Erfurt 1902 # 8808 I just purchased my 1st Mauser

Hi,
I just got a 1902 Erfurt Mauser 98 that has been sat in a French attic since WW2. Complete and in good condition apart from a broken front band clip.
All numbers match - 8808 and it has cleaned up nicely and I intend to use it at the range this week after a complete strip down and check over.
Any advice for shooting at 100m with a sight set at 400m minimum.
The disc on the stock says 101R5202 , can anyone give me information on this and the other markings[
Thanks in advance
Ian

I would say you're off to a hell of a good start that is an incredibly rare rifle. Please post more pictures when you get time. And the markings on the stock disc are unit markings I'll have to check my book tonight to see which unit.

Boy, does that gun look to be mint condition or what. Nice catch.

moosedog said:

Boy, does that gun look to be mint condition or what. Nice catch.

Click to expand...

Mint condition?

feldmütze said:

Mint condition?

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+1

Receiver looks roughly sanded. Not sure what to make of the lumber.

Interesting rifle, would like to see more images. Something this old might have some reworking along the way.

Aim low at 100m with ~150g ammo, depending on ammo/FPS. Turkish bandolier ammo is perfect for gewehr length barrels. If you use s.S. ammo you'll be disappointed.

Very nice rifle. Congratulations.

The unit marking indicates that your rifle was issued to the

"second royal saxon grenadier regiment kaiser Wilhelm, king of prussia no. 101"
or in german
"Kgl. Sächs. 2. Grenadier-Regiment Kaiser Wilhelm, König von Preußen Nr. 101"

This regiment was founded as early as 1670 named the royal foot guard. From 1914 until 1918 the regiment was part of the XII (1. royal saxon) army corps. It was stationed in the saxon city of Dresden.


With kind regards

Vincent

Congratulations on that find. It's amazing what's coming out of French attics now that the laws concerning really old military rifles have apparently been eased up a little bit.

Does the rifle serial number have a suffix, a letter under this 8808? It probably does, most of the arsenals serialed without rolling over the first few years, basically starting off where the prior year left off. Though early Erfurt rifles are pretty elusive, in 20 years I have recorded 9 Erfurt/1902's, that is low even for an early rifle.

It is possible Erfurt was an exception, though most Erfurt/02's are in the d-e blocks and Erfurt/01 seems to have ended in the c-block, so with limited observations Erfurt seems to follow the general pattern.

Do more photographs, - and aim low at the range (6 o'clock)

IanRD500 said:

Hi,
I just got a 1902 Erfurt Mauser 98 that has been sat in a French attic since WW2. Complete and in good condition apart from a broken front band clip.
All numbers match - 8808 and it has cleaned up nicely and I intend to use it at the range this week after a complete strip down and check over.
Any advice for shooting at 100m with a sight set at 400m minimum.
The disc on the stock says 101R5202 , can anyone give me information on this and the other markings[
Thanks in advance
Ian

Click to expand...

More info Erfurt 1902

Hi, thanks for the positive feedback and info.

Other markings I can understand are underneath the breech end of the barrel, there is C with K above it and BO 38.

There is an S on the top of the barrel just behind the rear sight.

The rifle does have a D under the serial number and also on top at the breech end of the barrel however I am struggling to load more images as I have "exceeded my quota"....any suggestions please ?.

The blueing concealed under the woodwork is very good and a not much wear on the trigger either.

The barrel and breech had been cleaned with a coarse abrasive at some point before I got it and I just used a nylon scotchbrite pad to remove the surface rust that had appeared afterwards.

I plugged the muzzle with wax and then filled it with lemon juice for 24 hrs then cleaned it with brushes afterwards.

Cleaned the wood with methylated spirit and fine wire wool then waxed it.

Going to the range today to try it out with 196gr 12.7g FMJ Sellier and Bellot ammo.

My friend is taking his K98 with some reloaded and factory ammo so we can have a comparison .

Will take more photos and hopefully be able to figure out how to get them on here for you.

Thanks again to a fantastic forum.

Once you post a few more times (I think it is 3?) your limit will be lifted. A spam precaution as I understand it.

The BO 38 is probably the barrel code, which would mean the barrel steel is Austrian (Böhler)

The d-suffix fits with known serialing patterns, - as FG stated, a new member must post three times before restrictions are lifted. After this threshold you should be able to function normally here.