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German Model 98/40 FdH

German Model G98/40 rifle.

IN THE CHAPTER on the German Model 88 Commission action, I mentioned that the receiver and bolt of the very popular Mannlicher-Schoenauer action evolved from the German Commission-designed Model 88 action, and that several other rifles, including the Model 98/40, have a similar receiver and bolt. In the M88 Commission rifle, we see how the German Testing Commission copied some features from the 71/84 Mauser rifle, used some of their own, and incorporated a Mannlicher-designed single-column magazine to come up with a distinctive and smooth working action. This was followed by the Hungarian Model 1935, also with a Mannlicher single-column magazine. From this rifle, the Hungarian Model 98/40 and the German G 98/40 action evolved—changing the Mann-licher magazine for the Mauser staggered-column flush magazine.

The German 98/40 (the G is usually dropped from the designation), as well as the Hungarian 98/40 (this rifle is more correctly designated as the Hungarian Model 43— “43” because Hungary adopted it in 1943), were created because of Germany’s dire need for military shoulder arms at the beginning of WWII. The Hungarian government arsenal in Budapest was tooled up to make the Mannlicher-magazined Model 1935 rifle, which, except for the magazine drawbacks, was a good rifle. Then by adapting the staggered-column Mauser magazine to it, and chambering it for the 8mm (8x57mm or 7.9x57mm) Mauser cartridge, the 98/40 was born. It is so designated because it has the basic M98 Mauser magazine and was adopted in 1940.

The German Model 98/40 Rifle

The German 98/40 rifle has a 23.6 ” barrel, is 43.62” overall, and weighs about 8.9 pounds. It has a two-piece stock similar to the British Lee-Enfield rifle, with the forend attached to the barrel by the front guard screw and two barrel bands. The muzzle barrel band contains a bayonet stud so the regular M98 Mauser bayonet can be affixed. Unlike the 98K Mauser barrel, the G 98/40 (G stands for Gewehr, German for rifle) barrel has no steps, but has a straight taper from the breech shoulder forward. The magazine holds 5 rounds.

Markings

The model designation of G 98/40 is stamped on the left receiver wall. The date (year) of manufacture, such as 41, which means 1941, is stamped on the top rear of the receiver ring. The factory code letters jhv are stamped on the top front of the receiver ring. The letters jhv are the code letters for the Metallwaren Waffen u Maschinenfabrik arsenal in Budapest, Hungary. The caliber (bore diameter), e.g., 7.91, is stamped on the barrel shoulder next to the receiver. The serial number is stamped on the breech end of the barrel, left side of the receiver ring, trigger guard, floorplate, buttstock socket and bolt, and with the last two digits of this number stamped on most of the other major parts.

The 98/40 Action

Although the Model 98/40 action closely follows the design features of the German 88 Commission action and some of the Mannlicher actions mentioned earlier, it has enough individual features to require a separate description. The receiver ring is about 1.735” long. The loading port is about 3.2” long with the higher left receiver wall made with a deep thumb notch like that in the M98 Mauser action. The receiver bridge is very long (about 2.25”) and split; that is, there is a slot milled through the top to allow passage of the bolt handle and guide rib. The front corners of this slot are grooved to accept the M98 Mauser stripper clips so the magazine can be quickly loaded. The bottom of the receiver is flat. The recoil lug, on the front of this flat, is about 1.60” wide and 2.25” deep. The magazine well is milled out of this flat, leaving an opening 3.30” long and cartridge-guide lips to hold the cartridges in the magazine and to guide them into the chamber.

The magazine box is solidly constructed of sheet metal with reinforced ends, and the bottom of the receiver is milled to hold it securely in place. The rear wall of the magazine box also acts as a recoil lug and makes up for the small area of the main recoil lug on the front of the receiver. Recoil is mainly absorbed by the buttstock against the butt socket, while the rear of the magazine box and the recoil lug prevent the forend from moving forward.

