German Pre-WWI Gewehr 88/05 S Commission Rifle by Spandau Arsenal - Dated 1890

his is a good example of the iconic German Gewehr 1888 "Commission Rifle", also known as the Gewehr 88, or GEW 88. It was manufactured at the Spandau Imperial Arsenal, located in Berlin, and then and then saw long service, as indicated by the large number of different markings on the gun. It still retains the original German Regimental Markings on the middle barrel band have been X'd out. .

These rifles were originally chambered for 7.92mm Patrone 88 ammunition and had a fixed magazine. As with virtually all Gewehr 88 rifles in service, this example has the the tell tale "notch" cut into the rear of the receiver ring to accept the slightly longer spitzer-type S Patrone cartridge. This indicates that it was converted to take the 7.92×57mm Mauser S Patrone, and has an S stamped above the chamber, indicating the conversion. The Spitzer-shaped S Cartridge was ballistically superior to the M/88, however the chamber required modification to..