German World War One Gewehr 98 Sniper

[@lee-lemon]

"OIGEE Berlin" isn't the name, but it stands for "Optische Industrie Gesellschaft Berlin", which literally translates to "Optical Industry Society Berlin".

[@garrettlogue4249]

The original OEG.

[@peerschulz2029]

just a small nitpick: Gesellschaft does not translate to society in this context. It rather translates to corporation or the Inc. suffix.

[@genericpersonx333]

​@@peerschulz2029 Indeed, but I find some Germans, especially those in the fields of science and engineering, don't seem to obsess about making that distinction. I have had a lot of documentation from German scientific equipment suppliers pass through my hands over the years and quite a few freely call themselves a society rather than a corporation to their anglophone associates. One gesellschaft even said that they preferred the term society because they saw themselves as a cooperative of scientific craftsmen, a society, rather than something as crass as a limited-liability money-making operation that the word corporation implies. It is fun to see how foreigners can really have a different perspective on what your words mean. So I'd say society is not entirely inappropriate as a translation for the OIGEE Berlin, just a little peculiar.

[@1aapmens]

for pronunciation: German doesn't do acronyms I think, so it is Oh Ee Gay A A

[@madcynic]

@@1aapmens Actually, in the first half of the 20th century, that's not quite true. In fact, this abbreviation seems to me to indicate the idea of being pronounced as one word, as the German vocalization of the letter G would be represented as Gee in German. Optische Industrie-Gesellschaft doesn't need the ee in the acronym, hence I'd suggest this is supposed to be pronounced as one word. Oigay would be an approximation.

[@matson3286]

I'm a gunsmith apprentice in Germany and we are still learning to line up our screws like this. It is called "Auf Strich stellen".

[@JH-lo9ut]

Is there a purpouse to this, exept making it look neat? I would think that it is more important that the screws are tightened to the right torque. Or does this mean you also make sure the threading is perfectly cut as well? (and each thread is matched to it's designated screw??)

[@night_shift_]

I live in germany aswell and am really interested in becoming a „Büchsenmacher“ , but do you only work on old „Flinten“ and „Büchsen“ or do you get to work on newer firearms aswell?

[@Vaasref]

Same in Liege.

[@christofabt8958]

@@night_shift_ I am a "Büchsenmacher". I have two daughters and no son.

[@sebastiansiodla5573]

"Auf Strich stellen" klingt aber eher nach einem anderen Gewerbe. 😂

[@tocsa120ls]

8:59 That's called taking pride in your work. All the screws in my home's electrical outlets face the same direction no matter living-, or heating room. The electrician had a german surname.

[@CrowManyClouds]

A nomenclature note ~ that's called _clocking_ the screws.

[@johnyjohns4271]

N1mrod as a native speaker nobody hear knows that term either

[@AshleyPomeroy]

@@CrowManyClouds Clocking the Screws sounds like a 1970s prison drama. It would have Edward Woodward as the chief warden and Ian McShane as a man imprisoned for armed robbery. The governor? Graham Crowden.

[@edmundscycles1]

@@AshleyPomeroy maybe Patrick McGoohan as the .....ehem.....prisoner .....I'll see myself out .

[@alistair8915]

My first job after getting out of the Marines was as an electrician apprentice. My journeyman made sure every trim screw was clocked at 12 to 6 because that's what the owner liked. Not a sparky anymore, but every screw in my house is 12 to 6.

[@Chyrosran22]

Wow, that's a really nice-looking rifle =o . Old sniper rifles tend to look so cool!

[@waffel7664]

What's the keyboard guy doing here? You got good taste

[@Lavi-Aemilia-Astori]

keyboard man

[@Hchris101]

How dare you have taste

[@marcusborderlands6177]

Can you review the trigger on this as if it was a key switch? I wanna know how it feels compared to your fave Acer board

[@Hchris101]

@@marcusborderlands6177 ballet button

[@JohnTrustworthy]

At first I thought the front screws were etchings of some kind. Damn, the weapon is built like a Swiss watch.

[@vitis65]

I have one of the Amberg ones. The way the sight base is dovetailed into the receiver and the lettering of the rifle serial number on the scope shows amazing skill and workmanship.

[@JavierChiappa]

German government officer while reading the note "WHat? a sniper duel? What does that even mea

[@AdarinMonk]

@@JavierChiappa You forgot to continue the quote, it was "Sniper duel, what the f-- *choking sound, falls over*"

[@JavierChiappa]

@@AdarinMonk lol that is the joke, you never end the whole phrase when the is a damn sniper arou

[@theblackprince1346]

Love to see Ian try this out on a range.

