My Gewehr 98

Tomorrow I’ll take my Gew. 98 to the range, again. After a long time.
Today I finally decided to change the front sight and got a tall one installed.
Made my maths and adjusted the rear sight to 800 meters, so I should be right on at 100, whereas with the original sight it shot 12 inches high at the same distance.
I really like this rifle.
It has been heavily used, but still shoots great, has a good bore and now, with a tall front sight, might even be usable again.
It is not matching, the bolt is a bit of a mix, but great rifle, still.
If 100 is ok, I’ll immediately swap to 200, just for the fun of it.
Back-up rifle will be my SMLE.
I bet it will be fun...Attachment 92808Attachment 92810Attachment 92809Attachment 92811Attachment 92812

Small mistake. It shot 24 inches high at 100 meters. 60 cm roughly.

With my Gewehr 98 I have to aim about a foot and a half below the target at 100m, the good news is it is dead on windage wise. I was shooting clays with it at 100m destroying them quicker with irons than my buddy was with his fancy SL8 with a modern scope.

I really wonder what the Germans were thinking when they decided to only have a 400m zero, they had a 200m when they had the earlier Patrone 88 but 400m is excessive, even for the era.

They changed the bullet, keeping the sights, if I’m not wrong. Just changed the numbers on the rear sight.
Today, with the 10 mm front sight and 700 m on the rear, depending on the load, I was fairly on.
2-3 inches high keeping a 6’o clock hold.
Very nice.
Now that I have found his “food”, I’ll start getting it really perfectly on spot.
Windage ok.

Nice looking rifle, wish I'd grabbed one when they were still around. Who knew they'd become invisible and unobtainium...?

I admit that I literally jumped on it when I saw it.
No loss of time.
And shoots well.

I handload the 8mm round. I try to find a light load. I have piles of Turk 8mm ammunition. Pull the bullet and load 38 grains of Turk powder and Turk issue bullet. This will rainbow the bullet into the 200 yard target with the sight at 400 meters. But do note in the rapid stage in a Match the hot barrel will freeze up the rear sight. All in all. a poor rear sight and a bear to manufacture.

What does it mean “freeze up” the rear sight?
Apart from some truble with the heat from the barrel making sighting difficult, I have no other issues.
Bulky sight, but at the range I don’t need any peripheral vision, so it does not really disturb.

Think Steve is talking about the expansion of the metal maybe making the sight slide or ladder harder to move of the "S" type sight, unless you have a squad of troops assaulting your position Ovidio then I think the rear sight issue should not become apparent in your case:p

Certainly not. It was all quiet at the front.
I have no issues at all with the rear sight ladder, even after 30-40 rounds and a fairly hot barrel.
There is probably something not completely ok in Steve’s rifle I suppose.

If you compete in a Military Match/ Vintage Match you will have one or two rapid fire stages. The barrel will get hot and the rear sight will bind up and not move. This had to be a problem in WWI. Mind you I am shooting light loads, with full charge loads the recoil will beat up the shooter and the rifle will heat up quickly. I would guess the sight would bind quickly then. If you slowly fire 20 rounds at the range you will not have any issues.

I’ll check it out sooner or later.
Last Friday I shot a first stint of 15 rounds fairly quickly. I could not hold the barrel with bare hands easily, but I moved the rear sight from 800 to 700 without noticing any kind of “rigidity”.
My rifle is good, but a bit worn. The rear sight moves very freely once you press the button.
Maybe that makes a difference.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by browningautorifle

Nice looking rifle, wish I'd grabbed one when they were still around. Who knew they'd become invisible and unobtainium...?

---

Funnily enough I was looking online at them over the weekend, as a dealer in the UK has 3 x G98 in stock at the moment, two from Danzig factory, one from 1916 and one from 1917, and a Mauser made one from 1918.

Go get one.
They’re gorgeous!
You won’t regret it.

I had to jump on mine as well. Not a perfect example as the stock was refinished and the metal is rough, but still is a example. Later on I can always upgrade if a better one comes along.

I will also say it is the first M98 Mauser variant I have actually enjoyed. My previous M98 rifles I didn't really like and sold them off, this one is somehow different.

Yes, it is something special.
It gives me a strange feeling. I really love to shoot it.
Something like my SMLE gives me.

Lothar Walther makes the GEW98 barrel right now. Just need to find the right gunsmith to do the work.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ovidio

Go get one.
They’re gorgeous!
You won’t regret it.

---

Hah...........if only it was so simple in the UK.

Lots of milsurp shooters install Lothar Walther barrels on the M96 Carl Gustafs here.
I think it is good to have the possibility of getting new barrels for these old horses.
What I don’t like are those who compete with the new match grade barrels, but that is another story...

Ovidio they should go into the modified class like we have here where faux pas snipers and such can compete against similar rigs as it is a tad unfair to the chap shooting an as issued rifle thats seen goodness knows how many rounds and traveling around the globe.

Exactly my thought. But people are just....people.
Often enough.

In CMP Matches you can not shoot a National Match '03. But you can have your '03 re-barreled with a new barrel and compete. New barrels are superior to the old National Match barrels, but those are the rules. Especially true if you put a new barrel on a nice 03-A3 and with a nice C stock you are very likely to place high in the Match.

When shooting good at the range, one of my greatest reasons for being satisfied is that every rifle I have is perfectly as built, with the only exception of taller front sights on a few of them.
The rest is original.
No bedding, no trigger jobs, no other kinds of refinements.
Just plain and original military rifles.
I don't judge those who want to make them better, that's just the way I like it.
And one reason for not competing, other than with my friends who share the same view.
With handguns it is different. I have a nice .22 target pistol and a couple S&W revolvers. I don't need to make anything better for scoring high enough in our club contests.

Well well, Saturday I decided to take my New. 98 along, just for the fun of it.
Here is the result.
I was pretty astonished at the beginning.
After messing everything up after a short break, I was humble again:lol:

Attachment 99077

I completely forgot the 200 meters.
Not so good. I had to compensate a lot and I'm not good at it.
Plus I was also a bit tired. Not being clearly as earlier anymore.
But still...
First shot out, 7 at 9:00 'o clock, then I started getting on target.
Not steadily, but well enough to find all the "holes".

Attachment 99078

Last week I went playing with Aunt Gew.
Great lady:lol:
If only I could move the front sight left...just 3/10ths of a mm...
But it is rock solid.
First shot high, then the rest.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ovidio

If only I could move the front sight left

---

Can't? Why not make a sight cramp and then it'll free up. Doesn't make much difference though, it shoots good...or you do...

That's not bad for Kentucky windage!
Have you tried soaking the front sight in a penetrating oil for an extended period? Products like PB Blaster, Kroil, Wd-40 and the type. Set Rifle upside down with entire front sight up to the dovetail soaking. Give it a month of soaking and it will release if not a little more time. Set up a jig or a vice to hold the rifle in place and a small shallow tray deep enough for the front sight.

I made this gig, which works great on all my Mausers. But the Gew’s blade is so tight, that I bent the handle...
I’ll try with soaking in WD40!
Attachment 103719

Remove that screw and turn in a bolt. You can actually apply some pressure then. It'll move.

Gig improved. If necessary, I’ll file the tip so thet it gets narrower.

That should push it over...

That will push it or crack the red frame in half. You'll never know until you try!