Gewehr 98 Mauser – The Cutting Edge Bolt Action

 My Groundhog rifle.

The Gewehr 98 Mauser rifle is one of the most historically significant and technically influential firearms in history. In one variant or another, it armed men on both sides of two world wars and continues to be seen in conflicts around the world to this day. Rifle actions are still being based on it or using its features.The Gewehr 98 was the first Mauser rifle to feature the famous large ring action.

It had some changes from earlier designs. It proved to be a very rugged action, and some commercial actions today are still being based upon it. The Model 98 introduced cock on opening, which was considered to be preferable. The idea being that it would not require as much effort to chamber a round as the shooter wouldn’t have to cock the action when closing the bolt. In dirty conditions, as battlefields tend to be, it was thought that this would be advantageous. It also had some extra safety features in the event of a pierced primer, which was not an infrequent event at that point in time.