Erfeurt 1901 Showed Up Today

[Albayo]

A friend of mine showed up today with a Gew 1898 Mauser for me, it was manufactured by ERFURT in 1901. The serial number is four digits over a small " c ".
Most parts of the gun are matching with the exception of the bolt, and the butt plate. The toe portion of the stock has been repaired at some point with a large piece of dark walnut. The piece is added similar to the way the Japanese reinforced the stocks of the Arisaka rifles. The triangular piece is 60mm across the bottom and 165mm long on the 90-degree side.
There is a smooth brass butt plate attached with two small brass screws.

In the “Mauser Military Rifles of the World” by Robert W. D. Ball Page 164, he states, “In 1901 the first troop issues of the Model 98 rifles were made to the East Asian Expeditionary Force, the navy, the three premier Prussian army corps”.
Could this Gew 98 have been one of the Gew 98's sent to the East Asian Expediitionary Force?
I am looking for a bayonet lug for it, I thought all of the lugs were the same but the later ones from a K98 will not fit. If you compare this Gew 98 to a K98 bayonet lug the wood extends up a bit higher on each side of the barrel on the Gew 98, whereas the K98 has the wood cut down probably to simplify production.
If some of you Gentlemen could help me out, I don’t have a source for the unit markings on the disk on the right side of the stock.
The info on the disk is 131. R. E. 188 with a small proof mark on the end.

I will try to get pictures up tomorrow

Information

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[Patrick Chadwick]

131. R. E. 188

131st Reserve infantry regiment, Ersatz (=replacement) battalion, Rifle No. 188

The 138th infantry regiment was formed in 1887 as the "3. Unter-Elsässisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 138" I.e the 3rd Lower-Alsatian Infantry Regiment. It was garrisoned at Dieuze, in Lorraine.

The Prussian regimental marking means that it cannot have been sent to China, unless someone can find a link between the 138th and the Ostasiatisches Expeditionskorps of 1901.

[Albayo]

Pictures Are Up.

[jmoore]

The stock repair is odd, but the brass buttplate? Ummm...Downright unsettling. Maybe.

[m4a3sherman]

Hmmm... Maybe Turkish or Partizan issue? I suppose it's equally likely that it was brought back or purchased as surplus stateside and someone got a hold of it here. The lack of a bayonet lug is interesting yet it still has the nose cap... This is a very strange piece indeed, certainly restorable however.... Keep us posted!

[Patrick Chadwick]

Albayo, we need a clear photo to replace the fuzzy photo (the 10th one) in your post of 14 Nov. It seems to show a hole in the wood for a cross-pin to hold the bayonet lug portion. But the Gew98/Kar98 style of bayonet lug has a boss that fits into a hole in the fore-end, between the barrel and the hole for the clearing rod. I cannot see this hole. It may have existed and since been plugged, but I cannot tell from the fuzzy photo. The lack of hole for a boss and the gap between the front band and the wood suggests that the bayonet fitting on this shaft did not have a boss behind the plate, but a piece of metal sheet shaped to fit the curve of the wood. But this would not have been a standard German 98 - G or K. The answer seems to be that the original fitting was somewhat closer to the wood, and fitted the recessed portion which is clearly smaller that the Gew/K98 style of barrel band.

I therefore begin to suspect that the shaft is not original to the rifle, but a replacement. The disk proves nothing - it could have come from the original shaft or some completely different rifle. Add in the buttplate, and I think this rifle has been made up from whatever was available for whoever did the work. The Turkish M1903 did not have a bayonet lug in front and boss fitted into the wood behind, but a simple front band with a bayonet lug below, for older style Turkish bayonets (from the 1893 model?).

So I agree with m4a3sherman, and will even be more specific - it looks like a Gew98 barreled system fitted into a Turkish M1903 shaft.

[Albayo]

Thats interesting Mr Chadwick and m4a3sherman it could have spent some time in Turkey. There is a hole in the forestock where the bayonet lug should fit. I will take more pictures of that part of the gun. The barrel bands match the serial number so it must be missing the lug.
Will there be a serial number of the gun in the barrel channel? I have three of the Gew 98's, and 2 or 3 Turkish 1903 Mausers in my collection so I can compare them. One of the Gew 98s I have came through Turkey and had a message under the hand guard when I took it apart to clean it. I put it on one site and someone transelated the message, but I can't find the transelation. I appreciate you gentlemen taking the time to help me with this Mauser.
If anyone has a bayonet lug for it I would appreciate your help.
I tried to fit a K98 bayonet lug to the gun but they are different. This one requires a larger openig to accommodate the wood. Its hard to explain so I will take a picture of a bayonet lug comparing the wood and the lug from a later K98.
Thanks
Al

[Patrick Chadwick]

Will there be a serial number of the gun in the barrel channel?

Not certainly, but quite possibly. It's worth looking under various lighting conditions. Any mark is usually very faint, having been "steamed" out by the hot barrel over years. And if you use any kind of refurbishment procedure that involves soaking the wood, those traces will disappear completely.

[Albayo]

I just compled taking the gun apart and its the original the stock and hand guard.
I took some more pictures of the stock and proof marks on the barrel and action.
What I really need is the proper bayonet lug for the old Gew 98. As you can see the difference in the stocks and the example of the bayonet lug. I could alter the wood to take the newer lug but I prefer to keep it as it was first manufactured.
I like this gun because of the inique repair and wonder where it has travelled in the past 110 years.