Karabiner 98k Mauser rifle

Karabiner 98k Mauser rifle history

The KAR 98 rifle was created, as its name suggests, in 1898 by German engineer Paul Mauser and entry, it attracts the attention of many nations that buy this weapon, such as Spain, China or Still Belgium.

Immediately after its creation in 1898, the K98 rifle became the standard weapon of the Wehrmacht, the German Empire army. The Mauser factories in 1935 developed a new version of the rifle, called K98 k, k for Kurz (short in German). Indeed, this last version is shorter than the standard K98, used during the First World War.

All the German soldiers who trained before and during the Second World War were with this rifle.

Like the Lee Enfield Mark 1 No. 4, the K98 k could be modified to serve as a precision shooter weapon by adding a rifle scope. It was also possible to transform this rifle into a grenade launcher.

The Mauser KAR 98 k was the reference weapon of the entire German army. It was most often the only gun of the soldiers during the whole duration of the conflict. At that time his price was 70 marks per unit.

Karabiner 98k Mauser rifle specification

Creator: Germany
Denomination: K98k
Number produced : 2,769,533 during World War 2. Total: 14 millions.

Fire mode: Mauser bolt-action
Caliber: 7.92×57mm Mauser
Feed system: 5-round stripper clip
Effective firing range: 400 m
Maximum firing range: 4000 m
Rate of fire: 15 rounds/min

Weight: 3,92 kg
Length: 1101 mm