Mosin Nagant vs. Gew 98/Kar98K: Weapons of War

Twice in the 20th century, the German Army marched eastward, where it engaged in brutal combat against a determined foe. It could be argued that the record for the German military was 1 to 1, as it essentially defeated the Imperial Russian Army during the First World War but was utterly destroyed by the Soviet Red Army a generation later.

Notable is the fact that the primary weapons employed by each side in the two conflicts were bolt-action rifles that had evolved only slightly. A case could also be made that it was German engineering and design going against Russian ruggedness and reliability.

The First Showdown: The Mauser Gew98 vs. the Mosin Nagant Model 1891

“Mauser” and “Mosin Nagant” are practically synonymous among collectors and firearms enthusiasts for Germany’s and Russia’s respective rifles of the two World Wars. But the devil is truly in the details.

Both stories can rightfully be described as “complicated.”

From the Gewehr 88 to the Gewehr 98

The Mauser-made Gewehr wasn’t actually the first German-made military bolt-action rifle, as that distinction goes to the Gewehr 88—also known as the Model 1888 commission rifle. Of course, a case could be made that the Dreyse needle gun was a German rifle, but it was designed in the Kingdom of Prussia before the unification of Germany.

By the early 1880s, the Dreyse was outdated, which led to the development of the Gewehr 88. This weapon was adopted in 1888 as the result of an arms race between Germany and France. It was not developed by Mauser; instead, it was the result of the German Rifle Commission. Notably, Mauser was also one of the few major German arms makers that didn’t produce any Gewehr 88s.

However, Paul Mauser continued to refine his design and patented a bolt-action design as the Mauser Model 1895. It was soon adopted by several nations in South America and later purchased by Spain, which used the rifle during the Spanish-American War. It helped influence the design of the American military’s Springfield Model 1903.

Berlin saw that it was quickly being outclassed by a German-made rifle employed by other nations, which led to the development of the Gewehr 98.

As stated by Robert W.D. Ball in his epic tome “Mauser: Military Rifles of the World,” the Gewehr 98 was adopted on April 5, 1898, and it was truly the finest in German engineering at the time. Ball noted that the first troops to receive the rifle were those of the East Asian Expeditionary Force, followed by the Imperial German Navy and three premier units of the Prussian Army Corp. The Gewehr 98 had its baptism of fire during the Boxer Rebellion (1898-1901) and then in the colonial conflict/genocide in German Southwest Africa against the native Hereros.

In 1904, contracts were placed with Waffenfabrik Mauser for 290,000 rifles and with Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM) for 210,000 rifles. Total production of the Gewehr 98 by the end of the First World War exceeded five million.

Enter the Mosin Nagant Model 91

While not as common as even a decade ago, it is hard not to find a Mosin Nagant at the local gun show. As one of the most produced rifles of all time, vintage rifles from old Soviet stocks were commonly sold for little over $100, and oftentimes with Cold War-era ammo pouches or other accessories.

However, those were the later models, and the story of the Mosin-Nagant dates back almost half a century. While it was a firearm that was almost ideally suited to the Russian peasant, it wasn’t a wholly Russian design. It incorporated designs and features from two different designers: Sergei Ivanovich Mosin, a captain in the Imperial Russian Army, and Belgian gun designer Leon Nagant. Each submitted their rifles for testing, and while Mosin’s rifle was selected, the modified version featured key details of the Nagant design, including the fixed box magazine and the magazine spring.

The first fight involving the rifle wasn’t even on a battlefield but in the courts—both legal and in the Russian Imperial Court of the Tsar. To sum up a complicated situation, Nagant claimed patent protection despite borrowing the idea from Mosin, who couldn’t file a patent as he was an officer in the Russian Army. This made the design property of the government and a military secret. In the end, Nagant was paid off and continued to design weapons for the Russian military, notably the Nagant M1895 revolver.

Moreover, in addition to incorporating design aspects from the Belgian maker, the first 500,000 rifles were produced by the French arms factory, Manufacture Nationale d’Armes de Châtellerault. It wasn’t the only time the most famous of Russian rifles was produced in a foreign land.

The Mosin-Nagant entered service officially as the Russian 3-line rifle M1891, and domestic production began in 1892. The gun fired the 7.62x54mmR cartridge, a round that remained in service for more than 130 years!

Russia’s new battle rifle first saw combat during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05), and by that time, some 3.8 million rifles were already in service. Its combat results were mixed, but gun historians say a larger part of this is that the infantrymen were not properly trained with this new weapon.

Millions more were made during the First World War, and in another unique twist, the Russian demand far outpaced the supply, so much so that 1.5 million rifles were ordered by the Russian government and produced by Remington Arms in the United States. An additional 1.8 were further produced by New England Westinghouse. Many of these rifles didn’t make it to Russia before the Revolution and Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and thus were never delivered to the Russian government. Some were supplied to American and British expeditionary forces sent to Russia in 1918 and 1919, but many were later used by U.S. National Guard and ROTC units.

