Paul Mauser was disappointed that Germany had adopted the Model 1888 without consulting him, but a 7.65 mm. smokeless-powder magazine rifle was developed by a government commission, and incorporated several action features of Mauser blackpowder rifles along with a modified version of the Austrian Mannlicher box magazine and the cartridge clip. Blackpowder Mausers were also produced for China, Serbia, and Turkey.įrance adopted the Lebel smokeless-powder magazine rifle in 1886, and Germany kept pace with this important development by adopting a 7.9 mm. These early Mausers were produced by the Mauser factory at Oberndorf a./N., Germany, Austria, and German government arsenals. Developed by Paul Mauser and his brother, Wilhelm, this single-shot blackpowder arm was superseded by a tubular-magazine repeater, the German Model 71/84. The first successful Mauser rifle was the Model 1871 made principally for Germany. While they undoubtedly proved a headache for arms manufacturers who had to maintain an extensive assortment of marking dies, they now provide considerable fascination and delight for arms students and collectors. This piece shows a matching bolt and wood.įrom the January, 1971 issue of American RiflemanĬoats of Arms and other markings on Mauser turnbolt rifles and carbines are extremely varied. This 7.92 X 57 mm (8mm) rifle remains in excellent plus as imported condition. SN T68090 is a Yugoslav Model 48 short mauser rifle.
German mauser rifle serial numbers full#
Because they are German made, the actions are full length (as opposed to the intermediate length Yugoslavian Mausers). As a result, there are a number of variations in the markings that can be found, some of which are listed below.