[@Stevarooni]

He hasn't done a lot of long distance that I've seen.

[@theblackprince1346]

@@Stevarooni he's done it with more modern stuff but yeah not a lot.

[@DeerHunter308]

Maybe he can get the guys at 9 hole to do it?

[@nikolaibaughman8828]

Seems more like an inrange thing. Lign distance shooting isn't fun to watch unless it's Involved in some sort of testing.

[@demonprinces17]

Not many ranges over 100 m

[@turbogerbil2935]

The front pad screws have been made in the same way as the screws on a high end shotgun. The pad was fixed and torqued up with threaded rod. The rod was then scribed and marked, removed, and cut to flush fit length. The screw slots were then cut to alignment. Thus the screws then were an exact fit into the pad. The marks on the rifle indicate to me that someone tried to recut the screw slots with a Dremel or similar - possibly when they tried to fix a set of repro pads.

[@rvanhees89]

My father has always said that there is a thin line between forensics, restoration and making forgeries.

[@randomidiot8142]

That fit is a little too good though. I think you're right on the process but the order may be slightly out of sequence. The screw's top profile would have to be milled in place after cutting the slots and torquing in order to have that alignment and fit quality.

[@Vaasref]

@@randomidiot8142 Handfiles is all you need to get that finish. We are talking late 19th technology here, that's exactly what we learn today at Liege's gunsmithing school. There is very little machining involved in the fit and finish of a luxury shotgun. The OP method is good. I did something similar using the screw still uncut to right length for a while at school because I had yet to make my screwdrivers. In luxury gunsmithing you cur the screwdriver to fit the screw and to fit the exact length depth and width of the screw and be exactly square (or not if the slot is not), to mesh with the screw without any play and not damage it. When unscrewing you place the handle of the screwdriver in the crux your shoulder so it doesn't slip and apply your weight on it to force the screwdriver in the slot and secure it while you turn. That way you apply full force, without risk of slippage either from the handle or the screw. I have no doubt the Dremel marks are due to the slot being too thin as we like our slot as thin as possible for aesthetical reasons. By and large little pieces in a regular gun (I don't know about full military production one) of that era are made from either stock or rough cast steel (yes cast steel not cast iron) if the gun is popular enough. Then all the work is in filing, sawing and cold chiseling, and sanding by hand. There is no standardisation other than the blanks.

[@randomidiot8142]

@@Vaasref that makes sense, however I'll still stand by filing the head contour in the groove of the mount after slotting and torquing the screw. That way, should your screw head be even slightly boogered by installation the final filing of the head contour will clean it up and leave it looking as clean as possible. Trying to maintain perfect fit torquing it down to perfect time without deforming the screw at all seems a bit too complicated. Work smarter vs harder. I won't be attempting to do anything to the level your school teaches, but it's cool to hear the trade is still being passed on at that level. Sometime this week I have to make a custom chamber reamer for a project I've had in the works for too long. Haven't tried anything like that yet so that'll be fun, too bad I haven't been able to get the stupid thing through one of the usual toolmakers.

[@Vaasref]

@@randomidiot8142 Oh, of course we slot the head before filing it flush, we wouldn't be able to unscrew it otherwise. I got what you meant regarding the OP, yeah it is a bit ambiguous about the cutting flush. To me it was obvious (since I used that technique) they meant cut to length in order to then filing it perfectly flush once slotted and re-screwed. For that we use broken pieces of regular metal saw blades with the bent teeth grounded off, that way we have extra thin slots around 0.6mm easily. Do you cut endmills or reamers often ? That is also something we learn to cut complex profiles of screw with shoulders, dovetails (we also have to cut matching dovetails by hand but that's a pain) and also special endmills to mill around axis of hammers leaving a gap (we later file the rest flush to it) in order to have tidy bearing surfaces. Making a good handmade(well turned then handmake) endmills is ridiculously hard, getting all teeth to cut is basically impossible and the hardening deformations don't help. It's a true challenge to have 3 our of 6 or 8 teeth that cuts well.

[@lbh002]

Coffee with Ian is a great way to start one's day.

[@jaywarren5261]

Gun Jesus is part of a well balanced breakfast.

[@tenhundredkills]

It's definitely the way I like to spend my Friday mornings!

[@Frurin]

Going through comments for Ian's videos (and as a matter of fact those of Tod Cuttler's too) one immediately notices how polite, informative and supportive they are. Not just towards Ian's content, but among themselves as well. Videos made by gentlemen, for gentlemen.

[@loucypher1060]

And then there's the FAL video...

[@tobyrix7082]

@Lou Cypher What happened there?

