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From beginning to end: My Gew98’s 1914 and 1918

CLG

Senior Member
Here’s a nice pair of matching Gew98’s, one saw the whole war and one almost none. First the 1918: Not without its issues, although completely matching but for the rod, it has an unfortunate duffle cut, and a previous owner appears to have buffed the receiver. Nevertheless, a hard to find year and probably as high condition as you are likely to find. My favorite shot is of the finger grooves and the side of the rear sight - as crisp as an be! I’ll post the 1914 soon.
 

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Those are wild! Thanks for sharing, that DWM 1918 is something you don’t see everyday. Is the rear sight on your DWM 1918 Gl.V. marked? I like to ask on all the obscure 1918 dated rifles I see.
 
Sadly not Gl.V. Marked, but to answer Paul’s question before he asks it, the letter block is stamped at the top of the butt plate above the top screw. Might be worth restoring the duffle cut, but finding a beech fore end in similar condition, chatter marks on top as well, would be hard.
 
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I agree with Sam a 1918 produced gewehr 98 by dwm is extremely rare not many were made. They concentrated more on machine gun production for that year. I also like your 1914 Mauser made example as well. Really a nice pair of scarce made Gewehr 98 rifles.
 
They made them to the mid-e block in 1918, the ones higher than that are typically Oberspree made. This is an extraordinary rifle, most seem to have stayed in German hands and got reworked or upgraded during the Republic. BC's are hard to come by but the few known seem to be Bismarckhütte or Böhler. DWM seemed to have a thing for these two steel providers, especially Böhler. I don't think I have seen a Krupp or western German steel firm supply them yet.

Mike's DWM/18 1202 b has the same exact BC and lot. It is on this forum already, a nice rifle, but upgraded.

It is amazing these purchases you acquired decades ago were so well chosen, back then next to nothing was known about rarity & acceptance (which defines the actual maker, not necessarily the name on top); this has to be one of the finest DWM/18's out there.

Thanks for posting it (and the suffix information on the BP)!
 
P.08 too, Spandau and DWM were really pushed to MG's, but Erfurt and DWM hit pistol production hard. Erfurt is really an extraordinary maker/arsenal, they seem to have the most capacity of any of the others.. they made a lot of 98a throughout the war too, just crazy numbers not seen until WMO in 1943-1944.

I agree with Sam a 1918 produced gewehr 98 by dwm is extremely rare not many were made. They concentrated more on machine gun production for that year. I also like your 1914 Mauser made example as well. Really a nice pair of scarce made Gewehr 98 rifles.
 
P.08 too, Spandau and DWM were really pushed to MG's, but Erfurt and DWM hit pistol production hard. Erfurt is really an extraordinary maker/arsenal, they seem to have the most capacity of any of the others.. they made a lot of 98a throughout the war too, just crazy numbers not seen until WMO in 1943-1944.

Yeah I forgot to mention that you too thanks Paul! You know I have tried to collect at least one example of everything Erfurt has made and that has been a chore by itself. It really is incredible to say the least what that arsenal had accomplished in production and numbers.
 
P.08 too, Spandau and DWM were really pushed to MG's, but Erfurt and DWM hit pistol production hard. Erfurt is really an extraordinary maker/arsenal, they seem to have the most capacity of any of the others.. they made a lot of 98a throughout the war too, just crazy numbers not seen until WMO in 1943-1944.

1917 was DWMs biggest year for Lugers, massive production comparatively speaking. It amounted to roughly 183k handguns in total. 90k four inch, 90k artilleries, just shy of 3k navies. 1917 amounted to 25% of the total military Luger production made at DWM between 1909 and 1918. The quality is wonderful on these pistols, the biggest change is really the beech grips. Other than that the metal work is still impeccable.
 
I had never noticed the suffix on the top of butt plates on many Gew98’s until Paul mentioned it in a previous thread. By the thirties these were under the serial number but what was the earlier idea of putting them on top of the butt plate?
 
I had never noticed the suffix on the top of butt plates on many Gew98’s until Paul mentioned it in a previous thread. By the thirties these were under the serial number but what was the earlier idea of putting them on top of the butt plate?

It was initially done as an external inspection mechanism for rifles that had the bolt and firing pin updates. No block rifles will bear an ‘a’ suffix as well. It provided a way initially for armorers to know without removing the bolt, and was placed in an easy to see location. This practice was held over past the 1903 period, it very well could have had the same meaning but Storz doesn’t reference it after the modifications were complete on existing rifles.
 
Very nice rifles. That 1914 dated Gew 98 is gorgeous. I also have a little great war Gew 98 collection.
 

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