Inside the receiver ring, there are two shoulders which the breech end of the barrel contacts. They are divided by cuts made to allow entrance of the extractor and ejector. The barrel is threaded tightly (right-hand thread) into the receiver with the barrel made with a narrow shoulder to abut against the front of the receiver. A shallow groove cut across the face of the barrel provides room for the extractor and ejector to engage the cartridge rim. This breeching system is the same as used in the Greek Mannlicher-Schoenauer action.

Left side of the German Model 98/40 action, opened.

The inside of the receiver is milled out to accept the bolt assembly. Locking lug raceways are milled nearly the length of the action and inside the receiver ring to form locking shoulders for the two locking lugs on the bolt. Slight inclines on the approaches of these shoulders cam the bolt forward as the bolt handle is lowered.

The bolt is of two-piece design with a separate bolt head which fits into the front of the bolt body. The heavy hook extractor is mortised into the right side of the head, held in place and tensioned by a flat spring mortised in place behind it.

The extractor has a very wide hook and is made so it cannot be pulled out from the front. It has ample movement so the hook can easily slip over the rim of a cartridge placed in the chamber ahead of the bolt. I believe this is even a better extractor than in the commercial Mannlicher-Schoenauer action. The ejector, almost an exact copy of the Mannlicher-Schoenauer ejector, is held in place by a small screw. The bottom corner of the extractor and ejector are rounded off so that, when the bolt pushes a cartridge from the magazine to the chamber, the rim of the cartridge slips under the extractor. This prevents double loading if the bolt is not fully locked before it is drawn back again. This is a good feature. The extractor is also made so that it holds the bolt head in place in the bolt, and on removing the bolt from the rifle, the bolt head cannot accidentally fall out and be lost.

The bolt body has an integral guide rib along most of its length. The bent bolt handle is an integral part of this rib. This rib functions to guide and prevent the bolt from binding as it is operated. It also serves as the safety locking lug since it engages forward of the right receiver bridge wall when the bolt is closed. Its front end moves over an inclined surface on the rear of the receiver ring and provides the initial extractor camming power when the bolt is opened. The grasping ball on the bolt handle is flattened underneath, and this flat surface is checkered.

The bolt body is drilled from the front to accept the coil mainspring and the one-piece firing pin. One side of the rear end of the firing pin is flattened to match a similar hole in the cocking piece through which the rear end of the firing pin extends. This prevents the pin from turning. The firing pin nut threads onto the rear of the firing pin and holds the assembly together. The heavy cocking piece has a heavy rib which moves in a slot in the receiver bridge preventing it from turning when the bolt handle is raised and lowered. There is a small cam on the cocking piece which fits a matching shallow cam and notch in the rear of the bolt body. All this cam and notch do is hold the cocking piece and firing pin back unless the bolt handle is fully down and the action locked, thus preventing accidental firing unless the action is fully locked. When the bolt is open, the cocking cam resting in the shallow notch prevents the cocking piece from turning.

The stem of the wing safety fits in a hole drilled lengthwise in the cocking piece rib. A coil spring over the stem holds the safety back against a notch in the firing pin nut and prevents the nut from turning. When the action is closed and cocked, swinging the safety to the right rotates the flattened end of the safety stem into a notch in the bolt. This locks both the bolt and cocking piece. The safety can also be swung to the right when the cocking piece is forward; this draws the firing pin tip within the face of the bolt and locks it back, as well as locking the bolt.

There is a thumb-piece on the firing pin nut by which the action can be manually cocked with the thumb, or the action can be uncocked (the firing pin lowered) by reversing the procedure. This provides a means to recock the action in case of a misfire. I do not know why the safety was made to lock the cocking piece and bolt when the action is uncocked. This feature is of doubtful value.

The 98/40 bolt-stop is nearly identical to the one on the Greek Mannlicher-Schoenauer action. It is fitted on a stud on the left side of the receiver bridge, and is pivoted on a pin and tensioned by a coil spring. It projects through a hole into the left locking lug raceway and stops the bolt on contacting the ejector, which fits over the locking lug. Like the M-S action, there is a ridge-and-groove arrangement on the bolt-stop and left locking lug, so that unless the ejector and/or bolt head are not assembled on the bolt, the bolt cannot be inserted into the receiver unless the bolt-stop is depressed, but with the bolt head and ejector in place, the bolt can be inserted without depressing the bolt-stop. Since this rifle could actually be fired without the bolt head, which would be very dangerous, the fact that the bolt cannot be inserted into the receiver without first depressing the bolt-stop is a safety feature which reminds the shooter that the bolt is not fully assembled.

