I have a Gew88 that I've been shooting for several months with Yugoslavian surplus 8mm. The other day, a guy told me that this is very bad for the rifle and could eventually cause it to blow up. I don't believe him because I've put over 200 rounds of it through the rifle with no problems. No split cases. Nothing. Is there anything out there that backs up his claim?
Gew 88 - Bore Sizes and Ammunition
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Ok, if you look at previous posts, a Kar 88 was mentioned that has a bore of 0.319 -0.3195. It was suggested that it had been rebarreled with a commercial barrel. The pictures are of the markings on the barrel base. So is this a military or commercial barrel.
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G 88 and 7.92X57 discussion
Gentlemen,
After reading several of you messages, I decided to slug the barrel of the old poor condition G88 (Spandau 1890 model) I had thought about shooting. I fear that I will through a monkey wrench in the system with what I discovered. On the underside of the receiver one can see the makings Z SS. After driving a led slug through the barrel, the measurements came out .311 and .318 From reading your different messages, it was my understanding that measurements should have been .311 and .3215 or .323. What do I have.
Have a nice day.
Gentlemen,
After reading several of you messages, I decided to slug the barrel of the old poor condition G88 (Spandau 1890 model) I had thought about shooting. I fear that I will through a monkey wrench in the system with what I discovered. On the underside of the receiver one can see the makings Z SS. After driving a led slug through the barrel, the measurements came out .311 and .318 From reading your different messages, it was my understanding that measurements should have been .311 and .3215 or .323. What do I have.
Have a nice day.
The explanation...
Carcano
You might very well have a gun that has been neglected and not properly cleaned for a long time, and that therefore has heavy metal and carbon deposits in the grooves and on the lands.
Carcano
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Neglected Rifle
Carcano,
Thank you for your reply and you could verry well be right. A friend gave me two old G88s both in poor condition. They had probably been in someone's attic since the end of WWII. One is in better condition that the other yet has the same date stamped on it (1890) I was hoping to make one good one out of the two. Gun laws are so restrictive here in Europe that there is no sense in having one that is useless. I have no idea how much they have been shot, but I do know that the Germans issued them to the Luxembourg home guard during the war. It is quite possible that they were rebarreled for the more modern 8X57 JS round. There is an S on the top of the receiver ring and a Z SS on the underside of the receiver ring. From reading the previous messages, I should be able to shoot standard 8X57 JS with a .323 bullet. (once cleaned naturally). Am I right on that or should I buy the older round. We can still get them here in Europe.
Carcano,
Thank you for your reply and you could verry well be right. A friend gave me two old G88s both in poor condition. They had probably been in someone's attic since the end of WWII. One is in better condition that the other yet has the same date stamped on it (1890) I was hoping to make one good one out of the two. Gun laws are so restrictive here in Europe that there is no sense in having one that is useless. I have no idea how much they have been shot, but I do know that the Germans issued them to the Luxembourg home guard during the war. It is quite possible that they were rebarreled for the more modern 8X57 JS round. There is an S on the top of the receiver ring and a Z SS on the underside of the receiver ring. From reading the previous messages, I should be able to shoot standard 8X57 JS with a .323 bullet. (once cleaned naturally). Am I right on that or should I buy the older round. We can still get them here in Europe.
gew 88 ammo
I think that all of the info posted on this subject is circuitus and harmful, if you have a kar 88, gew 88 marked "s" on the receiver with a original barrel ( take off the barrel cover and check the s.n.) what you have is a weapon that has had the receiver altered to accept ammo that has greater expansion at the neck to allow for the release of the larger slug,the barrels where not changed when the "s" stamp was applied,as I understand it.
I think that all of the info posted on this subject is circuitus and harmful, if you have a kar 88, gew 88 marked "s" on the receiver with a original barrel ( take off the barrel cover and check the s.n.) what you have is a weapon that has had the receiver altered to accept ammo that has greater expansion at the neck to allow for the release of the larger slug,the barrels where not changed when the "s" stamp was applied,as I understand it.
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2,355 Posts
1890 Loewe
I have a 1890 Loewe Commission 88/05 with S barrel. I have had for 14 years and put nearly 500 rounds of all types of 8mm ammo through it. The barrel and receiver match, and the bolt matches itself. The rifle has Turkish markings on the bolt and cocking piece, and is not import marked. The barrel bands have imperial proofs but do not match, and there is no German regimental markings.
Having read through the posts on this sticky, it seems that I should have been more selective in my choice of ammo. My barrel gauges .315 on the lands and .318 in the grooves. It seems the best choice in my circumstance is to shoot the undersized American made ammo, as I do not reload as of yet. I still have two boxes of HotShot soft points, Serbian I think, are these too hot?
What brands of American made ammo would satisfy my needs?
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Thanks,
PM
I have a 1890 Loewe Commission 88/05 with S barrel. I have had for 14 years and put nearly 500 rounds of all types of 8mm ammo through it. The barrel and receiver match, and the bolt matches itself. The rifle has Turkish markings on the bolt and cocking piece, and is not import marked. The barrel bands have imperial proofs but do not match, and there is no German regimental markings.
Having read through the posts on this sticky, it seems that I should have been more selective in my choice of ammo. My barrel gauges .315 on the lands and .318 in the grooves. It seems the best choice in my circumstance is to shoot the undersized American made ammo, as I do not reload as of yet. I still have two boxes of HotShot soft points, Serbian I think, are these too hot?
