gewehr 88 questions

**93-2.3** · May 9th, 2009, 05:33 PM

ok went to ag hall gun show with my buddy today he picked up some wierd 8mm rifle we looked online and think he has a gewehr 88 or a chineese version of one we read they take some type of mauser stripper clip to opperate it deffinatly didnt come with this rifle. what would he need to locate to make tha mag well work in this like what type of clip and where can they be found? also any other info would be good thank you

**wjkuleck** · May 9th, 2009, 07:36 PM

Originally Posted by 93-2.3

ok went to ag hall gun show with my buddy today he picked up some wierd 8mm rifle we looked online and think he has a gewehr 88 or a chineese version of one we read they take some type of mauser stripper clip to opperate it deffinatly didnt come with this rifle. what would he need to locate to make tha mag well work in this like what type of clip and where can they be found? also any other info would be good thank you

You have a GEW 88 (or derivative), designed by a German military commission circa 1887-1888. The rifle is more commonly known as the "Commission '88." Mauser had nothing to do with it. The GEW 88 is more Mannlicher than anything.

You need a GEW 88 "en bloc" clip for an unmodified '88. This is not a stripper clip, because it is inserted into the magazine and becomes an integral part of the magazine. When the clip has been emptied, it falls out the bottom of the trigger guard.

Here is a picture of the GEW 88 en bloc clip:

Some GEW 88s were modified after the adoption of the Mauser GEW98 (the '88/05 and '88/14) with an internal magazine allowing the use of Mauser stripper clips. You can tell these modified rifles in two ways, first, there is a stripper clip guide riveted or brazed to the receiver to accept the Mauser stripper clip, and a cover over the en block clip ejection port in the bottom of the trigger guard.

If you have the original GEW 88 arrangement, the en block clip, cartridges and all is inserted into the magazine. After all five rounds have been expended, the clip falls out the bottom of the trigger guard. If you have a modified rifle, a Mauser stripper clip is used in the customary fashion. After putting the loaded clip in the clip guide, press the cartridges into the magazine and remove the clip.

I trust that this clarifies matters.

Regards,

Walt
PS If you have an original GEW 88, you must have the en-bloc clip if you wish the rifle to be a repeating rifle. Without the en-bloc clip, the GEW 88 is a single-shot.

**93-2.3** · May 9th, 2009, 09:17 PM

sounds like an origional gew88 has a star on rear sight blade so i assume its chinesse where can the clips be found and purchased?

**93-2.3** · May 9th, 2009, 09:25 PM

correction if it is chinesse its not an origional gew 88 but rather a coppy of one but anyway like i said where can the en bloc clips be found and purchased for one

**wjkuleck** · May 10th, 2009, 01:20 AM

Originally Posted by 93-2.3

correction if it is chinesse its not an origional gew 88 but rather a coppy of one but anyway like i said where can the en bloc clips be found and purchased for one

Repros are available here:

http://www.rcarms.com/5.html

If you Google "Commission 88 Rifle" you'll get more information than you may have known existed. There's a pretty decent book on them available, too.

Regards,

Walt

**93-2.3** · May 10th, 2009, 10:30 AM

thank you sir it is a chinese one he wants to make a sporter out of it but i think i need to convince him not to and or maybe try to buy it off him lol they have any value? i seen a few on gun broker for like 100 to 200 dollar range almost all looked beat up

**wjkuleck** · May 10th, 2009, 09:00 PM

Originally Posted by 93-2.3

thank you sir it is a chinese one he wants to make a sporter out of it but i think i need to convince him not to and or maybe try to buy it off him lol they have any value? i seen a few on gun broker for like 100 to 200 dollar range almost all looked beat up

The GEW 88 and its derivatives are unsuitable for sporterization because their design results in an action less strong than desirable for a sporting rifle. Further, if this is a Chinese derivative, its metallurgy is suspect.

You can generally tell a German-made GEW 88 by the presence of the Imperial crown, the year of manufacture and the place of manufacture (one of the Imperial arsenals) on the receiver ring. The left side of the receiver will bear the inscirption, "Gew. 88." in Gothic script. If you see Arabic characters and/or "Ankara" or another Turkish arsenal on the ring instead, you have a German GEW 88 reworked by the Turks. A Chinese rifle will have, wait for it, Chinese characters and a Chinese arsenal cipher.

Original German GEW 88s will have the metal handguard, a steel sleeve that covers the entire barrel and on which the front and rear sights are mounted. The bayonet on the GEW 88 affixes to a stud on the right side of the barrel rather than the bottom, as is more customary.

Unless a GEW 88 or its derivatives is original and pristine, it has no collector value whatsoever. It's a curiosity with nominal value. I happen to have several, only because they were made at the Danzig Arsenal in East Prussia. My family being from East Prussia, I have a soft spot for GEW 88s and GEW 98s made in Danzig.

Regards,

Walt