Chromed (metal) GEW 88 - what was/is it? VFW parade gun?

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Mine was made in Danzig in 1890. Cleaning rod is missing, I haven't checked the bore diameter (to see if it was a South American gun, many of which had Czech bbls installed).

All the metal on it save the butt plate has been chromed. The bbl, bbl bands, magazine, action, bolt... all of it. Nice bright shiny chrome.

The bore actually looks quite decent and the chamber was dirty suggesting that someone had shot it with some type of ammo. It also reaked of gun oil.

What is it/was it? Apparently in Ecuador they used to use nickel or chrome (sources seem to vary online) GEW88s as ceremonial rifles. But this is definitely chrome and not nickel.

Did the VFW used to use these in parades or something, though if so, why a GEW 88? German pride day parades in Frankenmuth? Boer war souvenier?

There's no import markings.

I don't know, should I try to shoot it, make it into a lamp or?

It has not been converted to use Mauser style strippers, looks like it would still need an enbloc clip to load it. I have no idea where to get one.

Seems to function, though I don't know if the firing pin was clipped was for ceremonial use and would need replaced. That dirty chamber suggests otherwise.
 
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Try the pencil test. Point the gun straight up, put a pencil on the bolt face over the firing pin hole and close the bolt. If the pencil launches when you pull the trigger, the pin is good.

Maybe the previous owner worked for GM. We have quite a few chromed military guns near the Motor City!
 
GatorFarmer, give me a little time to check. I may have a couple of clips for a model 88.
 
I'm surprised!!! This morning it took thirty minutes for me to find my specs but I walked out to the garage and went right to where I put four clips about twenty five years ago. PM me with your mailing address and I'll send them to you.
 
The first Mauser I ever owned was a 88. Fine rifle. Buy a box of the Remington 8mm Mauser ammo. It is loaded light in sharp contrast to the European stuff. You will likely fine it gives good results in your rifle. Make it into a lamp? Perish the thought! Enjoy your rifle. Sincerely. brucev.
 
One thing I would be concerned with on a rifle that was completely plated from an unkn source is something called 'hydrogen embrittlement'.

I don't know if it would apply to this type of steel or this particular rifle.
But I thought it worth mentioning.

Something to look into before placing your face and eyes a few inches behind the bolt and receiver.

I am a fan of the '88 action particularly in sporter versions. They don't come much smoother working than those and the Mannlichers.
 
You didn't mention an "S" on the receiver. .318 or .323? Even if there's an "S" check the diameter so you don't shoot oversized 8mm bullets through a .318 barrel.

I had one with no "S" which was a .320, another .321. I have heard of rifles with an "S" on the receiver and a smaller barrel installed (which is why I'd slug the barrel before firing).

Bob
 
GEW 88s were not Mausers, though they were often called that. I cannot imagine a US Veterans organization using using a foreign rifle for parades when US rifles are/were available free from the Government. However pre WW1 there were many German American organizations in the US. Maybe the rifle was used in one of these.

However most likely a previous owner pimped it out. A friend has a Arisaka Type 38 that and uncle brought home from the Korean War. It was chrome plated which is unfortunate because it is unground with matching numbers and dustcover.

Check out this site:
Gew88.com - German 1888 Commission Rifle - Gew 88 - Gewehr 1888
 
Those were issued to the Navy. Chrome plated so they wouldn't rust.
I saw a K98 chrome plated being sold as 'U-Boat' rifle,, so it must be true. It was at a gunshow after all.
 
Lee and some of you "older" guys will recall those nickel plated Lugers and other WW2 Axis pistols that were for sale in the 60s/70s.

The were all captured from "Generals."

Bob
 
I don't think they actually re-barreled the 88's when they went from the "J" bore to the "S" bore. All was done was to relieve the throat so the case neck would allow the larger bullet to pull out of the case easier. (If the neck couldn't expand on firing there could be some pretty serious pressure spikes.) I've seen a few where there was some "free bore" added to give the pressure a chance to dissipate before the bullet jumped into the squeeze bore.
 
I "believe" they rebarrelled them, too. I always check by slugging them no matter what the receiver says, "S" marked or not.

I don't know for sure if it would be a catastrophic event to send a .323 FMJ down a .318 bore, but I don't plan to find out.

