98 also featured a new bayonet lug projecting forward from the forend of the stock, which allowed the bayonet to be mounted closer to the centreline of the bore.Īfter World War 1, the Weimar Republic adopted the Gew. A very short handguard extended from the sight base to the lower barrel band, and the buttstock featured a pistol grip for more comfortable shooting. The design retained the 29.1" barrel of previous Mauser long rifles, but featured a new rear v-notch quadrant sight now known as the Lange-Visier. In the event that burst gasses did escape into the bolt raceway, a large flange was designed into the front of the bolt shroud, which would deflect the gasses away from the shooter's face. In case the primary locking lugs gave way, a third locking lug was placed on the rear of the bolt body, which was designed to engage a recess in the bottom of the receiver and prevent the bolt from moving backward. The bolt body also had two large holes in the wall of the bolt, which allowed gasses from a breached primer to vent laterally out of the side of the bolt, rather than compressing and deforming the mainspring. This was to prevent the gasses from a burst cartridge from forcing the bolt head apart and traveling down the bolt raceway. First, the receiver incorporated a ring of metal that would surround the bolt head between the locking lugs and the chamber face when the bolt was fully locked. 98 incorporated several new safety features designed to cope with a burst cartridge. Furthermore, the diameter of the receiver ring was increased by 1/8" (3.18mm), allowing the receiver to withstand greater chamber pressures. The Gew.98 action featured cock-on-opening, meaning that the cocking piece was forced back (and thus the mainspring compressed) by camming with an inclined-plane cut into the circular wall of the bolt body. First patented by Paul Mauser in 1896, it was adopted by the Imperial German Army in 1898. The Gewehr 98 rifle was the final development in Mauser's line of turn-bolt rifles.
Note tangent-leaf rear sight, indicative of Reichswehr service. Post WW1 Weimar reissue Scharfschutzengewehr98 - 7.92x57mm Mauser.