[@Immafraid]

@@tobyrix7082 I believe he used a derisive tone when talking about Rhodesia, which pissed off Rhodesia apologists. I might be wrong.

[@Frost1945-s7w]

I could just see it now. Some Germany civilian was probably like “if you wanted you can have it, if you can can survive the 500 meter distance to me “

[@enricopaolocoronado2511]

Gewehr 98s are such beautiful rifles.

[@larrypesek8818]

ALWAYS a pleasure to spend 10-20 minutes learning something new with Ian... IMHO.

[@corymcleod2728]

I bought a Gew 98, 1917 Danzig Germany rifle back in 1973 for $100, it appeared to have never been used. Unfortunately the receiver isn’t in the white and the rear sight is the one that was used in WWII. It even had the old original leather sling. I never did anything to it although it was difficult not to have the receiver tapped for a scope being as it was and still is a very accurate rifle Thank you for sharing this sniper version, the old Mauser rifles are fascinating to me.

[@loucypher1060]

Apparently, near the end of the first war, the Germans switched from the roller coaster style sights, to the more common leaf type. I know how you feel. I had the same thought when I got my 1918 Amberg Gewehr until I noticed that the serial number on the receiver, sight mount, and sight all matched. Someone seems to have painted the bluing over my receiver, however, as it appears to be flaking off at certain points.

[@davefellhoelter3299]

Does this dude ever sleep? Thanks for all your Hard Work!

[@zombieslayer7759]

He hasn't slept since RIA kidnapped him.

[@norincoenthusiast6193]

sleep is for us mere humans, Ian is beyond it

[@TomElliottJackson]

But when he does sleep Ian dreams of crates of 7.65 French as far as the eye can see..

[@onpsxmember]

He can do multiple videos per visit, line them up and drop what he likes on schedule as he pleases. The amount of videos he has lined up is astonishing keeping it up through the last year. Ian is working hard.

[@zombieslayer7759]

@@TomElliottJackson That and buying more stylish, French hats.

[@jimservu]

This one has been a long awaited treat. Thanks Ian!

[@RangeTeaGaming]

Wonderful video Ian. My grandfather had one of these that came from his grandfather. They shoot nicely, but rather aggressively.

[@thomash1923]

I’ve got my grandfathers Danzig K98 with 6X Oigee scope and set trigger. Matching numbers. It fills my freezer and feeds my family. I wish I knew more about it.

[@salguodrolyat2594]

Where do you get the ammunition for it?

[@thomash1923]

It’s not common but it’s out there. I recently found some PPU brand at Cabelas.

[@erikenqvist9081]

By the gods, Germany made some beautiful rifles back in the days.

[@mikecampos1193]

And this model was used for two Wars right.

[@aarondevaldez9134]

@@mikecampos1193 If memory serves, when the Wehrmacht tried to phase out scoped weapons (believing them to be an outmoded relic of trench warfare) it was met with a nasty surprise in the form of highly effective Red Army snipers. In it's predicament, until it could receive brand new sniper rifles and optics, it had pressed it's old stocks of Great War era scoped Gew. 98 rifles back into service as a stopgap measure. Also, if I'm not mistaken, subsequent German scopes were at least somewhat influenced by Soviet PEM and PU models.

[@dieterrahm4044]

@@aarondevaldez9134 No, the russian scope PEM was a pre war modell from zeiss.

[@aarondevaldez9134]

@@dieterrahm4044 Whoops. It's been a while since I've read on the subject, so I'm not surprised that I was mistaken on a thing or two.

[@Thy_Boss]

lol

[@jfangm]

Love this. I bought a Gew 98 from a guy alomg with a Carl Zeiss Zielvier scope with claw mounts. My gunsmith is currently working on attaching it to the rifle. It's just going to be a wall-hanger and re-enacting gun. The scope model was used on G98s, but that particular one was manufactured in the 1920s, according to Zeiss's archives.

[@salguodrolyat2594]

You have a gunsmith?🤑

[@Poppaai]

Bf1 introduced me to this beautiful looking rifle

[@blackace7782]

I am now going to call this rifle the Gew 98 from now on, thanks Ian

[@kevinwestermann1001]

I'll stick to G'wehr Acht'n-neunzich. 😋

[@lambdafn1776]

Calling it a Gew Sniper in the thumbnail is pretty unfortunate naming, depending on how your pronounce the G and W.

[@dominikschrader5930]

I think we don't give Ian enough credit for how accurate he tries to pronounce German words.

[@TeppichPilot]

Not only German, but any foreign word!

[@AlexusMaximusDE]

"Try" being the key word here.

