898 design was adopted on 5 April 1898, nobody imagined it would still be winning benchrest competitions and anchoring dangerous-game safari rifles more than a century later - yet the claw extractor and three-lug bolt became so definitive that firearms historians simply call everything that followed 'Mauser-pattern.' A single captured example shipped to the United States directly inspired the Springfield M1903, which copied the action so closely that Mauser successfully sued the U.S. government for patent infringement and collected $3 million in royalties before World War I cut the payments short. Roy Weatherby, Bill Ruger, and Winchester all built their flagship bolt actions by refining, not replacing, the fundamental architecture Paul Mauser finalized in 1898.