Mauser Name

[Edelmira Bendorf]

Mauseroriginally the Kniglich Wrttembergische Gewehrfabrik, was a German arms manufacturer. Their line of bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols was produced beginning in the 1870s for the German armed forces. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Mauser designs were also exported and licensed to many countries, which adopted them as military and civilian sporting firearms.[1] The Gewehr 98 in particular was widely adopted and copied, and it is the foundation of many of today's sporting bolt-action rifles.[2]

King Frederick I of Wrttemberg founded the enterprise as Knigliche Waffen Schmieden (literally: Royal Weapons Forges) on 31 July 1811. Originally located partly at Ludwigsburg and partly at Christophsthal, the factory was transferred to the former Augustine Cloister in Oberndorf am Neckar, where Andreas Mauser worked as the master gunsmith.[3][1] Of his seven sons who worked with him there, Peter Paul Mauser showed an outstanding ability to develop methods of operation that were faster and more efficient. His older brother Wilhelm assumed many of his father's duties as he became ill.[3]

Peter Paul Mauser, often referred to as Paul Mauser, was born on 27 June 1838 in Oberndorf am Neckar, Wrttemberg. His brother Wilhelm was four years older. Another brother, Franz Mauser, went to America in 1853 with his sister and worked at E. Remington & Sons.[3][4]

Paul was conscripted in 1859 as an artilleryman at the Ludwigsburg arsenal, where he worked as a gunsmith. By December 1859, he had so impressed his superiors that he was placed on inactive military service and assigned to the royal factory at Oberndorf. Paul engaged his older brother Wilhelm in working on a new gun system during their spare time after work. Paul was the engineer and designer, while Wilhelm took on the task of manager for their interests with the Oberndorf factory.[3]

Paul's first invention was a cannon and its ammunition. During his entire career, he had a unique ability to produce both the gun and the ammunition for it. Following the success of the Dreyse needle gun (Zndnadelgewehr), Paul turned his energies to improving on that design and producing a new one. Paul and Wilhelm had separated due to differences during this time. After Paul developed a new turning-bolt design, Wilhelm was impressed enough to rejoin the business and succeeded in obtaining the financing to purchase machinery and continue development. While the original needle gun used a pin that pierced the base of the cartridge to ignite the primer in the middle, Mauser soon developed a needle that ignited the charge at the base, a superior design.[3]

Locally, the Dreyse needle gun had just been adopted, so the brothers turned to the Austrian ambassador to try to sell their own gun; the ambassador forwarded their new gun to Vienna for testing. It was here that Norris, an American, of the Remington company saw the new Mauser rifle design. In 1867, Norris hired the Mauser brothers to go to Lige to work on a new design. Norris also stipulated that patents were to be taken out in his name and that a royalty would be paid to the Mauser brothers for rifles sold. Norris was convinced that he could sell the design to the French to convert their Chassepot rifles. The Norris-Mauser patent was taken out in the United States. Remington was outraged at this behavior by Norris and never made an effort to sell the new rifle.[3]

Based on the Dreyse needle gun, Paul developed a rifle with a turn-bolt mechanism that cocked the gun as it was manipulated by the user. The rifle initially used a firing needle; a later version used a firing pin and a rear-ignition cartridge.[5] The rifle was shown to the Austrian War Ministry by Samuel Norris of E. Remington & Sons. Norris believed the design could be adapted to convert Chassepot needle guns to fire metallic cartridges. Shortly thereafter, a partnership was formed in Oberndorf between Norris and the Mauser brothers.[6] The partners went to Lige in 1867, but when the French government showed no interest in a Chassepot conversion, the partnership dissolved. Paul Mauser returned to Oberndorf in December 1869, and Wilhelm arrived in April 1870.[7] Before leaving Lige, the Mausers insisted that he submit the rifle to Royal Prussian School of Riflemanship. The results were impressive and Wilhelm was invited to the arsenal at Spandau.