The Rifles Compared

As Terence W. Lapin described in his book “The Mosin-Nagant Rifle,” the Russian-made weapon “is not an attractive firearm. It has none of the elegance of, say, the 1903 Springfield, nor is it particularly arresting in appearance. The venerable rifle is, however, robust, dependable, and reasonably accurate.” That could also sum up the differences between Russia’s peasant army and the more refined German military.

Yet, from a cursory glance, the rifles are quite similar. Each weighs around nine pounds empty, holds five rounds, and is chambered for similar cartridges—the 7.62x54mmR for the Mosin-Nagant and the 7.92x57mm round for the Gewehr 98 (in post-1903 versions). With similar effective ranges of about 500 meters (550 years), it is hard to suggest one is better than the other.

Mauser fans will certainly disagree, and fair competition is challenging as many of the Russian rifles sold as surplus have been reworked and certainly used and abused. Those who favor the Mosin-Nagant will argue it can take a bit more punishment and keep working.

Round Two: The KAR98K vs. the Mosin Nagant Model 1891/31

The Second World War saw a de facto rematch between the Mauser and the Mosin-Nagant, but it was with new versions of each respective rifle. Following a trend that had begun with the British Army’s Short Magazine Lee Enfield (SMLE), which proved better suited to the trench warfare of the First World War than the longer rifles of the era, and without compromising range or accuracy – the length of both the Soviet (Russian) and German rifles decreased.

The Mosin-Nagant Model 91/30

Production of the Mosin-Nagant continued in the Soviet Union, but in 1930, the rifle underwent some notable changes. The basic M1891/30 saw the barrel shortened by about 3.5 inches to the length of the “Dragoon variant” produced for the Imperial Russian Army’s cavalry before the First World War.

The M91/30 was the standard issue weapon of Soviet troops when the nation was invaded by the Germans in 1941, and it remained in production throughout the war. As the manufacture of the semi-automatic Tokarev SVT-40 was disrupted following Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union, emphasis was placed again on the Mosin-Nagant, which was easier to produce. It also proved to be more reliable and rugged, both necessities as the Motherland was fighting for her very survival.

Millions of Soviet rifles were made during the war, and they remained the main small arm of the largest mobilized army in history, with some 17.4 million being manufactured from 1941 to 1945. Numerous variations were produced, notably a sniper version and a carbine version introduced in 1944. Arguably one of the most widely produced firearms ever (with the possible exception of the AK-47 assault rifle), some 37,000,000 were made between 1891 and 1965.

The Karabiner 98 Kurz

Officially designated the Karabiner 98 Kurz or Kar98K, it wasn’t technically a “carbine” in the traditional sense, although there had been a carbine version of the Gewehr 98. Rather, it was a short rifle and became the standard service rifle of the German military when it was adopted in 1935.

Why it wasn’t the Kar35K comes down to restrictions placed on Germany under the Treaty of Versailles. The development of a new rifle was concealed, but it was a direct descendant of the Model 98 rifle. The new model resembled its preceding version in its basic shape, except for being almost six inches shorter while also incorporating a few design improvements.

The Kar98K used the same controlled-feed bolt-action system of its predecessor, while the most immediate difference is the straight bolt handle of the Gewehr 98 that was replaced by a turned-down bolt handle that made it easier to rapidly operate, and reduced the amount the handle projected beyond the receiver. That enabled the mounting of options directly above the receiver. The Langevisier – rollercoaster – rear sights were also replaced with a more conventional tangent leaf sight.

Though it was the standard infantry weapon of the Wehrmacht at the start of the Second World War and continued to serve in that role until Germany’s defeat in May 1945, it was gradually supplemented by the semi-automatic Gewehr 43/Karabiner 43 (G43/K43), which almost ironically incorporated an improved short-stroke pistol gas system employed in the aforementioned SVT-40. Yet, while more than nine million Kar98Ks were manufactured by the war’s end, only around 402,000 K43s were produced.

As the war was drawing to a close, Germany was in the beginning stages of slowly replacing its bolt action rifle with the Sturmgewehr 44 (StG44) assault rifle designed by Hugo Schmeisser – and that weapon would go on to influence the AK-47 and other post-war assault rifles.

The Rifles Compared (Again)

So, is one better than the other?

Now, with nearly 80 years of hindsight, it may come down to collectability. In the immediate aftermath of World War II, Kar98Ks were so common that tens of thousands (perhaps more) were “sporterized” and converted into a poor man’s hunting or target rifle. Throughout much of the Cold War, Mosin-Nagants weren’t exactly rare, but certainly not as widely available as they are now.

Then, in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Mosin Nagant flooded the market. As noted, those are still collectible, but not quite in the same way as the Mauser that the Doughboys brought home after the Great War or the Greatest Generation came back with following World War II. It should be noted that Mauser collectors can look to countless variations made for countries around the world, while Mosin-Nagants were made in far fewer flavors.

As the better rifle, it may be a matter of personal preference, but both will have a legacy that lasts for eons to come!