[@Deridus]

This is what he gets for being a Oui-aboo.

[@robertpatter5509]

His throat must be so course by now. Germanic words have a gutteral sound to them. You could be talking about puppies in German, but sounds like you missed the train for being late. For some reason it's an aggressive gutteral sound

[@Deridus]

@@robertpatter5509 I perfer gutteral to phlegm. Why folk think Français is beautiful is freakin' bonkers to me.

[@amschind]

This raises a fascinating question about collecting for me: Is it better to have an accurate representation of the thing that you want (even if that means slightly adulterating an incomplete but wholly original example) or to maintain the object in its "as received" state? The practical import of the question for me is an old SMLE from 1916. The bore looks like the surface of the moon and the retainer screw for the safety is broken. I've often thought of having it refurbished with a new barrel (same contour, .303 chamber, same twist, matching finish), fixing the screw and refinishing the metal and wood. I admit that some of my desire to do this comes from seeing you use historic firearms in matches: the history seems to be more real when you try to mimic the use of the tool as it was used, which sometimes demands that it be refurbished/adulterated.

[@typicalperson6389]

Ayo what the hell? This comment is from a month ago

[@alanevans5892]

How did he comment a month ago on a 1 minute old video???

[@maltewernerwoiske]

@@typicalperson6389 He proplably is a patreon, they have pre-access

[@orbitalzero8745]

To me, it depends on the condition of the firearm If it's broken, overly rusted, just totally beat to hell, then i would say fixing it up would be like preserving history in a way

[@TheKodiak72]

its a Lee Enfield, there was millions of them.. Unless its some special run or has some special marking, its a milsurp gun. refurb the parts and shoot it.

[@rogerstill5991]

I can never say this enough, thank you so very much for your accurate history.

[@andrewnielsen3178]

Fascinating Ian. This is what we watch this channel for.

[@jamesallred460]

Sigh, another beauty I will never be able to afford. Lol. Great vid as always Ian!

[@conman3538]

Get a loan

[@hovojefe]

You're in the wrong place if you're looking for affordable guns... lol

[@suprlite]

Gew 98 are highly available surplus rifles.

[@Logan-zp8bi]

WW1 Era rifles are the cheapest you can afford to collect, mostly because the surplus wasn't like WW2. There was surplus but mostly from Germany as it needed to both reduce armaments and pay back dept. So off loading them to the US market where people used them as hunting rifles was a good idea, especially since German rifles were popular just about everywhere in the civilian rifle department. WW2 was a bad era for surplus as the stuff was literally everywhere from both sides, but most Americans were interested in either German or US Military firearms. Which is why its common for M1 Garands to sell for nothing, in fact RIA sold JFK's M1 Garand for 400$. Its common to see pictures of gun collections with 3-4 M1s of different eras and conditions. Since they were just dumped into the civilian market, and were retired early in the Vietnam war. The M1 is also one of the few semi-auto rifles used by the US military that isn't regulated as heavily, since it only holds eight rounds and isn't magazine loaded. The gun also takes a lot of practice to use effectively and cannot take your standard rifle scope, a decent chunk of hunting laws prevent the use of rifles holding a certain amount of rounds. Often 5 rounds maximum and the gun holds 8, not to mention it uses high powered cartridges. So that leaves it to only two people to own it, collectors or marksman, as the gun is poorly rated urban self defense. Why pay 400-500$ for an antique battle-rifle when you can get a Glock or Revolver? An under rated gun you should always grab whenever you find an Authentic one is a type 98 arisaka. People vastly underestimate these guns and their actually rarer than the Kar98k. No one wanted them, the most they ever saw use is movie props or cheap rifles. Collectors saw them as worthless trash similar to french rifles prior to Ian collecting them, its common to enter a pawn shop and see them for cheap as the owner assumes its trash as no one is buying them. Despite this the US has the highest amount of Arisakas in the world, as Japan has strict gun laws and doesn't even have a military anymore. People in japan are more likely to assume a gun is a replica or toy than an actual guns, the complete inverse of the united states. Hope this explained the market a bit better, its a wacky world and if you thought this was expensive Kar98ks sell for 2000$ on average.

[@tropicalfruit4571]

@@Logan-zp8bi Good comment. People have said it multiple times: the reason why WWII surplus is getting more and more expensive is simply because people don't know the prices any better and keep buying and that feeds the system where "if people are willing to pay that price, it is the price it's worth". Any day people might wake up on that Arisaka thing and those guns will become expensive because it's the "new" cool thing. In reality, a lot of surplus is junk compared to today's standards, and it only holds value to collectors and they are the people who dictate the prices.

