Two Austrian-Hungarian M13s (Gewehr 88s)

[Eaglelord17]

Hi all,

Just thought I would share my most recent project, two Austrian-Hungarian issued Gewehr 88s. Both have the M13 modification (rear sling swivel replaced so as to allow the usage of the standard M95 style sling), and have just recently come out of deep storage. Apparently they were stored after WWI, and forgotten about until being re-discovered recently (Corwin Arms in Canada just recently brought this batch in).

One is a 1890 Spandau with the 'S' modification which would have been given to Austria-Hungary by Germany during WWI as aid, well the other is a 1894 Steyr which would have originally been intended for export but was never sold. Then as WWI broke out, Austria-Hungary bought and issued those rifles from Steyr as they needed them. The 1890 has the common bolt upgrades (bolt head reworked to allow for controlled feeding, and the gas shield cocking piece), well the 1894 has all the original features.

Both seem to be mostly matching (odd parts here and there aren't but most the major features excluding the bolts are).

So far I have managed to get the 1890 Spandau stripped down, and have spent several hours cleaning off rust, and trying to get it back into shape (so far issues include a broken rear sight leaf spring, a broken magazine screw, and a bent firing pin body). I am going to leave the 1894 for a bit as I want to get one done properly before I start on the next one.

Here is some teaser photos, later on I should have some more to show. Also they both happen to have consecutive rack numbers, which I think is pretty cool.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.