Posted on 03/28/2016 9:26:09 AM PDT by w1n1
"I'll take a semiautomatic rifle any day of the week over a boltaction, and twice on Sunday." That's what my husband told me when I confessed my love of the Mauser M98 bolt-action. A discussion ensued, and we were not talking hunting – we were discussing war. Our passion for rifles and history often leads to a great deal of research and conversation. Neither of us has served in the military, but the conversation thankfully extends beyond the theoretics of our living room to those who have first-hand experience to tell it how it is, or was. Speaking with veterans is an opportunity neither of us will ever turn down. Our veterans, after all, are our heroes.
Battle rifles deserve a comparison that includes details of their intended purpose and the battle strategy for implementing that purpose. After all, isn’t a perfect rifle one that reliably performs as it was intended in an effective and efficient manner?
THE GERMAN MAUSER KARABINER 98 KURZ, or K98k, is a true phoenix from the ashes of WWI, and despite the challenges faced by its creators, it fulfilled its purpose during WWII, is respected by gun enthusiasts around the world and has served as a stable platform for the development of modern rifles for almost 100 years.
American military planners studied the effectiveness of bolt-action repeating rifles, and concluded there was a need to develop a semiautomatic infantry rifle. The Germans, on the other hand, were saddled with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The signing of the treaty on June 28, 1919, not only officially ended World War I, but restricted the German army to 100,000 men and forbade the country from producing military weaponry.
Like a Porsche, the K98k is German perfection in design and engineering, and carries this ideal through multiple features, but its heart and soul is its Mauser M98 action. Why is the Mauser action so much better than other bolt-action systems? It exemplifies two words: strength and reliability.
Read the rest of the Mauser Karabiner 98 story here.
It didn’t seem heavy when I carried one when I was 20. It sure was heavy when I picked up one when I was 70.
I know the M-1 carbine was much smaller/lighter; the Garand was great because years after it was out of service for regular troops it was still very effective for sniping - it has great range.
I’ve got a postwar Yugo k98 that shoots very nicely... and a 1916 Swedish 6.5 that can outshoot most sniper rifles. I still have some surplus 8mm ammo..
If the Boers had Mausers, it was because the Kaiser provided them.
Remember Breaker Morant? And that German missionary?
Germany publicly supported the Boers at the time, and did provide the weapons.
Might be the BAR I was thinking about. Browning or somebody had a patent for some sort of a semiauto rifle prior to 1900.
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