[@trentathawat6714]

Ian's eloquence and knowledge is just astounding. Great video, sir!

[@joshuathinker8546]

As always thankyou forgotten weapons team; for bringing history to life through firearms. Seriously though, those front mount screws where so flush I thought the line was a deep scratch and not a crevice of a screw

[@hoss3433]

I watch your videos everyday and find something interesting but this one kind of strikes close to home for me, that is definitely a beautiful rifle my grandfather brought back a gew 98 I believe it was a 1916 or 1917 model. 30 years ago I was 10 years old. He asked me if he got the stuff to do it with would I want to try to refinish and cold blue it of course being 10 and not knowing any better as far as proper restoration vs refinishing I while drooling said yes. I took my time and with direction when I was done it turned out beautiful. It was a phenomenal shooter. He gave it to me after I was done with it. Being ten my dad of course decided it was best if he took it and traded it on a piece of crap Ruger p series 9mm. I loved that rifle. It still makes me upset to this day. My grandfather passed a few years after that. I would love to find a gew 98 I love the Mauser 98 series and the few with rollercoaster sight is my favorite. Hopefully one day I can find another to properly restore and keep. Besides that experience at ten years old led me to eventually become a gunsmith and make extra money for the family by doing so

[@sethy5136]

Amazing how clear the field of view is on the scope after 100 years!

[@markhamstra1083]

Yeah, it’s incredible! The physics didn’t change at all!

[@51WCDodge]

I think that scope has been tothe optical equivalent ofMark. Lenses wern't coated at that time so subject to mirage and distorion .Also if I remeber correctly a natural resin was used to mount the lenses which had a tendency to melt and smear. Germany had almost a monoploly on good Optical Glass at the time. I have a 1920's pair of Carl Zeiss Jena binoculars, I bought a box of stuff at an auction for £5, as it had a few intresting badges in it, plus a load of old rags. Dug through the rags to throw out.What's this? a binocular case. The whoop was heard down the street. :-)

[@sethy5136]

@@51WCDodge Score!

[@51WCDodge]

@@sethy5136 YEP!!! :-)

[@ScottKenny1978]

@@markhamstra1083 The scope didn't get water inside it, glass didn't crack, etc ad nauseam.

[@ellomdian]

*THIS* is high-quality Ian content. This right here.

[@wilsonlaidlaw]

Ian thanks for posting that video. The eye-relief looks quite short. I had a short barrelled full stocked Belgian Doumoulin boar hunting rifle in 0.275 H&H belted Magnum ( basically a necked down H&H 0.375 and sadly now obsolete) using a custom heavy square bridge Mauser, magnum length action, made by FN for Doumoulin. It had a 4 x 25 vintage Teil scope on it with quick remove claw mounts, very similar to the Gew 98 Sniper. It was also mounted high to allow use of the iron sights below. The H&H 0.275 is a pretty fierce cartridge in a short (19") barrel, relatively light rifle and after a number of "Wetherby eyebrow" incidents, when firing the rifle from a standing position, I put the Teil scope away for posterity and fitted a Leica scope with far longer eye relief and a rubber padded eye-piece. I wonder if the German military had a Wetherby eyebrow problem, given that the 8mm Mauser is not a light cartridge either, albeit on a physically heavier rifle.

[@vuise__]

i've learnt that no matter what the era companies would create ways to make people buy their products instead of the competition's

[@randomidiot8142]

Or they'll buy or copy the competition's products, mark them up and make bank off of their own name and marketing.

[@keithallardice6139]

Fascinating as always - sniper rifles, particularly from the 1st and 2nd world wars, are, in my eyes, real works of art :-)

[@dillonc7955]

Battlefield 1 made me envision side mounted scopes on every country's rifle. I'm surprised to see top mounted scopes existed back then, even as a gun nut. You learn something new every day.

[@dillonc7955]

@@matsmann I'm aware. Still, WW1 was over 100 years ago and the media focuses on WW2 and other conflicts a lot more.

[@Immafraid]

If the developers gave every sniper's rifle its correct optics, they would have had to create new reload animations. They instead opted to paste the American Warner & Swasey M1913 Musket Sight and the British PPC LTD Mod.1918 on every gun, allowing them to all use stripper clips.

[@jan-peterbrodersen3302]

I had the chance to shoot a standard K98 in 1998. It really has a massive recoil. The HK G3 is a piece of cake compared to the K98.

[@joet.s.6283]

I really do enjoy seeing the variety of rifles made for this role in WW1

[@aghouser4159]

That is a beautiful weapon.