What brands of American made ammo would satisfy my needs?
Thanks,
PM
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117 Posts
I slugged the barrel of my Lowe Gew 88. Mine slugged out at .318 and .311 does that sound right for a circle z barrel?
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49 Posts
Gew-1888 Need your help
Greeting fellow Gew 88 collectors and shooters.
I am gathering information on the 1888 Commision Rifle and its dates of Production.
We are gathering serial numbers by arsenal and date of manufacture to fill in the historical data on this beautiful warhorse.
To date we have proved the manufacturing of over a MIllion more rifles than has been currently published by the experts.
The information we need for our study is
Arsenal Name and Date
Serial number WITH alpha charachter
Unit markings on Bbl bands or reciever.
We are also looking to confirm the production of rifles produced in 1897 and by whom.
This is not a fly by night operatio, and is a scholarly effort. Initial results have been published on a Military Rifle Collectors Journal.
Please send the information to [EMAIL="Gew88_rifle_survey@yahoo.com"]Gew88_rifle_survey@yahoo.com.[/EMAIL] By participating in this survey i was able to determine I own the Oldest Amberg known produced rifle from 1889 ( first year of production).
Your support is greatly appreciated.
Chuck Linderman and Don Ball
Greeting fellow Gew 88 collectors and shooters.
I am gathering information on the 1888 Commision Rifle and its dates of Production.
We are gathering serial numbers by arsenal and date of manufacture to fill in the historical data on this beautiful warhorse.
To date we have proved the manufacturing of over a MIllion more rifles than has been currently published by the experts.
The information we need for our study is
Arsenal Name and Date
Serial number WITH alpha charachter
Unit markings on Bbl bands or reciever.
We are also looking to confirm the production of rifles produced in 1897 and by whom.
This is not a fly by night operatio, and is a scholarly effort. Initial results have been published on a Military Rifle Collectors Journal.
Please send the information to [EMAIL="Gew88_rifle_survey@yahoo.com"]Gew88_rifle_survey@yahoo.com.[/EMAIL] By participating in this survey i was able to determine I own the Oldest Amberg known produced rifle from 1889 ( first year of production).
Your support is greatly appreciated.
Chuck Linderman and Don Ball
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1,338 Posts
I have read this thread regarding proper bullet diameters for the bore on each type of GEW 88 and have noted the dire results that may happen from shooting the wrong bullet in the wrong bore. I guess this is pretty obvious but none of us have any idea what diameter bullets have been shot by the hundreds through the rifle before we got it. Are GEW 88s the equivilant of low number Springfields; time bombs ready to fail at the next pull of the trigger? I may use only the right type of projectile in a rifle but what if it had 20 years or more of the wrong size bullets before I bought it?
I write this as a pending owner of a Turk 88/05/35 reworked in 1941 with an alledged excellent condition barrel. I plan to slug the bore and use mild loads if I shoot it but if it had a steady diet of Turk nuclear powered 8mm ball through it from WW1 to 1941 when it was reworked I may have an action pending failure. Is this a valid concern?
I write this as a pending owner of a Turk 88/05/35 reworked in 1941 with an alledged excellent condition barrel. I plan to slug the bore and use mild loads if I shoot it but if it had a steady diet of Turk nuclear powered 8mm ball through it from WW1 to 1941 when it was reworked I may have an action pending failure. Is this a valid concern?
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1,098 Posts
All a guy can do with any 100 year old rifle is check the parts for signs of abuse.Look the bolt over,check the lug,and its recess for signs that its taken a pounding.On a modern rifle I would say check headspace,but since this rifle doesnt have a chamber cut to SAAMI spec"s a headspace gauge may not tell much.If in doubt fire it from a old tire with a string first.I wear eye protection with all my rifles,just in case.
We do know exactly what bullets were shot through most of them when they were in service . Any Gew-88s or 88/05 in German service had German "S" ammo shot in it [ or maybe the smaller, old .3188 P-88 ammo which will not hurt anything ] . The Germans never used them with "sS" ammo and the Gew-88 was out of German service when the "sS" became standard rifle issue . The Turks got all 05 rifles and shot a copy of the 1st type German "S" ammo in them . When the Turks did rebarrel a rifle they mostly used a .311 - .323+ bore [ used in you 05/35 ] . There was NO Yugo or other "sS" type surlpus then . The only problem is the people over here using the wrong ammo . The main problem is getting a rifle with a tight .3065 - .316 Czech made barrel on it , but those will not be found on a /05 rifle . Most of them will not even chamber .323 "sS" ammo , but some may . That is the big saftey problem . To answer your question , if the rifle looks ok , has no problems , it should be fine with any ammo with a bullet that fits the bore and was made for the rifle . That said , they are over 100 years old and there is no need to push them . A good guide is a bullet no larger than the bore , 150 grain up to 2650 fps , 170 to 2500 fps , 200 to 2100 fps . The olny surplus I would use is the Romanian , it is a .321 / .323 band bullet at about 2550 fps . mag
I've just had my Gew 88 for two weeks, Steyr 1894, clean including lands and grooves. I just slugged the barrel and got 318/313. I do not reload. If I am reading this sticky correctly and the Surplusrifle forum correctly American 8mm (which is 321 and less hot) is safe, though expensive. Am I also correct in reading mag's post of 11-21-09 as indicating Romanian surplus 8mm is safe for this rifle. My rifle is not perfect, and I am not either, but I wouldn't want to harm either of us.
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