Bob
 
AFAIK they did the conversions both ways. Alot of those were rebbl'd and rebuilt in they're long lives. Alot has been posted about the chamber & bore sizes on these.
I'd just do a chamber cast and size the bore to be sure.
Exessive headspace is often found on the Gew88 rifles too. They've been through alot generally.

Mine are sporters and are in .318d. But I know of at least one '88 Sporter that has an orig .323 bbl on it.
Both sizes (S & J (actually 'I') were loaded for many of the different German/Austrian 8mm cartridges in the first part of the 20thC.
 
I don't know why I thought I had a Danzig gun, this one is actually clearly marked Spandau. There is an "S" on it, but it's my understanding that the "S" stamp denoting a .323 is an erroneous idea and that things are more complicated than that. I'd read that commercial bbls and replacement bbls made by the Czechs for South American customers were the ones with the smaller bores.

I haven't figured out how to take off the barrel shroud to check for rust beneath it or to see if it was just the shroud that was chromed.

Taking it apart shows small parts and internals were chromed though.

The firing pin does seem to be intact.

The extractor - I hadn't noticed it before - but it was definitely sheared off. I know that Carcanos can have this happen if single loaded incorrectly without the clip - or I've heard such anyway - so perhaps that is what happened. I'll have to find a replacement part.

I may have to look around a bit and see about a chamber insert and using .32 S&W Long ammo.

The front sight ladder is also bent, which is why it won't lay flat and will also have to be replaced.

Thanks for the clips PM OFTII - pm sent.

There is a Thompson SMG in the museum here at PI. Apparently a major brought it home after the war. What's interesting about it is that he had it nickel plated and so it remains.

So far definitely a candidate for test firing via the long string and old tire method.

I haven't found a crest for Equador or such on it, so I suppose a domestic origin is looking more probable. My Krag that looked like it used to prop open a barn door cleaned up quite nicely, so maybe there is hope for this old rifle yet.

If I can find the extractor and a sight lever, it will be all there save for the cleaning rod though.
 
Turkey used alot of the Commission 88's, they have a half moon on the bolt usually and were mostly converted to the .323 S cartridge and did away with the mannlicher style clip and went to a Mauser packet clip like the 03 Springfield etc. Also in the early 70's my late Father was a Volunteer firefighter and in those days in the Parades when they marched they had 2 guys carry rifles along with their banners etc. and they were 98K's that were demilled, weren't shiney though. Later they started carrying White Fake Parade guns because Dad said some of the guys complained of the wieght of a real gun when marching. Maybe yours did Parade duty somewhere at sometime.
 
I had one of the Turkish 88 reworks a while back. It had been converted to use Mauser style strippers and had the old Prussian unit markings X'd out, along with the other normal Turkish markings. The nice shiny one that I have now has no Turkish markings on it though, nor unit markings - or else they were obliterated when it was chromed. It has recently been suggested to me that it was a Shriner's (or Masonic) rifle for parades, but I can't recall ever seeing Shriners carrying ceremonial rifles. But then I don't go to many parades.

I traded 100rds of 5.56mm, an old Shrade Walden hunting knife, and a piece of pipe taped to an SKS stock that sort of looked like a gun for the chrome Gew 88.
 
If you want to remove the shroud it threads onto the barrel, normal right hand twist. I have removed them before, some are quite tight and require a strap wrench, some come off easily. They sometimes trap moisture and I have found rust under them (and old, hard grease too, probably to prevent that). I would suspect yours was probably someones shiny show-off gun or maybe a Legion post decoration like the silver painted Maxim 08 and chromed bayonets that once decorated a local American Legion Hall.....( I still wonder where that Maxim went)
 
GatorFarmer said:
I had one of the Turkish 88 reworks a while back. It had been converted to use Mauser style strippers and had the old Prussian unit markings X'd out, along with the other normal Turkish markings. The nice shiny one that I have now has no Turkish markings on it though, nor unit markings - or else they were obliterated when it was chromed. It has recently been suggested to me that it was a Shriner's (or Masonic) rifle for parades, but I can't recall ever seeing Shriners carrying ceremonial rifles. But then I don't go to many parades.

I traded 100rds of 5.56mm, an old Shrade Walden hunting knife, and a piece of pipe taped to an SKS stock that sort of looked like a gun for the chrome Gew 88.
Click to expand...

I don't do many Parades these days myself, but the last one I was at the only guns I remembered were carried by the VFW and they were those all white fake jobbers based losely on the '03 looks. You can thank the politically correct crowd for less gun sightings in Parades these days.
 
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