Paul and Wilhelm Mauser continued development of their new rifle in Paul's father-in-law's home.[7] The Mauser rifle was accepted by the Prussian government on 2 December 1871, and was accepted for service on 14 February 1872, after a requested design change to the safety lock.[7] The Mauser brothers received an order for 3,000 rifle sights, but actual production of the rifle was given to government arsenals and large firms. The sights were produced at the Xaver Jauch house starting 1 May 1872. After an order for 100,000 rifle sights was received from the Bavarian Rifle Factory at Amberg, the Mauser brothers began negotiations to purchase the Wrttemberg Royal Armoury. A delay in the purchase forced them to buy real estate overlooking the Neckar River Valley, where the upper works was built that same year. A house in Oberndorf was also rented to fulfill the Bavarian order.[7]

The Kniglich Wrttembergische Gewehrfabrik was acquired on May 23, 1874, after an agreement between the Wrttemberg government and the Mausers to produce 100,000 Model 71 rifles. The partnership of Mauser Brothers and Company was formed between the Wrttemberg Vereinsbank of Stuttgart and Paul and Wilhelm Mauser on February 5, 1874. By 23 May 1874, the Mauser partnership had three factories in Oberndorf.[8]

Wilhelm Mauser suffered from health problems throughout his life, which were aggravated by his frequent business travels. A combination of these led to his death on 13 January 1882.[9] The partnership became a stock company with the name of Waffenfabrik Mauser on 1 April 1884.[10] The shares held by the Wrttemberg Vereinsbank and Paul Mauser were sold to Ludwig Lwe & Company on 28 December 1887, and Paul Mauser stayed as the technical leader.[10] Ludwig Lwe & Company was fifty per cent owner of Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre, a company formed in 1889 to manufacture Mauser rifles for the Belgian government.[10] Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken A.G. (DWM) formed on 7 November 1896 as a merger of Ludwig Lwe & Company A.G., Deutsche Metallpatronenfabrik A.G., Rheinisch-Westflischen Powder Company, and Rottweil-Hamburg Powder Company.[11] Mauser A.G. was formed on 23 April 1897. After World War II, DWM was renamed Industrie-Werke Karlsruhe A.G. (IWK).[11]

Mausers were readily adapted as hunting rifles; in Africa, safari rifles were often made from Mausers. These rifles were often rechambered in larger rounds up to and including .50 caliber (12.7 mm). The adaptations usually consisted of shortening the foregrip and barrel, rechambering to accommodate popular British rounds, and minor alterations to the action. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, companies that made alterations were generally Commonwealth-based. Several proprietary big-game rounds were specifically for hunting large and dangerous game. Today, large- and small-bore Mauser-derived rifles are made all over the world for the civilian market and are popular with hunters.

Surplus military Mausers, many in mint condition, have also entered the civilian market, to be purchased by collectors and gun owners. A considerable number of surplus Karabiner 98ks were available after World War II, and some were used by Schultz & Larsen in Denmark as the basis for target rifles. Some of these are still in competitive use, although with the benefit of new barrels.

The strong following enjoyed by surplus military Mausers is partly a testament to their reliability and quality of manufacture. Additionally, the comparative low cost of surplus military ammunition has served to continue their use by shooting enthusiasts, however, in recent years it is becoming more difficult to obtain as stocks dry up. That being said, vintage surplus ammunition usually requires specialized cleaning regimens to prevent aggressive and rapid metal oxidation caused by corrosive salts (moisture attracting) contained in their priming compounds. Care must be taken to thoroughly and promptly clean and neutralize these salts after firing corrosive ammunition, lest the weapon suffer metal and mechanical damage.

Between 1867 and 1869, the Mauser brothers and Samuel Norris developed a single-shot bolt-action rifle. The caliber and number produced are not known. Ludwig Olson wrote that an example had at one time been on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.[12] The rifle was patented in Austria by Samuel Norris on 24 December 1867. The bolt head did not rotate, a feature chosen by Paul Mauser to "protect the heads of paper cartridges from friction and possible damage while locking the bolt, and to provide a non-rotary seat for the extractor when metallic cartridges were used."[12]

An improved version of the rifle used a coil spring wrapped around the firing pin and a safety and a cocking piece attached to the rear of the firing pin.[12][13] This rifle was shown to the Prussian government, and after some design changes to the safety, was accepted for service as the Infantry Rifle Model 71 on 14 February 1872.[12] Although it is sometimes considered a close relative of the Chassepot rifle, and borrowing Dreyse's turning-bolt action lock, the most innovative features of the new weapon were the work of Peter Paul Mauser.[14]

The Mauser Model 1871 was the Mauser brothers' first rifle. It was adopted by the German Empire (except for the Kingdom of Bavaria) as the Gewehr 71 or Infanterie-Gewehr 71 (I.G.Mod.71 was engraved on the rifles). Production began at the Oberndorf factory for the infantry version, which fired a black powder 1160mm round from a long 850 mm (33 in) barrel. Shorter versions were introduced with the 700 mm (28 in) barreled Jger and 500 mm (20 in) cavalry carbine.

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