[@boystainey]

Tooling and machining was something else back then. I mean it’s just beautiful

[@tangero3462]

I'm amazed how similar the mounts of that era are to one another. That looks almost identical to the mount for the Aldis telescope on my P14 (T).

[@Kevin-mx1vi]

It's interesting that British sniper training and doctrine was superior because it was set up in reaction to the success of German sniping, which had caused quite a panic. My grandad was one of those (British) troops that volunteered to become snipers, though I don't know whether he did that for the extra shilling per day that snipers were paid or whether he was simply bored with life in the (unused) cavalry.

[@kevinoliver3083]

British cavalry were not unused in WW1. Cavalry brigades on the Western Front, would often deploy a composite batallion into the trenches. Often reinforcing depleted infantry divisions during and immediately after battles.

[@rafalmojko]

Awsome video, bonus points for Gewehr 98 Sniper from my home town of Danzig/Gdańsk(from 1918 onwards)

[@klonowskierklartrohrleitun4241]

My grandpa was born there in 1905. When the pandemic is over, I plan to come and see the city my family came from. Greetings from the Ruhr/Germany.

[@manjitsoni9676]

ਬਹੁਤ ਵਧੀਆ ਲੱਗੀ ਪਹਿਲੇ ਵਿਸ਼ਵ ਯੁੱਧ ਦੇ ਦੌਰਾਨ ਵਰਤੀ ਗਈ ਜਰਮਨੀ ਦੀ ਇਹ ਰਾਈਫ਼ਲ ਦੀ ਵੀਡੀਓ ਅਤੇ ਜਾਣਕਾਰੀ ਧੰਨਵਾਦ ਜੀ

[@fancyultrafresh3264]

There is likely a myriad of reasons why we no longer use a scope mounting system like that anymore, but it doesn't stop me from loving it.

[@CtrlAltRetreat]

Picatinny is just as functional and modular so that you can spend as little or much as you want on glass and mounting that doesn't need to be fitted to a specific gun with specialized training. That's pretty much the only reason, but it's a good one.

[@randomidiot8142]

@@CtrlAltRetreat standardization of rail size is a godsend. Otherwise, we'd have an impossible number of custom mounts to purchase just to swap an optic or light. Competition between manufacturers making functionally the same thing gives us the choice of how much we want to spend vs how much we have to spend.

[@CtrlAltRetreat]

@@randomidiot8142 Agreed, just like with usb, companies deciding to compete on an open field lets them fight over a much larger customer pool and us actually use nice things in functional ways. Everybody wins but he manufacturers need to have gotten together and talked it out amongst themselves first otherwise here they didn't even know what anyone else was thinking.

[@May-gr8bp]

I really want to see this on the range if possible. really love the world war's rifles.

[@benzielke7149]

My G98 is definitely no sniper, just a mixed parts rifle but I still love it. The barrel is 90+% so it still shoots great.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Thanks

[@whitechapel8959]

Ah, my great great grandmother had one of these over her fire place, was her husband's from ww1 thought the bolt handle was a standard factory version then the curved one here.

[@felsvx]

FINALLY I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS GUN!

[@JGCR59]

One thing that started german military interest in Sniping was the Schützen tradition, mostly in Bavaria but also in lowland northern Germany, where marksmanship clubs that functioned as a quasi militia had (and still have) a tradition, even if only Austria actually called them up as reserve units.

[@maximilianmustermann5763]

In the old days, these marksmanship societies did actually defend towns and cities in Germany as well (before "Germany" as a republic existed). In my town, the oldest one was founded in 1392 and somewhere around the late 16th century they were actually gifted a bunch of cannons by the prince bishop. They were a serious militia, not just a shooting club like they are today. But they still have the cannons on display, which is pretty cool!

[@EDX2308]

If you want to see a really nice one (I think the scope rings are a teeny bit lower) watch the clip of a movie called Beneath Hill 60. You can search "beneath hill 60 sniper" and you'll find it on KZbin. The sniper is also wearing extra helmet armor plating. It's an excellent scene.

[@51WCDodge]

That is a great film. It skips over some bits, that are important, but are only in the film for a few seconds. Never the less it is a genuine account.

[@stevenclark2188]

So my best guess for the procedure on those front screws is you bolt the thing together with normal screw heads, get it right. Then you mill out everything knocking out the original slot heads. You then slit saw new slot heads onto the milled surface leading to the marks in the piece that line up with the screws. This feels like it's just showing off "We haff a very nice set uff machine tools."

