1894 Ambeg Gew 88

[Crazysarge16]

I've recently started to get back into mil-surplus rifles after several year hiatus. Mainly because I've found several interesting rifles that speak to my inner history geek and I want them to be appreciated and respected . Plus its always baller to get out an older rifle at the range and have everyone looking at you funny when you are pinging the gong with something besides an AR. I digress....

While perusing Armslist I noticed an ad for some tinkerer/gunsmith rifles. Looked through the gentleman's ad noticed he had a Gew88. The description of said ad is as follows "Gew 88 8x57, not Turkish it is German with Amberg armory stamp, bolt not complete but rest of gun is $150."

Been talking to the guy via email, and got a few pictures if the rifle. Had him send me a picture of the receiver and bolt. After some email tag and text messages, we meet up and a deal was made.

Found a complete bolt online and purchased it, only complaint is that that doesn't have the Imperial Army markings on it like the one that was in it when I bought it. Might see which one Headspace's better, which reminds me I need to get some gauges.

Also found some of the original clips for the Gew 88 on eBay in the UK and got them ordered. Received a total of 4 for around $25 shipped once you do the conversion chart.

I've slowly been working on cleaning this up, all numbers with the exception of the bolt match. Don't think I'll ever get around to shooting it, mainly due to ammo scare and I don't reload (yet...). Bore has cleaned up immensely from when I first got it, though still has some rough spots in it

[Crazysarge16]

More pictures

[Longcolt44]

Nice rifle, I have an 1891 Loewe Berlin GEW 88.

[desdem12]

[Junk Yard Dog]

Very nice, I have several of these plus a few Turk full conversions. It's S stamped so it should be able to handle the .323 bullet, however remember this is an experimental design using experimental steel, and it is not as strong as the GEW98 Mauser action. I would suggest cast bullets with a reduced load. Germanys first smokeless powder rifle and the worlds second smokeless powder rifle and cartridge.

[Crazysarge16]

Very nice, I have several of these plus a few Turk full conversions. It's S stamped so it should be able to handle the .323 bullet, however remember this is an experimental design using experimental steel, and it is not as strong as the GEW98 Mauser action. I would suggest cast bullets with a reduced load. Germanys first smokeless powder rifle and the worlds second smokeless powder rifle and cartridge.

I would love to find a Turk rifle, instead I keep finding later Turkish reworks (IE 1938 models). I still buy them though to fill the ever growing void

I've heard that I would need to slug the bore to be able to tell if I'll be able to shoot .323 bullets?

It won't be for awhile that I get to fire this rifle mainly due to fact I don't reload at this time but will hopefully start soon

[Junk Yard Dog]

It's recommended that you slug the bore to be sure. You shouldn't have to with that S stamp but there was a war on and the Germans sometimes played fast an loose with what was and was not acceptable specs to be able to use the .323. The Turk full reworks make the best shooters of the lot, they have new made barrels that are designed for the standard .323 bullet. You still have the weaker commission 88 action, but a much better stock and barrel set. I am surprised you aren't finding more Turk marked regular 88's, these are what I most commonly encounter, I had to search out the full rework.

[Crazysarge16]

It's recommended that you slug the bore to be sure. You shouldn't have to with that S stamp but there was a war on and the Germans sometimes played fast an loose with what was and was not acceptable specs to be able to use the .323. The Turk full reworks make the best shooters of the lot, they have new made barrels that are designed for the standard .323 bullet. You still have the weaker commission 88 action, but a much better stock and barrel set. I am surprised you aren't finding more Turk marked regular 88's, these are what I most commonly encounter, I had to search out the full rework.

Thanks for the info, this is honestly the first Gew 88 I've seen locally. Granted, I've been out of the military surplus game for awhile and most of my finds have been off Armslist. Thought there is a gun show coming up that I plan on attending to see what goodies I can find

I hope to find a Turk rifle, some people shy away from them from what I've read online. I'd be happy to own one just mainly due to the immense history these rifles represent. Helps that I've got a bachelor's in history

[Junk Yard Dog]

Nothing wrong with the Turk rifles except some of them have seen a hard life. The story of how Turkey built their firearms industry from damn near nothing is near amazing. They were building rifles from scrounged parts before BRNO built them a Mauser plant, the consequence of depending on the Germans for all their weapons needs. Then Germany went and lost the Great War and lost the ability to supply Mauser's to anyone. That had to be a real Oh Shit moment for the Turks who had fought a hard war and had a lot of very worn old rifles for their army. They turned out some amazing rifles before the K Kale operation was turning out entirely new made rifles by the 40's. They tried to turn anything into a Mauser, Enfields, Mosins, Berthiers, and of course the 88's Look in the for sale section on the board and Joe has some Turk ammo for sale, it's a bit hot so keep it for the rifles using Mauser actions.

