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I am about to acquire 3 Turk marked Gew 1888s (sight unseen- unknown condition) in hopes of putting together one rifle and selling off the rest of the parts. The question I need some help with is: Are are parts interchangeable between the German Gew 88 and the Turk Gew 88/35? I am specifically concerned about the stock as I will be needing one but would like to know about any other parts of concern. Should I expect all little parts to be Turk marked? Thanks in advance for any help.
Not sure what type you are getting and what type you are trying to rebuild.
Turkish Gew 88's parts will interchange with German Gew 88 parts. Only difference is likely to be a Turkish marked bolt and rear sight. The Turkish Gew 88/35 however is a completely different rifle built to 1903 standards. Barrel shroud is discarded, new barrel installed, new stock, etc. Very little would interchange. Stocks definitely do not. The Gew 88/35 is generally scrubbed of German markings but not really restamped with Turkish ones. Receiver, sights and a few other parts might be marked but that's about all.
The stock is a real problem. The Turks made from new 88/35 wood. They have a pistol grip and and the barrel shroud is gone. Very different stock.
I so far have only two pics of each rifle, an overall and a receiver one. The ones I will be getting all have the Turkish marks on the receiver with 1935 and all have broken stocks. From the pics, I can tell there is no barrel shroud on any.
Does anyone but have a good source on stocks for the 88/35 or is there any new production ones?
No source at all. Call Springfield Sporters as they broke up a pile years back. You will be selling 88 parts on Gunbroker, I guess.
Well damn. Thanks for the help.
Would a "Turk M38" stock work?
I think your best bet is to wait until you have them in hand. Then get out one of your mausers and see if they will interchange. A lot of those old guns will fit in a different stock but as to your specific combo, no idea. You may have some fitting and cutting but it's worth a shot.
Sorry, but no, the receivers are completely different. The M38 has a Mauser receiver and the 88/35 has a Commission receiver - not even similar.Quote:
Originally Posted by chuckchili
Dang, I bought a nice Turk M38 stock as a gamble, it's currently being shipped. Which other rifle stocks would work? I've been searching all over and can't seem to get close to finding one. I usually like the hunt but this one is pretty frustrating.
Your best bet for a stock that will fit is a Chinese Hanyang rifle which is an 88 commission rifle without the shroud. They even made some with the pistol grip. Most are straight stocks however. The good thing is, they should be dirt cheap. The bad thing is they are probably beat to crap.
Well I got all three rifles and all three stocks were broken badly as expected. I have so far tried a Turkish 1903 stock, a Turkish M38 stock and a Hanyang stock. None worked. (I already had the M38 stock ordered before I was told it wouldn't work). I want to to keep enough parts for one rifle but am will to sell off the rest if anyone is interested. There's two barreled receivers (numbers match, on all rear sight parts also) one bolt and other misc parts. I would be happy to trade parts for a stock that would work for me. Email or PM me if interested. I'll put in auction in a couple days if there's no interest. Thanks for the replies so far.