This is the last Gew. 88 Carbine. It is in good condition. It also has a minor crack on the right side of the stock. Rifle is complete with rear sight. It is Danzig 1889 with German Ethiopian markings. This is the last one available. Secure it today for your collection. This is your final opportunity to own this rare gun.
We just received a very small batch of increbidbly rare Gewehr 88 carbines. These carbines are in fair original condition. They have all German and Ethiopian markings and are chambered in the original 8mm Mauser caliber or the "S" conversion. Perhaps one of the
rarest of the early pre-1898 arms from Ethiopia are what was once
described as the Commission 88/96 Modelo Uruguayo, a failed contract that did
not make it to South America but was fortunately diverted to Ethiopia. We have
a very small number of these which were purchased by Menelik !I in 1897 two
years after the Italian defeat at Adowa, during the Second Italo-Abyssinian
War. Succeeding Yohannes IV who was killed in battle with the Mahdist State in Sudan by Remington rolling
Block armed, Fuzzie-Wuzzies, Menelik II learned that modern arms were a
necessity early on as Ethiopia was armed themselves with Nagant manufactured
rolling block rifles and carbines obtained from Italy who in turn captured them
from Pope Pius the IX forces who lost the War of the Papal States. After their
victory against Italy during the infancy
of smokeless powder military weapons,
among the many purchased came from the firm of Adolf Frank Export Gesellschaft, known in the 1890s
as as “ALFA.” in Hamburg, Germany . In 1899, Uruguayan (known
at time as La Republica de Oriental Uruguayo) President Juan Idiarte Borda,
wanted to obtain modern German repeating rifles to arm his interior border police, but not at a high
cost. A deal was struck with Ludwig Loewe, to convert 2,650 Commission 88
Rifles to 25.5 inches, complete with
a bayonet lug, and converted to appear as a short rifle unlike the Commission
Karabiner 88. The mediation and export was to be through the firm of Adolf
Frank Exporters of Hamburg. At the same time an Italian immigrant tailor named
De Dovitis, known today more commonly as Doviitis, wished to do a favor to his
new homeland of Uruguay. He made contact with friends in France and Germany to
arrange production of an even more low cost rifle using barrels from Louis D’audeteau’s
experimental 6.5x54R bolt-action rifle, and
1871 Mauser actions. The Uruguayan President thanked him as the price
was much lower, and canceled the near complete Lugwig Loewe contract. It was a
mistake as Doviitis knew nothing of arms manufacture and when these
Franco/German guns were assembled and received, most failed to function with a
large portion thrown into the Rio Plata river along with much of the
ammunition; the latter was the problem. In any case, the Commission 88
Carbine/Short Rifles were eagerly purchased by Menelik II of Ethiopia for a sum
of equivalent to $6.00 that was paid in gold to the German exporter. Whether
the entire lot of 2,650 was shipped or completed is unknown. The Commission 88
rifles and Carbines were the first 8mm Mauser rifles purchased by Ethiopia. We
have these carbines in good condition, some of which have the Coptic Crown of
the emperor and Amharic markings of the
Royal Guard. Limited quantity available.
The Gewehr 88`s are in fair condition. All are original German made at various imperial Arsenals like Amberg, Danzig, Loewe, Steyr, etc. They might have some minor dings or cracks and may be missing pieces of wood in some areas. They are all functional and considering the age in really nice shape. Most of these carbines are missing rear sight parts such as the leaf or adjustment bar. Some have also the imperial Ethiopian markings next to the German markings. These are true pieces of history and should not be missing in any collection.
Rifles are in fair to good condition and operational. The rifles are classified as an Antique. No FFL required!
Rifle does not come with clip.
Antique Firearms or Non Firearm Category. These can ship
directly to an adult. Proof of age is required, copy of drivers license or FFL
is fine. We will ship to the address on the ID. Some state restrictions may
apply.
A Brief History of the Gewehr 88 Rifle Family:
The Gewehr 88, also 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 Lebel
Model 1886 rifle, the Germans adopted the Gewehr 88 using its own new M/88
(Patrone 88) cartridge. It features a distinctive barrel jacket, and uses a 5
round internal magazine fed with a Mannlicher style en bloc clip.
The rifle was one of many weapons in the arms race taking place in Europe
at the time. There were also two carbine versions, the Karabiner 88 for mounted
troops and the Gewehr 91 for artillery. Later models provided for loading with
stripper clips with an improved, Spitzer bullet cartridge (Gewehr 88/05s and
Gewehr 88/14s) and went on to serve in World War I to a limited degree. Unlike
many German service 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.