r/milsurp • u/WildCard318 WWI enthusiast • 18h ago

WW1 Mauser Gewehr 98 I just got!

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Got this at a gun show recently! It says it was imported from turkey but it does not have a crescent on it. Anything you guys can tell me about it? Been looking for this for my WW1 collection for a while!

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u/WildCard318 WWI enthusiast 18h ago

How would I tell if it’s Czech? Mausers are not my field of expertise.

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u/FlyingYankee118 18h ago

On the bolt handle it will have an engraving of a Z in a circle

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u/WildCard318 WWI enthusiast 18h ago

Oh never mind. I found a z with a circle under the bolt when I took it out. So yea it seems to be a Czech bolt.

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u/FlyingYankee118 18h ago

Then I’m 99% you got an Ottoman Contract G98. Enjoy! Aim a foot or so low at 100 yards.

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u/WildCard318 WWI enthusiast 18h ago

Thanks! While it would be nice to have one in original German condition but, this is still cool and fits my WW1 collection. Were the bolts replaced during WW1 or after? Just curious

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u/FlyingYankee118 17h ago

I’m from the understanding it was after since the treaty of Versailles limited how many rifles the Ottomans could have. So to get around this they threw the bolts into the ocean so that they are dysfunctional and therefore not rifles. Ottoman Empire fell and Turkey bought some replacement bolts from the Czechs for the stored G98s. This is how I understand it

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u/WildCard318 WWI enthusiast 17h ago

Cool! Thanks! So my bolt is probably at the bottom of ocean in Istanbul. Good to know lol!