The trigger and sear mechanism is similar to that in the M-S rifle. The sear is pivoted on the bottom of the receiver on a pin. The trigger is pivoted on the rear end of the sear on a pin and has two humps which provide the double-stage pull. A projection in the rear of the sear extends through a hole in the cocking piece raceway in the receiver tang to contact the sear on the cocking piece, and holds it back when the action is closed. This action is cocked on the forward or closing motion of the bolt.

The sear and trigger are tensioned by a coil spring. A head pin inside this spring, with its head resting on the front of the sear, projects into a hole in the receiver. There is a hole drilled into the rear edge of the bolt body, and when the bolt is fully closed and locked, this hole is aligned over the end of the sear safety pin so that, unless the bolt is fully locked, the rifle cannot be fired. This arrangement is similar to that used in the M93 Mauser, Japanese Arisaka and 1917 Enfield. This extra safety device is of no value since the cocking piece will not let the firing pin protrude from the face of the bolt head unless the bolt handle is turned down completely. There is also a narrow groove in the bottom of the bolt which aligns with the sear safety pin when the bolt is forward, but with the bolt handle raised. This allows the trigger to be pulled to release the sear from the cocking piece so that it can follow the bolt forward. However, to lower the bolt handle afterward, the cocking piece has to be pulled back slightly.

Well constructed of sheet metal, the magazine box is held in place under the receiver by the trigger guard plate, with the plate attached to the action by a guard screw through each end and threading into the receiver. A latch in the front of the larger trigger guard bow holds the magazine floorplate in place. Depressing this latch allows the floorplate to be removed. One end of the W-shaped follower spring in mortised into the floorplate, while its other narrower end fits into the bottom of the milled steel follower. The rear end of the follower is square, and when the magazine is empty, it prevents the bolt from being closed, indicating to the shooter that the magazine is empty. This prevents blind loading. The magazine box, trigger guard plate and latch are not too unlike those of the Japanese 38 Arisaka action.

Model 98/40 bolt head showing: (A) dual locking lugs, (B) extractor, (C) bolt head, (D) ejector and (E) gas vent hole in the bolt body.

The method used to stock this rifle is quite different from any other stocking method used on military rifles known to me. It is most like that used on the British Lee-Enfield rifles; that is, with a two-piece stock; a separate buttstock and forend with the buttstock attached to the action by a through bolt. From this point on, however, the Lee-Enfield and the G 98/40 stocking methods differ.

On the Lee-Enfield, the part of the action to which the buttstock is attached is an integral part of the receiver and called the butt socket. On the 98/40 action, the part which I will also call the butt socket is a separate part fitted between the rear end of the trigger guard and the receiver tang. The rear guard screw passes through this part to hold it in place. In addition, the top and bottom of this butt socket are milled out to fit closely over the tang end of the trigger guard to prevent it from pivoting. Hooks at the top and bottom of this part also engage in grooves in the tang and trigger guard, and secure it to the action. In fact, it is so well attached to the action that it is almost an integral part. Two long oblong holes are milled through the inside of the butt socket so that tenons can be made on the forend and buttstock where they fit against it.

A heavy bolt threaded into a tenon on the butt socket is used to fasten the buttstock securely to the action. The forend, with tenons which extend halfway into the butt socket, is also held securely in place on the action by the trigger guard plate, magazine box, recoil lug and the front trigger guard screw. Even without the two barrel bands, the forend is secure.

While the buttstock attachment is no better than on the Lee-Enfield, the forend attachment method on the 98/40 is much superior to that of the Lee-Enfield. As I mentioned in the chapter on the Lee-Enfields, the British had a problem with the forends of their rifles, and I believe a lot of this could have been eliminated and the bedding problems easily corrected had the rear end of the forend been tenoned into the butt socket. The designers of the 1935 Hungarian rifle, from which the 98/40 was developed, probably knew about the forend problems of the Lee-Enfield and designed their forend and the action so that it would be as secure as if the forend were part of the buttstock. It is believed that the designers went to the two-piece stock design for reasons of economy and to achieve a stronger buttstock. In doing this, they developed perhaps the very best method and arrangement for fitting two-piece stocks.

