WMO 1916

[mauser1908]

Hi Everyone,

Here’s one that I’ve had for a while but didn’t manage to get it posted up. It’s a rather nice, albeit common rifle, made 2/3 of the way through 1916. It’s almost totally matching besides an armorer’s (Spandau) ejector box and a collector rematched (Amberg) rear sight.

I wanted to make a note of the ‘2’ assembly numbers on the floorplare, magazine and receiver. This gun displays WMOs rapid deterioration in quality that befell them in 1916, note the tool chatter. The rifle came with a nice Delivery Cooperative of Saddle Makers, Aachen second pattern sling.

 

[mauser1908]

 

[mauser1908]

 

[mauser1908]

 

[chrisftk]

Come on Sam, you know you are supposed to turn up your nose at common junk like this and only buy rare stuff!

In all seriousness, that's a heck of a nice 16 WMO. Glad you got it posted up! Great representation of wartime WMO production and the shortcuts they started taking, particularly below the wood line.

 

[AN-94]

That's an excellent 1916 WMO Gewehr 98, love the stock on this one and even came with a nice sling! Just out of curiosity, what's the cypher difference between a WMO rear sight vs an Amberg rear sight? Definitely plan on referencing this one in my search for a WMO Gewehr 98.

 

[joryfreeburg]

That rifle looks familiar….. It hurt to let that one go but you can’t keep them all. I am glad it found you to take care of it. Enjoy!

 

[PatickD]

Crazy handsome rifle! What’s with the CP serial number? Just made on a Friday afternoon?

 

[OnlyMil]

That is one very handsome rifle all the way around Sam!! More of a condition rarity than a date/maker rarity, righteous pretty rifles are tough to find.

 

[PrayingMantis]

This is a nice WMO. It's always cool to see ones with this font, with the Rs that have the leg coming out of a stroke instead of a bar. I haven't tracked this font too far, but it seems to be in a minority of 1915 and 1916 WMOs. Thanks for taking the time to document it, Sam; it's in the reference!

 

[mauser1908]

Come on Sam, you know you are supposed to turn up your nose at common junk like this and only buy rare stuff!

In all seriousness, that's a heck of a nice 16 WMO. Glad you got it posted up! Great representation of wartime WMO production and the shortcuts they started taking, particularly below the wood line.

I know, right? I guess I'll never learn. Thank you, Chris!

That's an excellent 1916 WMO Gewehr 98, love the stock on this one and even came with a nice sling! Just out of curiosity, what's the cypher difference between a WMO rear sight vs an Amberg rear sight? Definitely plan on referencing this one in my search for a WMO Gewehr 98.

Thank you, I appreciate it. Great question, once Gl.V rear sights are observed at Amberg, they are all C/J. WMO would typically be C/U for 1916. While not as consistent as Amberg, they're are probably a close second, particularly 1916-18. Much of the individual part acceptance is C/U until 1917 when C/J (Different inspection team from Amber) was installed. Most part acceptance is the same at this juncture unless they applied a subcontracted part. This inspector change also corresponds with C96 and m1914 production, the same team accepted those pistols. I think Chris has a late C/J m1914.

That rifle looks familiar….. It hurt to let that one go but you can’t keep them all. I am glad it found you to take care of it. Enjoy!

Thank you, Jory! I appreciate you passing it along to me. It's one of my favorites.

Crazy handsome rifle! What’s with the CP serial number? Just made on a Friday afternoon?

Thank you! Yeah, it's pretty crooked.

That is one very handsome rifle all the way around Sam!! More of a condition rarity than a date/maker rarity, righteous pretty rifles are tough to find.

Thank you, Alex! I'm a big fan of the stock on this one.

This is a nice WMO. It's always cool to see ones with this font, with the Rs that have the leg coming out of a stroke instead of a bar. I haven't tracked this font too far, but it seems to be in a minority of 1915 and 1916 WMOs. Thanks for taking the time to document it, Sam; it's in the reference!

Thank you, Cyrus! This legend is my favorite, I love the slanted loops on the Bs and Rs, and the canted Fs and Es. 222y was the same way.