Markings Mauser 98

[CJSL]

I have one Sporting Rifle made ca 1920. The action is a Mauser 98. Could anyone identify the origin of the action as military production or civilian? When I have compared it with original Mauser Sporters the finish etc is very similar. The only Markings are the ones behind the recoil lug. Best regards Johan

[CJSL]

Some more pics of the action.

Close to the recoil lug there is a serial number 1860, most of the small parts are numbered iaw with that, 60. My assumption is that 1860 is the Mauser number when the action was sold in white, it would then date the action to the year of 1900

[Axel E]

The many (unidentifiable) worker’s marks under the receiver show the action was made by one of the government factories for the military, probably Erfurt. On a commercial Mauser factory action sold to other gunmakers the Mauser serial number would be under the receiver, just behind the recoil lug, where the worker’s marks are on this rifle. So 1860 is the serial number given by the gunmaker. Many “lunchbox” actions were smuggled out of the government factories and sold to smaller gunmakers in Suhl and Zella – Mehlis. There were several contemporary reports about court proceedings against factory employees who stole parts and even complete actions pre-WW1 in “Der Waffenschmied”.
The style of the load information, 2.75 gramm = 42 gr Gewehr-Bl?ttchen-Pulver = smokeless rifle flake powder // Stahlmantel-Geschoss = steel jacket bullet, shows the rifle was proofed before 1912. According to the CROWN – crown/N proofmarks it was proofed using the 4000 atm proof powder.

[CJSL]

Thanks, I have seen one more rifle marked exactly the same 1860 and 2210, all small parts are numbered 60 and 10. Most likely there is also a 1862 ( conclusion from bottom.metal). These rifle are finished by C Funk as their model 92. The Funk (gunmaker-) serial number is stamped under the barrel, 5-digits 34273. The last the 3 digits 273 are also stamped in the thumb cut and under the bolt handle. I think Funk purchased actions in white for their sporting rifles model 90, 91 and 92 . So my conclusion is that the number 1860 origins from the manufacturer of the action. Funk was a Suhl based company not far from Erfurt, so maybe it could Erfurt. I believe that Funk purchased a large batch for their rifle models. Are there any special markings that would point in the direction of Erfurt? I have compared with two Mauser sporters pre-WWI and they are very close in finish and details.

[CJSL]

When examine some pics I noticed a proof mark embedded in the engravings of the bottom metal. I assume that this might be a a German imperial proof mark, but I can't identify it, it's dull but the imperial crown is there and also a fracture letter. The military/imperial production used 4 digit serial numbers at every plant, 10000 batches reaching from 0001 to 9999, that could explain the serial number 1860. That will narrow down possible manufacturer to 6 as the proof mark says it's proofed before 1912.

Manufacturer of 98's 1898-1918

Imperial arsenals
Spandau 1899-1917
Erfurt 1899-1908, 1915-1917
Danzig 1899-1909, 1914-1918
Amberg 1902-1908, 1912-1918

Civilian Contracts
Waffenfabrik Mauser A.G. Oberndorff A/N. 1898-1918
Deutsche Waffen Und Munitionsfabriken, Berlin 1899-1909, 1914-1918
C.G. Haenel Suhl 1915-1919
J.P. Sauer & Sohn Suhl 1915-1918
V.C. Schilling & Co. Suhl 1915-1919
Simson & Co. Suhl 1915-1918
Waffenwerke Oberspree Kornbusch & Co. 1915-1917
Waffenwerke Oberspree, 1918

[Axel E]

The Suhl makers, C.G. Haenel, J.P. Sauer & Sohn, V.C. Schilling & Co., Simson & Co. Suhl, never made single receiver. This was beyond their machining abilities. During the WW1 decentralised Gew 98 production they all depended on receivers supplied by Erfurt, Berlin, Oberndorf and even Pieper/Bayard, Liege. Funk and other Suhl gunmakers used leftover Bayard-marked receivers on their sporters until WW2.
BTW, the Chr.Funk expert Peter Ravn Lund forwarded your question to me too. I sent a detailed answer to him.

[Axel E]

Are there any special markings that would point in the direction of Erfurt?

Just that plethora of worker’s marks I have often seen on Erfurt made receivers.

I have compared with two Mauser sporters pre-WWI and they are very close in finish and details.

Very similar in general design, but far from the same in details.

[CJSL]

Thank you for the information, as the action must be finished before 1912 in accordance with the proof marks Erfurt could most likely be the maker being closest to Suhl and the Suhl-consortium was not active until 1915. Are there any I formation that they were allowed to sell larger batches to civilian gun makers? I assum it would have been in the patenholders (Mauser) interest that the action was sold in larger numbers, at the beginning of 20th century the bolt action was not known to the broader public

[mike ford]

CJSL,
Go back and read Axel's first posting (#3) in this thread, relating to "lunch box special" actions, this is the most likely answer.
Mike

[Axel E]

Go back and read Axel's first posting (#3) in this thread, relating to "lunch box special" actions, this is the most likely answer.

Some details on those blackmarket Mauser M98 actions: In 1908 Der Waffenschmied reported about a case at the Erfurt district court. The convicts were two army sergeants who were at the Erfurt arsenal, responsible for parts inspection, 4 Gewehrfabrik workers, an Erfurt grocer and a Suhl gun parts dealer. The gang worked this way: The workers produced parts in the white which were rejected by the two officials. Apparently no one rechecked those junk parts. The parts were then smuggled out of the factory. Shallow "Reject" stamps were filed off and the often quite rough parts assembled to actions. The grocer shipped the actions to the Suhl gunparts dealer, who in turn sold them as special offers to the guntrade at about two thirds of the official Mauser factory price. At least 250 actions were sold by these men to Suhl and Zella – Mehlis gunmakers, Meffert, Greifelt and Chr.Funk among them.
A few years later, 1912, another case became known. Now “rejected” actions came from the DWM, Berlin, factory. The volume here was much larger. Here useable parts were thrown into the junk boxes and subsequently sold as scrap by the company. A Berlin gunsmith, acting as a scrap metal dealer, bought all the junk from the factory, sorted the junk for the good part, resold the scrap and assembled actions. He sold such actions to gunmakers in Suhl, Zella - Mehlis and even London. More than 500 such actions found their way to England, circumventing the Mauser - Rigby monopoly. I have a noname pre-WW1 British, London proofed rifle with such a DWM action in .375 Rimless Nitro Express aka 9.5x57 M-Sch myself.