Turkish contract 1918

[jon_norstog]

There was a time when I sneered at the 8x57. Then Dave Floyd at B&K Gun Shop in Flagstaff talked me into a G98. What the hell, it was only $100. WHat I got was an Oberndorff with the Turk crescent and what must have been in-the-white gone to rust. No serial number on the bolt, unfortunately. Otherise everything matches. This has proven to be a very accurate rifle, and once I started reloading 8x57 I was hooked on the round. If it wasn't for the Krag, I'd be hunting with an 8x57 full time.

I wish it could talk. Must have been on the train, down through Bulgaria, before that country surrendered Sept. 29, 1918. But maybe not, it might have been smuggled or just slipped through....

Under the terms of the Turkish Armistice of October 30, the Turk had to turn in all his weapons to dumps guarded by the British occupation forces. In December 1918, the Brits had over 1,000,000 troops in Turkey. By late spring they had 1/3 of that. The dumps were left unguarded. Ataturk, who had been organizing resistance cells since day 1, and by May had set up a command structure and rallied hat was left of the Ottoman Army, sent his troops in to take back the weapons. By summer he had several divisions in the field. By the end of the next year it was the Brits who surrendered to the Turk.

This could have been one of the weapons. It may have been dumped still in the white and never issued ... or maybe it was in the box? In any case it doesn't have the pitting around the receiver you see in badly weathered mausers. just signs of a little exposure.

[11mm]

Legend (maybe even fact) has it that the output of Mauser Oberndorff from 1916-18 was dedicated to Turkey. Apparently the Germans had completely caught up with supplying all of their troops with GEW 98s by then. I have one marked 1916 similar to yours, but mine is stamped "Turkey 8mm" and does not have the crescent. They were $69.95 20-22 years ago from Century Arms, but I imagine that others sold them. Mine is a mismatch also, but at least yours must shoot well. The one I have must have been used a lot, and the bore is worn. Today, any serviceable, complete GEW 98 for less than $500 is considered a killer deal. Time marches on...
I have others which shoot really well with cast bullets and the rear sight set a 500-600 meters.

[mike24d20]

Do not have one from the WW1 peroid, but one made in Turkey 1943. And you are right in that they are accurate. Just have too buy dies an brass an a mold to start reloading. But with a 29" bbl. I feel like Bugs Bunney an the hillbillys.

[free1954]

nice. what type of wood is that? in the first photo it looks like a tallhouse cookie.

[jon_norstog]

free,

I'm thinking that it's beech. hen I got the rifle the grain was raised like nothing I've ever seen - the light colored squares were all popped out. Like a fool I sanded the stock and then oiled it. It looks great and sheds water, but probably reduced the collector value.

The raised grain makes me think the rifle may have been exposed to the elements, perhaps while in the case. That would be consistent ith the terms of the 1918 armistice. The Turk was fighting in the Caucasus, at Baku and out past Bokhara. Enver Pasha had set up a "Muslim Legion" and barred the Germans from serving or accompanying it. The goal was to reunite the Turkish-speaking people throughout central Asia. Things got real crazy for a while. The Russians and the Germans were fighting against the British and the Turks around Baku. The rifles, of course took a beating, hich is hy I think this one probably sat out that fight.

A good book to read if you aRE INTERESTEd in the period is David Fromkin's "A Peace to End all Peace."


jn
jn

[free1954]

free,

I'm thinking that it's beech. hen I got the rifle the grain was raised like nothing I've ever seen - the light colored squares were all popped out. Like a fool I sanded the stock and then oiled it. It looks great and sheds water, but probably reduced the collector value.

The raised grain makes me think the rifle may have been exposed to the elements, perhaps while in the case. That would be consistent ith the terms of the 1918 armistice. The Turk was fighting in the Caucasus, at Baku and out past Bokhara. Enver Pasha had set up a "Muslim Legion" and barred the Germans from serving or accompanying it. The goal was to reunite the Turkish-speaking people throughout central Asia. Things got real crazy for a while. The Russians and the Germans were fighting against the British and the Turks around Baku. The rifles, of course took a beating, hich is hy I think this one probably sat out that fight.

A good book to read if you aRE INTERESTEd in the period is David Fromkin's "A Peace to End all Peace."


jn
jn

thanks for the reply. i had a mauser with similar wood. also thanks for the tip on the book. it was a time in history that set the stage for many things to come.

[03Springfield]

Jon, if the Imperial German accemptance stamps are still present on the right side of the buttstock you should find a "B" about one inch high. I think it was supposed to refer to the type of wood (not walnut). So it probably is beech.

[musketshooter]

Original GEW98 stocks do not have grasping grooves. The stock is a replacement. One of my GEWs has the same stock. It also has a Yugo crest the same as the M1922 mauser. It is an obvious rework of a captured WW1 german rifle. The one pictured is probably a Navy Arms import.

[jon_norstog]

Musket!

you're still around! Dave and Debbie Floyd ordered a lot from SOG and a lot from Century - this as in the earli '90s. I think this rifle was from SOG. It has an importer stamp on the receiver ring, but it is too tiny to read anything but the "8mm." It may have been brought in by another importer and sat in a US warehouse for a while. It hasn't got any stamping on the stock, whatever. My impression, when I got the rifle, was that the wood and the metal had been together a long time, probably in some cold, humid place.

Before Gallipoli there was some question among Allied military types whether the Turk would fight. "A year later a verdict was returned .... Mackenzie reported from the Dardenelles that 'French officers who have fought in the West say that as a fighting unit, one Turk is worth two Germans; in fact, with his back to the wall the Turk is magnificent.'" That's a sourced quote from Fromkin, p. 157

jn