My WWI collection

[Eaglelord17]

Hi all,

Thought I would share with you all my fledgling WWI collection. I started this side of my collection about two years ago, and it has been slowly growing since.
My main interest at the moment is the long rifles/main issue rifles of WWI. Eventually I want to get into carbines and revolvers, however for the moment (and likely next while) I plan on focusing on the long rifles. The reason I find this time period so interesting is that it is a amalgamation of ideas and technology from different eras. On one hand you have tactics which haven't been updated in a hundred years ignoring (or just as likely not realizing) modern advances in technology, and in the other hand you have technology which has advanced significantly farther and faster than people could adapt to it.

My starting goal for my collection was just to gather one firearm from most major nations then flesh it out from there. I almost have most major nations counted for (just missing Russia and Austria-Hungary) and since there won't be any additions for a bit, it felt like a good time to share it. In this photo I decided to do the Entente weapons (France, Russia, Britain, Italy etc.) at the top and Allies (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, etc.) weapons at the bottom. In this photo I also worked it so the more modern designs were at the top and older designs were at the bottom (yes I know the M1907/15 is more recent than the M1904 or P14 but the action is based off the 1890 Berthier). As you can see from the photos the older the basic design the longer it is.



From the top down we have a British P14 (the volley sights are still intact)
Portuguese M1904 (this is one of the rifles given to the UDF in South Africa to go fight the Germans under Von Lettow-Vorbeck, a great read, sounds like something out of a fairytale)
French M1907/15 (updated to Balle 'N', 1916 manufacture)
Italian Carcano M1891 (1918 Terni manufacture, 1954 refurbishment)
Bulgarian Puska M1903 (a Steyr M95, this example is still in the original 8x50r, and is all matching except for the bolt, which is a correct contract bolt, here is a article on it if you would like to read more https://www.milsurps.com/content.php...rian-M03-Rifle)
and finally a Commission Gewehr 88/05 (made in 1891 at Loewe), I am using this to represent Germany and the Ottomans for the moment.

Collecting WWI firearms is actually a fairly difficult task unlike WWII firearms. The reason being is many were eaten up in WWI and the wars that followed as well as refurbishment programs which would modify them to more modern standards (for example it is next to impossible to find a Bulgarian 'M95' in the original 8x50r as pretty much all of them were converted to 8x56r, or a Portuguese M1904 as most were converted to M1904/39s).

I am a bit behind in bayonet collecting, but hopefully over the next year I catch up on that. Having shot all these rifles here (except the Gewehr 88/05) I can say the one I enjoy shooting the most is actually the M1907/15. It might not be the best rifle there (some glaring issues like needing a screwdriver to remove the bolt and only a 3rd magazine) but it is actually pretty fun to shoot (and accurate, I achieved a 1" group at 100m with it).

As I add to the collection I will update this thread. Any thoughts and opinions are appreciated. If you have any WWI era rifles feel free to share them.

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.

[Badger]

Beautiful selection ...

Thanks for posting the pic ..

Regards,
Doug

[AZPhil]

Very nice, I'm currently doing Helmets, rifles and bayonets of WW2 major players. All I need is a No.1 MkIII to finish my WW2 theme and then I'll continue with my WW1 collection I have started.

Great job!!

Semper Fi
Phil

[Eaglelord17]

So I felt I would give a update as I was doing some cleaning, organizing, and gunsmithing today. Here is where it stands at the moment, doing a decent job of growing in recent months.



From the top down
Gewehr 88/M13, made in 1894 by Steyr, used by Austria-Hungary in WWI
Gewehr 88S/M13, made in 1890 by Spandau, used by Imperial Germany then given to Austria-Hungary in WWI
Gewehr 88/05, made in 1891 by Loewe, used by Imperial Germany then given to the Ottoman Empire
Bulgarian M03 (M95), made in Steyr in 1903, used by Bulgaria
Bulgarian M03 (M95), made in Steyr in 1903, used by Bulgaria this one is in just about as close to original condition one can be in
Berthier M1907/15, made in 1916 by St. Etienne, used by France
Mosin Nagant M91 Infantry Rifle, made in 1895 by Tula, this one ended up as a Finnish Capture/owned rifle (like most original M91s seen), used by Imperial Russia
Carcano M91 Infantry Rifle, made in 1918 at Terni, used by Italy
M1904 Mauser-Vergueiro, made by DWM sometime between 1904 and 1908. Used by the Portuguese then given to the British and used by the Union Defense Force in South Africa to fight the Germans
SMLE Mk. III, made in 1912 by BSA, used by the British then post-WWI given to the Australians
P14*, made in 1916 by Remington, used by the British

For the bayonets from the top down there is
a 88/98/05 ersatz bayonet
a M95 bayonet
a 1886 Lebel bayonet
a 1886/15 Lebel bayonet
a M91 Russian bayonet
a M91 Carcano bayonet
a M1904 Portuguese bayonet
and a P07 bayonet

Overall I am starting to get to the point where the price really starts to climb and the scarcity greatly increases for WWI main issued rifles so it might be a while before I have any significant update.

[Daan Kemp]

The Vergueiro is relatively common n South Africa. Only seen in 6.5x58.

[Eaglelord17]

Interesting, here they aren't very common in 6.5x58 (likely less than two dozen in Canada in that caliber). Only about 20,000 would have escaped conversion, and those would have pretty much all been in South Africa so it makes sense that they would be more available in that configuration there (my example was in South Africa for a while as well).

[mrclark303]

What a superb collection, I have an all original 1917 NZ issue Enfield SMLE and would absolutely love an original G98 to sit alongside.

[Eaglelord17]

A nice Gewehr 98 is definitely on my want list. The hard part is finding the example you want, as with the Gewehr 98s they were used post-WWI, and many were updated and changed to later standards.

[mrclark303]

A nice Gewehr 98 is definitely on my want list. The hard part is finding the example you want, as with the Gewehr 98s they were used post-WWI, and many were updated and changed to later standards.

Agreed, I have seen quite a few modified and/or just worn out ... I want a good stock original ww1 shootable example that is a "trench match" for my 1917 Enfield. Not that I shoot my SMLE that much, limited to 50rds a year.

These WW1 rifles are really getting hard to find!

[RCS]

Really nice collection. It would also be nice to find an early French Lebel rifle and a Winchester Model 1895 in 7,62x54r Russian model to add to the WW1 collection