[@maximilianmustermann5763]

It's a sign of craftsmanship that was done by gunsmiths in Germany on almost all hunting rifles up to the 1980ies. Today, if you want the screws "auf Strich" ("on line" or "on stroke") in a hunting rifle, you have to pay a little more. If you pay upwards of 5K Euros for a rifle, you should pretty much expect the screws to be like that. By the way, I think American companies have been doing the same thing. As far as I know, Wilson combat still does it at least on their most exclusive hand-fitted 1911's. I'm not sure how it's done exactly, but you pretty much have to slot every single screw head by hand.

[@loupiscanis9449]

Thank you , Ian .

[@cralixthegameking4408]

I didn't even notice that those were screws until he pointed at where they were

[@yunnowho4214]

From what i found on google OIGEE stands for optische Industriegesellschaft, it's not clear to me what the 2nd E stand for though OIGEE built gun optics and binoculars Pronounciation in this case would be O-I-Ge-E

[@OneRoundDown]

Weegee

[@Pitchlock8251]

I would be willing to bet those front mount screws were not made to perfectly alight. More likely were just standard screws that were filed after installation to match the contour of the mount, then recut the slots.

[@slavkolinic6713]

I cant believe he's making this one just now, was sure I watched it already

[@Onionblast1000]

This is a treat! Awesome!

[@ShootyBoi76]

Amazing find bro

[@madcowrebel4216]

We need a k98 sniper video!

[@theol3199]

I find the gew 98 to be the best machined Mauser 98. My amberg marked 1903|15 is leaps and bounds better machined than my 1937 k98. Any pre ww1 Mauser is beautiful in its own way.

[@therugburnz]

Thanx Ian. I did learn something and it was entertaining.

[@winterhammermodels]

The Scopemount is similar to a "Suhler Einhakmontage" (suhler Hook in Mount). Thats a very traditional Mountstyle that was used in the early days until to today.

[@tamlandipper29]

Can you suggest an example of another early use?

[@winterhammermodels]

@@tamlandipper29 the suhler einhakmontage was originally used for civilian hunting rifles. especialy for o/u rifles and side by side rifles or other break action guns

[@Plastiklandser]

Amazing Video as always! Could you make a video about the Janz-Schulkecht Pistol? I don´t know if it´s actually forgotten, but it´s definitly very rare, unusal and probably not too many people know about it. As far as I could read about it, the Janz pistol should have a very interesting locking system...

[@MidNightFreakOZ]

Crazy beatifull rifle, would love to own one!

[@stevendewell5505]

Good info. More on scoped and sniper rifles please.

[@blackstairsman]

Love the hidden dufflecut

[@happyguy5025]

Hope you'll have a great day (or evening) :)

[@johnyricco1220]

I find these early scope mounts a better approach than the short side rails of WWII. The Germans eventually abandoned those for turret mounts, which seems to be a development of this

[@tomford5416]

my crappy (& accurate) plinking air rifle didn't have a rail , i spent an afternoon with : pipe, grinder , file , tig welder it shoots fine ~ i just re-zero it constantly . FUN !

[@Merril_39]

I realize you've mentioned you enjoy "The history of a Rifle" and having it in it's original configuration. But that would mean this would be a rifle with only the scope mounts and no scope. I greatly enjoy the period correctness of this piece as a complete functional rifle, and I'm sure an owner able to handle and mime the shouldering with a period scope would as well.

[@CtrlAltRetreat]

I think his complaint is that this is a "so close to greatness" issue in that once you paid this much to get so many actual original parts, going that little bit further to get the appropriate replacements would have been so much better that it would have been worth the little bit of extra time and effort.

[@Thy_Boss]

I'm sure that the original rear mount on this rifle would be better off attached to the rifle than disappeared into oblivion.

[@Whitpusmc]

Always enjoy, always learn something

[@rule3036]

Those mounts are cool 👀

[@kevinoliver3083]

Another reason for WW1 G 98 sniper rifles having mismatched scopes and mounts, is that many were refurbished at the start of WW2. The Wehrmacht had insufficient Kar 98k sniper rifles on hand in 1939. And brought old rifles, and sometimes scopes, back into service to address the shortfall.

[@jorisvanoeffel4721]

This is one I have have been waiting for!

[@Uathankicks]

WOW. Thought flathead recesses in the screws were scratches they were so well aligned.

[@MaiaCoimbra]

Very nice thanks and actualy it helps me a lot choosing the rigth rifle for a victorian era type computer game i am doing, thanks

[@midnightanimal4598]

4:05 The Bavarians obviously never played Warzone lol

[@mtkoslowski]

Double-set triggers “don’t work so well…?” Er, you’re mistaken Chief.

[@Thy_Boss]

Do you have attention deficit disorder? The rest of the sentence you missed in your quote is the important part.