[Crazysarge16]

Nothing wrong with the Turk rifles except some of them have seen a hard life. The story of how Turkey built their firearms industry from damn near nothing is near amazing. They were building rifles from scrounged parts before BRNO built them a Mauser plant, the consequence of depending on the Germans for all their weapons needs. Then Germany went and lost the Great War and lost the ability to supply Mauser's to anyone. That had to be a real Oh Shit moment for the Turks who had fought a hard war and had a lot of very worn old rifles for their army. They turned out some amazing rifles before the K Kale operation was turning out entirely new made rifles by the 40's. They tried to turn anything into a Mauser, Enfields, Mosins, Berthiers, and of course the 88's Look in the for sale section on the board and Joe has some Turk ammo for sale, it's a bit hot so keep it for the rifles using Mauser actions.

As it was put to me, the Turks were recycling before it was cool. Thanks for the heads up, I'll keep my eye out

[Junk Yard Dog]

The Finn's were doing the same thing with the Mosins after 1918. When you have money and time you can just buy what you need, if you lack both then you figure out a way to make do with what you have. Nothing like the specter of imminent death from a nearby more powerful enemy to focus ones attention on getting the job done. The Turks had problems after the war, but the Finn's had it worse, civil war at home and huge very aggressive enemy next door.

[Crazysarge16]

The Finn's were doing the same thing with the Mosins after 1918. When you have money and time you can just buy what you need, if you lack both then you figure out a way to make do with what you have. Nothing like the specter of imminent death from a nearby more powerful enemy to focus ones attention on getting the job done. The Turks had problems after the war, but the Finn's had it worse, civil war at home and huge very aggressive enemy next door.

Makes for interesting history and a good case study for the evolution of the firearms industry from World War I to World War II

[Junk Yard Dog]

Mauser was the largest supplier of infantry rifles in the world before the Great War, they either exported or licensed the foreign production of Mauser rifles in Europe, Asia, South America, Africa, and even here in the USA with the M1903. The war put a stop to the arms shipments and disrupted arms production in Belgium, this left a lot of countries hanging. FN filled the South American gap after the war, and BRNO supplied the Mideastern countries like Iran, and also sent a limited number of rifles to Turkey. Later on BRNO sold Iran and Turkey the tooling and equipment to make their own Mauser rifles.

[qz2026]

I have a Gew88 and have a bore issue. When I slugged it the barrel it was really got tight in the middle. Conclusion after a lengthy thread here was that it is a better wall hanger.

I, too, really like the Turk Gew88 conversions. My only concern with them is the Gew88 bolt and receiver that were retained. I will only shoot commercial ammo like PPU through it. Someday, I may load up some 8mm and try it. Little leary on shooting surplus 8mm through it. I suppose they were shooting their own (hot) Turk ammo in these. Interested to know what kind of ammo guys are shooting through these.

[Crazysarge16]

One of my Turks is a Gew 98 conversion that I shoot the most

[mwt]

I have a Gew88 and have a bore issue. When I slugged it the barrel it was really got tight in the middle. Conclusion after a lengthy thread here was that it is a better wall hanger.

I, too, really like the Turk Gew88 conversions. My only concern with them is the Gew88 bolt and receiver that were retained. I will only shoot commercial ammo like PPU through it. Someday, I may load up some 8mm and try it. Little leary on shooting surplus 8mm through it. I suppose they were shooting their own (hot) Turk ammo in these. Interested to know what kind of ammo guys are shooting through these.

My Turked Gew88/05 still in imperial trim still has the original imperial barrel so I load Speer 170 gr .321 bullets intended for the 32 Winchester over a mild load of 4064 - very accurate rifle. A fully converted Turk 88 should have a .323 barrel.



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[qz2026]

As I recall, when I slugged the barrel of my commission rifle, it was something like .324 at the muzzle and .318 in the center of the barrel. Definite nickel (or something) build up from the early German spitzer rounds. It's a wall hanger.

Thanks for the loading info. Any reason you are using a .321 vs. .323 bullet?

[mwt]

Yes, original imperial barrels normally run .318-.320 groove diameter. Instead of nickel buildup you may have cleaning rod wear at the muzzle. The diameter at the center of your barrel is within the original range - muzzle diameter is not.


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[qz2026]

Humm, this prompted me to go back to my notes. What I measured was .321 at the muzzle end and .311 about 9 inches from the firing chamber. Once past this area in the bore, there was no more resistance. The slug came out shiny with no rifling showing. This area of the bore was coated with "whatever" (the prevailing thought is nickel) which filled any rifling there. I believe that this area was more than a few inches long since there was significant resistance, for "a ways", to the 5/16 dowel I was using. Having about .321 at the chamber end and at the muzzle end with a pinch down to .311 nine inches from the chamber prompted the wall hanger status.

[mwt]

Humm, this prompted me to go back to my notes. What I measured was .321 at the muzzle end and .311 about 9 inches from the firing chamber. Once past this area in the bore, there was no more resistance. The slug came out shiny with no rifling showing. This area of the bore was coated with "whatever" (the prevailing thought is nickel) which filled any rifling there. I believe that this area was more than a few inches long since there was significant resistance, for "a ways", to the 5/16 dowel I was using. Having about .321 at the chamber end and at the muzzle end with a pinch down to .311 nine inches from the chamber prompted the wall hanger status.

Yep-you seem to have a significant obstruction- otherwise the .321 bullet would make sense for your rifle as well.


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