Gew 88 Rebuild
Well I did it. I completed one of my Gew 88. I spent well over a week working on the stock removing grime, grease & filth, scrubbing in scalding hot water, sanding & bleaching. I also steamed out dings & sanded nice & smooth.
All the metal was stripped of the original finish & I reblued the barrel tube as well as the firing pin, bolt stop, & butt plate.
I got the reciever, barrel bands & butt swivel down to the white & polished them. I also polished the bolt.
This 1888 Commission Rifle looks great & is a shooter for sure. I took 3 of the 5 junk parts guns barrelled recievers to a gun shop for a bore inspection & learned that one of these is an unmodified .318 bore. This is the one I chose for my rebuild. It is a Steyr dated 1894 with a low serial # of 700. I have all the matching numbered parts with the exception of the bolt & stock. Now all I need to complete this Gew 88 is a cleaning rod & sling.
Here’s some photos of my 1888 Commission Rifle / Gew 88 brought back to life.
Looks like my Gew 88 made friends with my German 98/05 Butcher Bayonet.
I am happy with the results & can’t wait to shoot this rifle.
Here’s an afterthought.. I didn’t restore it to its original appearance, as the barrel bands would have been originally blued, and the stock I ended up making too glossy, so this is a bad example of a restoration, so time for me to remove the gloss from the stock as well as bluing the barrel bands