Gew 88

[Planning]

i was digging in one of my safes this morning and found this ( i think there is another one in there somewhere), completely covered in 1/2 " of grease/cosmolene. i wiped the outside off a little and ran a rag thru it. it still has a heavy coating of grease on it. very good solid stock, no cracks or dings. it still has the sling buckle on it, cleaning rod. maybe i will clean it up tomorrow.
has an S over the crest, GEW88 made in 1890. some of the #'s match, looks like all the parts are there.

[Smokehouse69]

Looks like a nice looking un-molested GEW88 you have there! Let us know how the bore is, if it's good it oughta make a nice shooter!

[Planning]

i think it will clean up pretty good. i don't remember when i got it, maybe 15 to 20 years ago. i got on the net to find out some information on it.
this is what i have so far. i will try to clean it up some more tomorrow and look at the bore.

1. made in 1890
2. GEW88
3. made in ERFURT
4. belonged to 2nd company of the 92 infantry regiment
5. weapon # 91
6. modified "S" to shoot 7.9 ? or 8 x 57, not sure yet on this.

[Norton]

That is a nice example of a GEW 88. Is it Turk marked or all German? I have one that was a junker and I am working to get it somewhat put back together. You have motivated me.

[wonderwolf]

I'll take it tehehe :sterb029:

[Planning]

i have not found any turk marks yet, but i have not looked at all the markings yet. to much grease and cosmolene on it to handle very well.

[Planning]

I'll take it tehehe :sterb029:

ok it's yours, send me a USPS money order for $500 and your address and i will send it to you. tehehe:tongue:

[Planning]

got it cleaned up, it really looks nice, bore is almost 100 %, the barrel is not blued and is inside a shroud. the finish is a nice dark blue/brown patina on everything except the receiver and most of the bluing on the receiver is there. i started around 7 this morning and stripped off 3 layers of grease, cosmolene, and dirt. it as almost noon and i am done with it.

i tried to post some picture,but it will not let me.......

[Longhorn789]

A darn sight nicer than the firewood and scrap iron that Centerfire was selling for $20 I would say....

[wonderwolf]

Ya I was just gonna give him $45 bucks for it since it at least had the bolt :hammered:

[Smokehouse69]

The unblued barrel sounds like a Czech replacement. Look on the barrel and if you see a very tiny Rampant Lion mark, it is a Czech barrel. Those barrels were a true .318, where original German barrels were supposedly re-rifled and closer to .320-.321 bore. The re-barreled Turks were a true .323. Anyway don't shoot surplus Greek, Turk or German 8MMjs ammo in any of these rifles.
American commercial ammo is under loaded and is probably safe to shoot in any of the barrels, but with 120 year old metal in the recievers, I wouldn't shoot hot surplus ammo in any of them!!
I have dies and a sizer for .318 bullets, I plan on only shooting under powered hand loads in mine. I'd like to find a mold for identically shaped lead bullets as the original 8mmJ bullets.

[Planning]

The unblued barrel sounds like a Czech replacement. Look on the barrel and if you see a very tiny Rampant Lion mark, it is a Czech barrel. Those barrels were a true .318, where original German barrels were supposedly re-rifled and closer to .320-.321 bore. The re-barreled Turks were a true .323. Anyway don't shoot surplus Greek, Turk or German 8MMjs ammo in any of these rifles.
American commercial ammo is under loaded and is probably safe to shoot in any of the barrels, but with 120 year old metal in the recievers, I wouldn't shoot hot surplus ammo in any of them!!
I have dies and a sizer for .318 bullets, I plan on only shooting under powered hand loads in mine. I'd like to find a mold for identically shaped lead bullets as the original 8mmJ bullets.

i doubt that i would ever shoot it, but thanks for the information. if i take it apart again i will look for the lion stamp on it.

[M1 Tanker]

Planning, thats pretty damn cool...a real gem to have in the collection.

[weasel_master]

That thing is NICE.

[Anthropy]

If you do want to shoot it, make sure the clips you use are in nice shape. I have a kar 88 (that someone bubbed over 25 years ago( and it is very picky on the clips that you use. I was able to score clips from gun parts inc and if they are bent or corroded, don't use them as the rifle will not like it.

For loads, I used a standard low - mid range 8mm mauser load with a 150 gr soft point spitzer bullet and it shot just fine. Be warned that the stocks can crack right across the magazine well area.

I need a new stock, barrel shroud, and nose cap to put it right again, but finding those are tough.

[cetme]

just make sure you slug the bore so you know if it's .318 or .323 you never know what arsenal has had it from there to here.

[Anthropy]

The S stamp on the top of the receiver indicates the modern 8 mm .323 barrel

[Smokehouse69]

The S stamp on the top of the receiver indicates the modern 8 mm .323 barrel

Not quite correct, it is supposed to mean that the throat of the chamber has been relieved to handle the different shaped Spitzer bullets of the 8mmJS ammo. Supposedly the barrels were "rebored" to deepen the grooves, but the records are unclear. The only way to know for sure is the slug the barrel and measure for yourself.l
Many of these guns were rebarreled in Czech arsenals after WWI, the Czechs replaced the old barrels with new barrels that were a true .318 in the bore, my best looking GEW88 has a Czech barrel.
The Turks actually replaced the barrels with .323 bores, so if you have a "Turked" 88 you can safely shoot any US made commercial ammo, I would NOT shoot MilSurp 8mm ammo in any of these rifles.

[Planning]

well, i got courious about the barrel. i just went down to the shop and took it apart again. i just noticed the barrel is serial # to the receiver ( looks original to the rifle.) and all the small parts are serial # to the receiver. the brown on the barrel is oil. the barrel is bright and shinney. no rampant lion i can find.
still, i am not going to shoot it...............
i have not found any import marks on it anywhere...................

[Smokehouse69]

Looks like you have a very nice original GEW88, it's a keeper for sure!

[bubbamauser]

Smokehouse is right the turks are .323 all the others with an "S" could just be relieved. stick with U.S. factory ammunition (bore sizes aside heat treating of these first smokeless powder rifles was questionable at best)
That is a beatiful one though


Roy