The Gew. 98 was the safest bolt-action in military service anywhere at its introduction, incorporating lessons learned from Paul Mauser's own accident with an earlier design.

That's not marketing copy — that's engineering driven by consequence. Gas escape holes, a shrouded cocking piece, a firing pin that won't travel forward unless the bolt is fully closed. Next time you're at the cleaning table with your hunting rifle, take a hard look at your bolt and count how many of those features are still there a hundred and twenty-five years later.

The long claw extractor — one of the Gew. 98's most recognizable and widely copied features — grips the cartridge rim as the round feeds from the magazine into the chamber... This means the rifle will not strip a second round from the magazine until the first is fully chambered, dramatically reducing the chance of a double-feed malfunction.

Controlled-round-feed is one of those things you don't think about until you're on a hunting trip in cold weather with stiff gloves and you need that second shot to cycle clean. It's why the push-feed vs. controlled-feed debate still happens at every gun shop counter. Winchester built it into the Model 70, called it a feature, and charged accordingly — and they weren't wrong to.

If you own a bolt-action hunting rifle today, there is a better-than-even chance its controlled-round-feed system and locking geometry trace directly back to the Gewehr 98.

Most guys buying a new Bergara or Tikka this fall have no idea they're running 1895 Mauser geometry. That's not a knock — it's a compliment to how well Paul Mauser got it right the first time.

The part that doesn't get enough attention is the bolt handle. Straight handle instead of bent — slightly awkward at speed, but it gave you real leverage when a case had swollen in the chamber. In the mud of the Somme, that's not a minor detail. That's the difference between a rifle and a club.

What bolt-action do you run for hunting or precision work, and do you know whether it's controlled-round-feed or push-feed — and did that actually factor into your decision when you bought it?

Read the full article in The Handbook → | By The Boise Gun Club Team