Gewehr 1888 The Gewehr 88 ( commonly called the Model 1888 Commission Rifle ) was a late 19th - century German bolt action rifle , adopted in 1888 . The invention of smokeless powder in the late 19th century immediately rendered all of the large - bore black powder rifles then in use obsolete . To keep pace with the French ( who had adopted smokeless powder " small bore " ammunition for their Lebel Model 1886 rifle ) the Germans adopted the Gewehr 88 using its own new M / 88 cartridge , which was also designed by the German Rifle Commission . The rifle was one of many weapons in the arms race between the Germanic states and France , and with Europe in general . There was also a carbine version , the Karabiner 88 . Later models were updated ( Gewehr 88 / 05 and Gewehr 88 / 14 ) and would go on to serve in World War I to a limited degree . Unlike many of the rifles before and after , it was not developed by Mauser but the Arms Commission , and Mauser was one of the few major arms manufacturers in Germany that did not produce Gewehr 88s . Design . In 1886 , fifteen years after their defeat by German forces in the Franco - Prussian War , the French Army introduced the new Lebel magazine rifle firing an ( 8 mm ) high - velocity projectile . This made Germany ’ s rifle , the Mauser Model 1871 , obsolete due to its large and slow 11 mm round . The practical result was that the French rifle had greater accuracy and range , giving French troops a tactical advantage over the German Army . In response the German Army ’ s Rifle Testing Commission developed the Gewehr 88 which was adopted for service in 1888 . For this reason the Gewehr 88 is also known as the " Commission rifle , " or " " Reichsgewehr " " . Cartridge . The first step was to design a new cartridge ; the Patrone 88 ( cartridge 88 ) or M / 88 . This began by adapting a Swiss design , resulting in a new 8 mm rimless " necked " cartridge ( bullet diameter 8 . 08mm / . 318 in ) which featured single - base smokeless powder . In 1905 , the 8 mm M / 88 cartridge which was introduced in 1888 and loaded with a 8 . 08 mm ( . 318 in ) 14 . 6 g ( 226 gr ) round nose bullet was replaced by the 7 . 92×57mm Mauser " S Patrone " ( S ball cartridge ) which was loaded with a new 8 . 20 mm ( . 323 in ) 9 . 9 g ( 154 gr ) spitzer bullet and more powerful double - base smokeless powder . The United States military followed a similar chambering modernization process from 30 - 03 to 30 - 06 Springfield . Receiver and magazine . The Gewehr 88 is in essence a Mannlicher design , though it is sometimes ( incorrectly ) called a " Model 88 Mauser . " It has a receiver with a " split bridge " ( i . e . , the bolt passes through the receiver and locks in front of the rear bridge ) ; a rotating bolt head ; and the characteristic Mannlicher - style " packet loading " or " en - bloc " system in which cartridges are loaded into a steel carrier ( a charger clip ) which is inserted into the magazine , where it holds the cartridges in alignment over a spring . As shots are fired the clip remains in place until the last round is chambered , at which point it drops through a hole in the bottom of the rifle . This system was used in almost all Mannlicher designs and derivatives , and while it allows for speedy reloading , it also creates an entry point for dirt . To settle a patent infringement claim by Steyr - Mannlicher , Germany contracted the Austro - Hungarian company to be one of the manufacturers of Gewehr 88 . Bolt and barrel . The Commission Rifle ' s bolt action design was a modified Mannlicher action with a few Mauser features , but it is incorrect to call it a " Mauser . " The barrel design and rifling were virtually copied from the French Lebel . The rifle has an odd appearance as the entire barrel is encased in a sheet metal tube for protection , but with the tube removed the rifle looks rather modern . This tube was intended to increase accuracy by preventing the barrel from directly contacting the stock , but in practice it increased the risk of rust by providing a space for water to be trapped if the rifle was exposed to harsh conditions . The Karabiner 88 utilized a different bolt handle , which resembled those found on commercial sporting rifles . Service history . Some early models had flaws due to rushed ammunition production ; anti - Semitic factions within the German press exploited the flaws alleging a conspiracy between one of the rifle ’ s manufacturers , the Ludwig Loewe Company , and other Jewish owned manufactures , including the firm manufacturing the smokeless powder . Thus the rifle became known derisively as the " Judenflinte " ( " Jews ' Musket " ) , despite the fact that the roughly three - quarters of the rifles were produced by other , non - Jewish factories . The Commission Rifle saw field service with Germany ' s colonial expansion , including in China during the Boxer Rebellion ( with the unlicensed Hanyang 88 copy also being used by the opposing Chinese troops ) , and served as a front line weapon for German troops during World War I until 1915 when the supply of Gewehr 98s increased ; however , it was used extensively by the Turkish Army even through World War II . When Germany replaced the 88 with the Gewehr 98 , many of the rifles were given to Austria during World War 1 because Austria had a shortage of rifles . Many Gewehr 88 rifles stayed in active service in second - line units , reserves , and in armies allied with the Germans through and well past World War I . Most of the Gewehr 88s seen in the USA are the ones given to the Turkish forces in World War I and have been modified from the original design . The Turks issued these and updated versions at least as late as the 1930s . Gewehr 88 / 05 rifles were also used by Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia , mostly ones that were captured from German forces in World War II . A few are encountered with Finnish markings . The Republic of China also used this rifle extensively in the Republican era , in the guise of the Hanyang 88 . It saw service during the War of Resistance against Japan and more than held its own against the Japanese Arisaka Type 38 rifle , though the latter was technologically superior by 30 years . The rifle was adopted during a period of rapid development in firearms technology and marked Germany ' s shift to a smokeless powder . This explains why its period as the primary German service rifle was just over a dozen years , but it remained in limited service for much longer . In 1898 a true Mauser design would be adopted , the Gewehr 98 , which was the culmination of a series of Mauser models in the 1890s . It was a superior replacement using the same ammunition with a stronger powder charge . However , this rifle soon had to be converted to fire the new pointed round that Germany adapted after the turn of the century . With these modifications the newer design remained in use until the end of World War II . The Gewehr 88 was also sometimes made into very elegant sporting rifles by custom gunmakers in Germany . Examples of these usually show first - class workmanship and special features such as folding sights , altered bolt handles and so on . Some Karabiner 88 carbines are known to have been produced in 7x57mm Mauser instead of the usual M / 88 or 7 . 92x57mm Mauser chamberings . These were likely intended for sale in South America , where use of the 7x57mm cartridge was widespread , but no military adopted it in this caliber . All known 7x57mm Karabiner 88s were produced by Haenel . Variants . At the time of adoption , the M / 88 " Patrone 7 . 9 mm " was loaded with a 14 . 6 g ( 226 gr ) round nose bullet that measured 8 . 08 mm ( . 318 in ) in diameter . In 1894 / 95 the German Army changed the barrel specifications from 7 . 9 / 8 . 1 mm to 7 . 9 / 8 . 2 mm hoping to improve the accuracy and Gewehr 88 rifles made from that date on had different bores . The 8 . 08 mm ( . 318 in ) bullet diameter however remained unchanged . After 1895 most , but not all , Gewehr 1888 rifles were regrooved . In 1905 the Germany Army adapted a new service cartridge that fired lighter bullets measuring 8 . 20 mm ( . 323 in ) in diameter . From then many Gewehr 88 rifles where rechambered to fire the new 1905 pattern 7 . 92x57mm Mauser cartridge becoming Gewehr 88 / 05 rifles . This rechambering required more work as the 7 . 92x57mm Mauser chambering requires a wider chamber throat to take the thicker brass of the new 1905 pattern cartridge . Gewehr88 / 05 adapted rifles have the receiver marked with a large " S " rollmark and were also converted to use the Gewehr 98 type stripper clip by adding stripper clip guides to the top rear of the receiver and altering the magazine . Modern ammunition use . The maximum operating pressure for the Gewehr 88 Commission rifle is less than that of any 8 mm Mauser rifle , as the makers of the Gewehr 88 did not fully understand the greater energy of smokeless powder compared to black powder . Shooters planning to use modern 8 mm ammunition in a Gewehr 88 should slug their bore and chamber as there are four different possible bore / groove and chamber dimensioning combinations found on the Gewehr 88 rifle . High performance and hence high pressure or military ammunition designated for machine gun use should never be fired in a Gewehr 88 Commission rifle . Defects . Although the packet loading system proved to be a design shortcoming , it is not uncommon to encounter a Gewehr 88 today which still retains it . Some of them were modified to use the stripper clips used with the Gewehr 98 by milling a slot into the left side of the action and adding stripper clip guides on the top of the receiver . Through this slot projects a bar which retains the cartridges in place against the magazine spring ' s pressure . The hole in the bottom of the rifle is often covered with a small piece of sheet metal . Unlike many rifles designed later , the bolt head of this rifle is able to be removed from the bolt body . This piece could be removed during disassembly , and was frequently lost . Additionally , both the ejector and the extractor that are attached to the bolt head are prone to falling out if care is not taken during disassembly and reassembly .