Gewehr 88 Model 1888 Commission Rifle

[kcw]

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

Steyr? Are you certain that you don't have an Austrian "straight pull" Model 95? Those rebarrled to 8x56R between the wars were stamped with an "S" on the receiver, approx. 12mm tall. The German police made extensive use of those rifles during WWII. How about a pic of the gun? "S", and the Hungarian "H" stamped rifles, should not be used with the original 8x60R ammo. Outfits such as Sportsman's Guide were selling large quantities of original 1938, German stamped ammo about ten years ago. You should be able to find it at gunshows Your 3rd chamber pic seems to show the less pronounced shoulder of the Austrian round, as compared to that of the 8x57.

[kcw]

Well obviously your 1891 made gun can't be a Model 95! If it is in fact Austrian, it's more likely it's the Model 1888-90 (Repetier Gewehr M88-90); which was the improved, smokeless proofed version of the original black powder Model 1888 originally chambered in 8x50. At this point you might want to obtain some "Cerro-Safe" material an do a chamber cast. Cerro-Safe can be obtained from supply houses such as Brownell's, et al. Following the directions, you melt it down on your stove top and pour it into the chamber to make a cast. It can be reused. The thing of it is, the Austrian "straight pulls" started out in 8x50, as the army changed to 8x56R (round nosed), and then to 8x56R (pointed) many older rifles were modified (which I believe is what the "S" stamp on yours signifies). But wait! Then we have counties such as Greece taking the M88-90's making carbines out of them in 7.92mm! If your do indeed have the Austrian rifle, my gut hunch is that it's been rebarreled to 8x56R-S, but I just don't know enough about them to be certain. That's were a Cerro-Safe cast comes.

[kcw]

As to your concern about the "abrupt stop" in the chamber neck, a good, sharp finish reamer will make such a edge. But something concerns me about pics #1 & #2. Am I seeing another, faint "circle" just ahead the edge you're speaking of in those two pics? The Germans did make some steel cased 8x57. If your gun is in fact an "S" 1888 Commission rifle, is that faint circle actually the forward edge of the chamber, and that far more pronounced rearward edge actually the rear end of a broken steel case neck? It would be odd for a case to be broken so smoothly, but if there were a defect (ie caused by a forming die) it might break off that way. This is where a Cerro Safe Cast would help.

[kcw]

However, my understanding of the 1888 Commission's "S" mod was that the forward end of the chamber was taper reamed so as to allow the .323 bullet to "gently" swag down into to the .318 barrel. I would think that a taper wouldn't leave an abrupt forward chamber edge; which brings me back to the Austrian rifle.

[ldpfeifer]

Here are some pictures of the gun. The date is 1890, I think I put 1891 in another post and you can see the "S" but under the "S" is also a CE. The serial number is 1540 with a letter "P" under the serial number, except the bolt is marked 3XXX. I do not have it in front of me. The last 7 inches of the stock has been sawed off, but there is a wood block in the receiver that has made this a "Barney Fife" gun, a single shot that is easily removed, this missing stock?. No other mods have been done to it other than the deflector on the end of the bolt. I will upload some more as I can only upload 5 at a time for pictures. Thanks for the help guys....Lyle

[ldpfeifer]

More pictures.....Lyle

[ldpfeifer]

Looking at the chamber with the bore scope, we thought the sharp transition in the barrel was a lining, but it goes all the way to the end and is solid, but it is just that, a sharp stop mark. The shoulder is not very pronounced as can be seen in the pictures, and the marks on the bayonet lug suggest this gun belonged to a reserve unit. I am not sure where my uncle picked it up. He was in a mechanized unit that came along after the battles and would either get stuff running again or destroy it so it could not be used. The only thing he ever talked much about was the "Hitler" style staff car they acquired and drove for some time before they came home. Must of belonged to someone important, they just came across it with a big hole blown in the back. Patched it up enough to drive it he said. I only wish I would have ask him about this gun. I know he sent home K98's but this is the odd ball. Imagine if this thing could talk, all that it has seen.......Thanks again for any and all help. Lyle

[ldpfeifer]

I took a piece of lead and tapped it into the end of the barrel. It measured .311 to .313. I also used a ball gauge, about 4 inches in, with the same results. I measure the 8mm Remington rounds and they are .321 if memory served me right.

[kcw]

Definitely an 1888 Commission rifle. I think it's likely that the stock was cut off for "duffle bag" purposes, with the idea that it would be reattached once getting back home. On 98K's the cut was commonly done under the rear band. Lyle, have you tried chambering an unloaded case? Disregarding the S stamp, I would think that if you lightly lube the neck of a 8x57 case with no bullet in it, you should , with some force, be able move the bolt forward enough to chamber the casing even in a VERY tight, unmodified chamber ( a piece of brass that had a .323 bullet in it will be a bit larger diameter neck than one with a .318 bullet, but it should swag down if there's no obstruction in the neck, you may wish to chamfer the outer edge of the case mouth). If you can't get that to happen I would have to assume that there's something stuck in either the chamber neck or chamber itself. I just spoke with a friend who has an unmodified 88 carbine. He says that he can't fully chamber .323 rounds, but they do go almost to the point where the bolt starts to turn down on the 318 ammo..

[kcw]

I've never tried paraffin (I think I read somewhere that paraffin shrinks when cooled), but you might be able to make a "plug" of the chamber neck area. If that is a broken shell neck in there the ID should be somewhere around .330 (according to a fired case I have), maybe a couple thousands larger considering that it's still expanded.