I have a probably extremely stupid question.

I took delivery of my first ever Mauser rifle today, it is infact the first ever one I have even handled.

An initial surprise was to unscrew and remove the cleaning rod only to find it is only a few inches long. I had assumed it was a cleaning rod for the bore.

What was this rod used for. It seems handy for removing the magazine floor plate, and I presume could be used for cleaning the chamber, but after that I’m at a bit of a loss?

I promise I did try and Google this before posting what I expect is a very stupid question.
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