MilsurpDan
Ultimate Member
Took a gamble and won miraculously on Gunbroker last week. I've been looking for a M1889 Belgian Mauser to go with my WWI collection. Any Mauser collector can tell you most Belgian used Mauser's are a rare sight to see, especially the M1889 Long Rifle as most were refurbed into M1889/35 short rifles or destroyed. I found this auction on Gunbroker and once I noticed a few small details about it I knew I had to have it. I wasn't very optimistic I would win, and I was surprised the bidding didn't skyrocket at the end. I suspect it was due to the perceived condition or they just missed what it really was. I sniped in a couple bids at the end and got it for $551 plus shipping.
I never thought I'd ever get a chance to find one of these, let alone afford one, but it was always a dream of mine to own a Belgian M1889 Mauser that was captured and reworked by the Germans. Those familiar with Mosin-Nagant might recognize the "Deutches Reich" stamping usually found on M1891 rifles captured by the Germans. The Germans stamped it on arms captured from several different countries during WWI, but finding anything except a Mosin-Nagant with one is a rare find indeed. The Germans captured many Belgian M1889's early in the war and issued them to mostly rear-echelon troops. Most captured were kept in their original 7.65x53mm caliber, but a few have turned up that the Germans actually rebored to their standard 7.92x57mm. A notch was cut into the receiver in order for the longer rounds to fit. This rifle was one of the few to have been re-chambered! The Germans also re-matched the bolt to the receiver, and added proof marks to show it was fit for German service. It's certainly worn, but it looks to have seen some serious use during its time. I really wish this thing could talk, I can't imagine what it would say.
I spent the afternoon cleaning the grime off, and it looks a lot better than the auction pictures and description. It's great to see that a piece of history as cool as this survived without being destroyed by combat, de-militarization, or plain old bubba after so long. I apologize for the long post, but I'm just so happy I can hold a piece of history like this in my hands...now if I could find a cleaning rod and front sight I'll be set.
I never thought I'd ever get a chance to find one of these, let alone afford one, but it was always a dream of mine to own a Belgian M1889 Mauser that was captured and reworked by the Germans. Those familiar with Mosin-Nagant might recognize the "Deutches Reich" stamping usually found on M1891 rifles captured by the Germans. The Germans stamped it on arms captured from several different countries during WWI, but finding anything except a Mosin-Nagant with one is a rare find indeed. The Germans captured many Belgian M1889's early in the war and issued them to mostly rear-echelon troops. Most captured were kept in their original 7.65x53mm caliber, but a few have turned up that the Germans actually rebored to their standard 7.92x57mm. A notch was cut into the receiver in order for the longer rounds to fit. This rifle was one of the few to have been re-chambered! The Germans also re-matched the bolt to the receiver, and added proof marks to show it was fit for German service. It's certainly worn, but it looks to have seen some serious use during its time. I really wish this thing could talk, I can't imagine what it would say.
I spent the afternoon cleaning the grime off, and it looks a lot better than the auction pictures and description. It's great to see that a piece of history as cool as this survived without being destroyed by combat, de-militarization, or plain old bubba after so long. I apologize for the long post, but I'm just so happy I can hold a piece of history like this in my hands...now if I could find a cleaning rod and front sight I'll be set.
Seriously, though beautiful rifle and great story.
