Karabiner 98k (Bolt-action rifle)

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Karabiner 98k

The Karabiner 98k was a German rifle introduced into general service in 1898. It was manufactured by the Mauser armory in huge quantities until it became obsolete after WWII. The 98K is a bolt action rifle that holds five rounds of 7.9mm on a stripper clip. It was the primary German infantry rifle in both world wars, and was noted for its excellent accuracy and effective range of 800 meters.
For this reason it continued to be used with a telescopic sight as a sniper rifle, after it was obsolete as a standard weapon. The 98k had the same disadvantages as all other turn of the century military rifles, that being bulky and heavy and slow rate of fire. It was also designed to be used with a bayonet and to fire special grenades. A version with a folding stock was introduced in 1941 to be used by airborne marksmen.
Towards the end of the war the 98K was being phased out in favor of the much more advanced SG44.
 
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The pictured weapon is NOT a Karabiner 98k but its forerunner Karabiner 98a. Not to be confused with the later Karabiner 98k, the Karabiner 98a (K98a) was a shorter version of the Gewehr 98 originally made for cavalry and support unit use.

The original model Karabiner 98, with a shorter barrel than the G98, was produced from 1899–1908, but it was not successful.
In 1908, the Karabiner Model 1898AZ was approved. The "AZ" stands for "Aufpflanz-und-Zusammensetzvorrichtung".
The new features were a small diameter receiver ring, tapered rather than stepped barrel contour, an L-shaped stacking rod attached to the stock near the muzzle, a turned-down bolt handle and recess in the stock in the same fashion as sniper Gewehr 98s. The "A" stood for "with bayonet", the "Z" stood for stacking pyramid, meaning carbine Model 1898 with bayonet attachment point and stacking rod device.

In 1923, the AZ was dropped for 'a' as Germany sought to distinguish the model from the newer models 'b' and 'k'.

During World War I, the Karabiner 98a was issued to cavalry, to mountain troops, and later to "established" assault units also known to be Stormtroopers.
It was liked because it was lighter and shorter than the Gewehr 98, and was thus better suited for use in trench assaults.
 
Hundreds of captured german Kar98k rifles at Stavanger, Norway, 1945
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“According to The History Channel’s Tales of the Gun, the Mauser 98 was “the best bolt action rifle ever made.” Author Robert W.D. Ball added that the Mauser was “a safe and robust rifle with a five-round clip, and the world’s most popular rifle; 30 countries used it, and 100 million units were manufactured between 1898-1945, during which it was employed in both world wars by the German Army. At 49 inches long, the shorter carbine K98k World War II version witnessed 14 million produced.” Ball’s epochal 2000 work Mauser Military Rifles of the World also calls the Model 1871 “the best rifle in history,” somewhat akin to the famed French Dreyse needle gun. Indeed, proclaims one dealer, “No rifle has more history and quality than Paul Mauser’s K98!” “
- Blaine Taylor
-Warfare History Network

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