[@mtkoslowski]

@@Thy_Boss Ooh, you’re so protective. It’s endearing. 🙄

[@paulk3829]

As a German born in 1998 I am very proud that this gun was developed in my year of birth

[@nijibh]

oh no

[@Prxpagandalf]

Joke?

[@rodgerjohnson3375]

On the centennial of your birth.

[@Thy_Boss]

Three down so far. Good hunting, friend

[@smiIingman]

I fucking loved this gun in Sniper Elite.

[@MrRobotRooster]

Ian could you do a video on the history of scopes and scoped firearms. How did they come about and when were they first used? Kind regards, J.

[@randycarruth5908]

I always learn something new.

[@lufsolitaire5351]

Can certainly see the influence the sniper’s variant had in the Kar 98k.

[@krisskringle920]

awesome gun, but it's annoying to get plinked off across empires edge in bf1 by someone camping with this

[@LukeBunyip]

Campers, no matter the game engine... *sigh*

[@xxvii9598]

Wish dice did some research, hate that all the sniper rifles have their scopes on the side

[@johndees967]

I realise this is 2 years old.. but still a treasure. Hope the woke bastards of youtube dont remove all gun content like this. Ian is an international treasure and his contributions to our interest is immensely valued. I have a pair of military rifles, both made in 1939. One is a G98, alas not the sniper variant, and the other a Lee Enfield 303. What is IMMEDIATELY apparent to anyone who looks and handles both of these veteran military rifles, is the MASSIVE difference in quality of material and workmanship in producing these 2 rifles. The G98 is simply beautifully made, exceptional quality of manufacture for a military contract weapon. The Enfield in contrast is horrible. It looks like the metal and woodwork on the 303 was chewed out from the base materials by a family of beavers. I can understand the pride a german soldier must have felt when he was issued with his standard infantryman's gear. The best his nation could produce, to equip him in defence of his country. (Please spare us all about the nazi stuff, for this discussion it is irrelevant.) The 303 on the other hand is not even made to the standard of my gardening tools. It IS functional.. and a good enough shooter for sure.. but for me personally, as someone who must go and die for the interests of the nobility, holy cow, that would have been a massive slap in the face. Probably just as well that the average soldier has no clue about the quality of their most important tool. The quality of manufacture of the G98 at the end of the war, when Germany was desperate, in some of the examples i have seen, were STILL better than the best versions of the pre-war manufacture 303 service rifles! 9-Hole reviews did a shooting video on the sniper variant of the K98, and the accuracy of the 98 astounded me. I believe it was at 400 yards or 500?? it stacked 2 impacts on top of one another!! Astounding even by our "modern" standards. I cannot do better with my 6,5mm RSAUM match rifle today!!!! AND.... this was after it had shot at least 8 rounds in rapid succession! Very impressive!!!

[@khanjan1960]

This gun is not for old times but also enteek and the beast for today

[@robertgreybeard1432]

Great information!

[@nikik5567]

Ah Germany, proof that u can have the coolest shit and still lose

[@rrolf71]

Looks like the front screws had larger heads, and the machinist fixed the mount, removed the upper part of the heads to align their tops with the mount, and only then cut the new slots which we can see - they are longer than the heads themselves.

[@syedemtiazhossain7384]

Wow this is really interesting a WW1 German sniper rifle.

[@LawkzBro]

I don't get the appeal of obsessing with collecting the originals, but even I find it a shame that the scope mount was modified, the original one seemed so high quality.

[@sergeireischel1610]

I wonder if it can actually be some kind of arsenal repair done to this rifle somwhere after WW1. Germans might have had refurbished their mixed stock of different pattern sniper rifles in order to make it more uniform Re-numbered scope may be a sign of it

[@rong1924]

If I'm ever selling a rare but not quite original rifle at auction, remind me not to let Ian look at it.

[@stevelemmen7048]

It wi be amazing to have a scope this old that would still work.

[@tlsgrz6194]

If the screws don‘t line up perfectly, what is even the point of having a rifle?

[@gReyes4488]

This man understands.

[@filypefx]

its a really chame how hard is to get a "pristine" exemplar... but aside that details... a find.

[@IchNixHabenUsername]

oigee is actual an abbreviation and stands for optische industriegesellschaft which can be translated as optical industrial company

[@thomas316]

From what I understand in the Russian forces in WW1 having any rifle was not guaranteed. A scope was an unimaginable luxury. 😂

[@SLON-sh2jg]

The 189th company had 20 sniper rifles with Gerts sights. Now you can cry.

[@kowalski363]

Great video