. . . . . . .Turnbolt repeater.
Receiver . . .One-piece machine steel forging. Slotted bridge.
Bolt . . . . . . .Two-piece with dual-opposed locking lugs on forward part of body. Separate, non-rotating bolt head.
Ignition . . . .One-piece firing pin, coil mainspring, cocking piece and firing pin nut. Cocks on opening bolt.
Magazine . . .Single column, non-detachable box magazine. Five-shot capacity. Special clip needed.
Trigger . . . . .Non-adjustable, double-stage military type.
Safety . . . . .Rotary wing-type safety built into bolt sleeve. 180° swing from left to right, locking striker and bolt when in the “up” or right-side positions.
Extractor . . .Machined, one-piece spring type built into bolt head.
Bolt-stop . . .Separate, hinged to the rear left of receiver. Stops bolt travel by contacting left locking lug.
Ejector . . . . .Plunger type, built into the bolt head, activated by an integral finger on the bolt stop.
When the German gunmakers used the M88 action for a sporting rifle, they seldom used the barrel jacket. The front guard screw was threaded into a nut inletted into the barrel channel in the forend. When using the military action without the barrel jacket, the collar on the jacket can be used to cover the threads on the front of the receiver. For looks only, the new barrel should have a shoulder like any sporting rifle barrel, as shown in the drawing of the barrel shank specifications. German gunsmiths installed some double-set trigger mechanisms in these actions, and I see no great problem involved in installing those made for the M98 Mauser in the M88 action.
The German gunmakers also used the basic M88 action, but minus the magazine, for making up many fine, lightweight shot target/hunting rifles. I once owned and used a rifle of this type chambered for the 5.6x52R (22 Savage Hi-Power) cartridge. The receivers of these rifles have a solid bottom, and the action is almost always fitted with a fine double-set trigger. The barrels are usually partially octagonal, fully octagonal or ribbed, and fitted with sporting sights. When the 219 Zipper cartridge was introduced in 1937, I made up a single shot varmint rifle on the military M88 action. I left off all the magazine parts, filled the magazine well opening in the receiver with an aluminum block and used a Krag trigger guard. The bolt face was easily opened to accept the rimmed 219 case. It was one of my first successful varmint rifles, and it dropped many a crow in the Iowa farm country where I lived.
Comments
Thus far I have referred to the action under discussion as the German Model 88 Commission action since it was the first of this type and design to be adopted. Actually, the action is partly Mannlicher design, partly Paul Mauser’s, with some ideas thrown in by the German Testing Commission—whose job it was to find, develop if necessary, and test the new action which was to be adopted. The magazine was entirely the invention of Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher, an Austrian arms inventor. It seems likely that Mannlicher may have had a hand in designing the receiver and bolt, although the two-piece design of the bolt, the firing mechanism, safety, trigger and the slotted receiver were all Mauser patents. The forward dual-opposed locking lug system had been used previously on some other rifles, a design feature that is neither Mannlicher nor Mauser. Credit must be given to the testing commission for arranging all of these features in a single action that turned out so well. Later on, the great Steyr arms factory in Austria, the firm that manufactured most of the many rifles von Mannlicher invented, produced other military and sporting rifles based essentially on the same action. These included the M92 and M93 Rumanian rifles in 6.5mm caliber and the M95 Dutch Infantry rifle. Using a rotary spool magazine invented by Otto Schoenauer, one-time head of the Steyr factory, they also manufactured 6.5mm military rifles for Greece.
The bolt and receiver of this rifle, with minor changes and improvements, was essentially the same as the M88 Commission rifle. The M1903 Greek action later became the basis for the world renowned Mannlicher-Schoenauer sporting rifle.
M88 German Commission action.
While the M88 Commission action is not generally referred to as a “Mannlicher” action, other similar actions are, including those with the Schoenauer magazine. Some authorities have flatly stated that the Mann-licher-Schoenauer action has a receiver and bolt invented by von Mannlicher and a magazine invented by Schoenauer—but can the receiver bolt be Mannlicher when the bolt and receiver of its parent action, the M88, was admittedly based largely on Mauser features and those of the Commission? Incidentally, the Hungarian G98/40 (also known as the Model 98/40 Mauser) has a bolt and receiver based on the same design, but fitted with the Mauser staggered-column box magazine.
M88 rifles and carbines are getting scarcer as each year passes. Beginning military arms collectors will find that obtaining either or both of these arms in original, very good condition is not as easy as it was years ago. Amateur gunsmiths, however, will find it much easier to obtain them, since there are still a lot of them around in a condition suitable for gunsmithing purposes—those in less than good condition, having been previously reworked or missing some parts. Speaking of parts, parts houses have long been out of bolt heads and extractors for the M88. So, unless you can make these parts, be certain they are not missing from the gun you plan to buy.
In gathering information on the M88, I discovered two unusual items. I found the first one in the 1902 Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalog, which listed and illustrated a sporting version of this rifle at $24. It was described as a Mannlicher six-shot, high-power sporting rifle in 8mm caliber as made by C.G. Haenel in Suhl, Germany. It had a sporting stock with a pistol grip and short forend, and the 25” barrel appears to be covered by a jacket. In describing the 8mm cartridge, the Sears catalog shows a maximum range of 4500 yards, a killing range of 3000 yards, and a point-blank range of 300 yards! The other item was a Golden State Arms advertisement in a 1958 issue of American Rifleman which still listed surplus M88 rifles at $9.95 each. These two items give us some idea of the time spread that these have been on the American market, indicate that a lot of them must have been made, and that there must still be a lot of them in this country.
The M95 Netherlands (Dutch) rifle in 6.5mm caliber is a variation of the M88 action. It has the two-piece bolt and the Mannlicher magazine requiring a special clip.
Left-side view of the M95 Netherlands (Dutch) rifle. Notice how the stock is made to cover this side of the magazine.
* The literal meaning of this letter “J” in English translation or terminology has been the cause of much confusion. In fact, the “J” in German printing stands for “I,” not our :J.”
German Model 98/40 FdH
German Model G98/40 rifle.
IN THE CHAPTER on the German Model 88 Commission action, I mentioned that the receiver and bolt of