Comments

All-in-all, the German Model 98/40 is a good action. It has its share of undesirable features, but it also has some strong points. Manufactured from 1940 to 1945, those made early in this period show much better workmanship and finish than the ones toward the end. In early samples, the bolt moves in the receiver as smoothly as the best Mannlicher-Schoenauer action. Although some experts dislike the separate bolt head feature, I don’t think it is that bad. The extractor is probably more rugged than the extractor in the commercial Mannlicher-Schoenauer action. The forward placement of the bolt handle is not liked, but it is necessary in this type of action.

There is no need for the thumb-piece on the firing pin nut. The cock-on-closing feature is not generally liked, and without any extra trouble this action could just as well have been made to cock on the uplift of the bolt handle. The magazine floorplate release latch is neat, and although the floorplate is not hinged to the trigger guard, it is convenient for unloading since it can be quickly removed.

Every part of the 98/40 action is made of steel—there are no stampings or alloy parts. There is little question that the finest steels were used in the manufacture of the major parts of this action, with the receiver and bolt parts properly heat-treated. I believe this action entirely suitable for almost any modern cartridge that is not too long for the magazine box; for if it was safe for the 8mm German military load, it should also be safe for other cartridges developing breech pressures in the 50,000 psi range.

Gunsmithing

The 98/40 rifle and action offer a number of remodeling, sporterizing and rebarreling possibilities. First, the 8mm Mauser cartridge for which this rifle is chambered is entirely satisfactory for big game hunting, and if the rifle you have has an excellent bore, it would be best to leave it in its present caliber. The 98/40 barrel has a very pleasing contour and taper, quite ideal for a sporter. To make a simple sporter, the original military sights can be removed and other sights installed. After removing the military rear sight, the small square step on the barrel can be filed down to smooth out the shoulder contour. Good replacement sights for a hunting rifle made on the 98/40 would be the Williams Guide rear sight mounted on the Williams ramp base. The barrel is not too long, but it can be shortened if desired.

German Model 98/40

General Specifications

Type . . . . . . . . .Turnbolt repeater.

Receiver . . . . . .One-piece machined steel foraging. Slotted bridge with stripper-clip guides.

Bolt . . . . . . . . . .Two-piece with separate non-rotating bolt head. Dual opposed locking lugs forward. Bolt guide rib on bolt with its integral bolt handle acts as a safety lug. Flat bolt face.

Ignition . . . . . . .One-piece firing pin powered by coil mainspring. Cocks on closing.

Magazine . . . . .Non-detachable staggered-column box type. Quick-detachable floorplate.

Bolt-stop . . . . . .Mannlicher type positioned on the left side of receiver bridge, stops bolt travel by contacting ejector over the left locking lug.

Trigger . . . . . . .Non-adjustable, double-stage military pull.

Safety . . . . . . . .Wing-type built into the cocking piece, locks striker and bolt when swung to the right.

Extractor . . . . . .Non-rotating, fitted into the bolt head. Uses separate flat spring.

Magazine cutoff None provided.

Ejector . . . . . . .Sliding type attached to the left side of bolt head.

The issue stock and forend can be remodeled if you want to keep expenses to a minimum. The main thing is to shorten the forend. It need not be any longer than about 14 inches.

There are no commercial receiver sights, triggers or safeties available for this rifle, although it is possible to install a double-set trigger made for the M98 Mauser action in the 98/40. There are no rechambering possibilities for this rifle. While no one makes a threaded and chambered barrel available for this rifle, a different calibered barrel can be fitted to the action. By rebarreling, this action would be suitable for such cartridges as the 257 Roberts, 7mm Mauser, 308 and 358.

I see no practical way to change the action so it cocks on opening, or an easy way to lengthen the magazine to accept longer cartridges.