Gewehr 88 Model 1888 Commission Rifle

[ldpfeifer]

I am looking for ammo for this WW2 war prize my uncle sent home in 41. It has the "S" markings that it was converted, but the barrel slugged was .311. It DOES NOT have the cut out for the spritzer bullet or any other modifications that went with the "S".
8mm Remington Mauser rounds will not chamber due to the bullet I believe. They will go in about half way and stick. I do think this gun still takes the Patrone 88 bullet which sat on 7.92x57 round. Any idea where I can find some ammo for this old relic of past, or some type of bullet to use on top of the Remington Mauser rounds at a lower powder charge that will work?
Thanks in advance for any help.

[kcw]

200gr., .318 Woodleigh bullets @ MidwayUSA.com How tight they'll fit in the Remington cases after pulling .323 bullets is questionable. I've heard of guys that have standard .323 dies putting a bit of a crimp on the case neck so as to hold the .318's from dropping into the case. Never tried it myself.

[RCS]

You should be able to find some original military or SP cartridges for your Model 1888 rifle to see if they chamber. Gun shows and cartridge collectors have these early M1888 cartridges or re-slug your bore again

[randy langford]

Something is not right with that chamber get a bore light and check it out my non altered 88 will chamber a standard 196 grain 8 mm round just not safe to fire and any rifle with the s stamp should have the altered chamber they didn't rebore the barrel they just opened up the throat as I understand it.

[kcw]

"They will go in only about half way and stick". Following up on Mr. Langford, I'm thinking that there's a piece of broken shell, or some such, stuck in the chamber neck. I just compared the ogive on a factory Remington RN vs. Turk GI round by scribing each in the muzzle of one of my guns. The Remington ogive mark is only about 1/64th longer than the comparable mark left on the Turk bullet, so the Remington bullet design isn't what's keeping that round from chambering. The original S modification (GEW88S) consisted of merely reaming out the forward end of the chamber, the .311 barrel was retained. The later 88/05 mod included the addition of the 98 stripper clip guides.
Although the S mod 88's were widely used with .323 military ammo right through WWII, there's still plenty of warning about the use of the higher pressure European spec ammo. To be certain, I'd avoid the high pressure WWII Turk stuff if you come across it. That stuff exceeds 3,000fps out of my Turk M38's. On the other hand Remington and Winchester's domestic soft point 8mm ammo has generally been considered to be considerably downloaded from the European spec.

[ldpfeifer]

Just got home and read the last 2 replies. I will pull the bolt and use an engine bore scope and light to see if there is something in there blocking the chamber.

[randy langford]

Let us know what you find Factory Winchester and Remington ammo should chamber and is considered safe in these 88 rifles. Privi-Partizan is loaded to the hotter European standard and as has been said Turks like theirs super hot!

[kcw]

Let us know what you find Factory Winchester and Remington ammo should chamber and is considered safe in these 88 rifles. Privi-Partizan is loaded to the hotter European standard and as has been said Turks like theirs super hot!

My understanding is that that the Remington & Winchester 8x57 products are downloaded specifically in anticipation of circumstances such as this.

[ldpfeifer]

Is there a way to insert a picture? I used a bore scope and took a picture with my iphone. The bore looks OK. When magnified with the cylinder bore scope, you could see a lot of scratches that I didn't even know was there. It appears the bore is good but, it has a stop or shoulder area the makes a dramatic transition. I tried to insert the 8mm Remington Mauser rounds. They will go to the shoulder. I did find an old empty case, AK47 I think, 7.62 by 37....it will only chamber about half way and leaves a definite mark on the case about half way. Something is way out of wack here. I know the gun is a WW2 German war prize sent home from Germany, but now I am wondering if it could be chambered for Argentina?? The gun is Steyr and 1891 with the "S". This gun was packed with grease until February of this year. It sat in our old farm house since I was a kid.
So now is there a way to make a casting of the chamber area? I was thinking some paraffin wax. I am not sure I will ever be able to find a round for this thing.....then again, maybe I should leave it alone as someone is trying to tell me something.......

[ldpfeifer]

It worked...the pictures I mean......Lyle