The controlled-feed bolt-action of the Gewehr 98 is a distinct feature and is regarded as one of the major bolt-action system designs. The Gewehr 98 has two sling swivels, open front sights, and a curved tangent-type rear sight, known as the Lange Visier. It has a 740 mm (29 in) long rifled barrel and carries 5 rounds ammunition in an internal magazine. The Gewehr 98 or model 98 (M98) rifle is a manually operated, magazine fed, controlled-feed bolt-action rifle, 1,250 mm (49 in) in length and 4.09 kg (9 lb) in weight. Since the new IS cartridge had a flatter trajectory the Lange Visier rear sight had to be changed with an "S"-adapted Lange Visier. This was done since the 1888 pattern M/88 cartridge and 1905 S-bore pattern cartridge are two different non interchangeable chamberings. The ammunition conversion was indicated by a small "S" stamped above the chamber and on the barrel at the back of the rear sight base. In 1905, the 8 mm M/88 cartridge which was introduced in 1888 and loaded with an 8.08 mm (.318 in) 14.6 g (226 gr) round nose bullet was replaced by the 7.92×57mm Mauser which was loaded with a new 8.20 mm (.323 in) 9.9 g (154 gr) spitzer bullet.
In 1904, contracts were placed with Waffenfabrik Mauser for 290,000 rifles and Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM) for 210,000 rifles. The first combat use of the Gewehr 98 was during the Boxer Rebellion (1898–1901).
In 1901, the first troop issues of the Gewehr 98 Rifles were made to the East Asian Expeditionary Force, the Navy and three premier Prussian army corps.
The action was derived from the experimental Gewehr 96 Rifle. The German Gewehr-Prüfungskommission ( G.P.K.) (Rifle Testing Commission) adopted the Gewehr 98 on 5 April 1898. The Gewehr 98 itself was the latest in a line of Mauser rifles that were introduced in the 1890s. The bolt-action design used for the Gewehr 98 was patented by Paul Mauser on 9 September 1895. The Gewehr 98, named for 1898, the first year of its manufacture, superseded the earlier Gewehr 1888 in German service. Many have been converted to sporting use. The Gewehr 98 saw further military use by the Ottoman Empire and Francoist Spain. The Gewehr 98 replaced the earlier Gewehr 1888 rifle as the German service rifle, first saw combat in the Boxer Rebellion, and was the main German infantry rifle of World War I. The Gewehr 98 action, using stripper clip loading with the powerful 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge, introduced advanced infantry weapon features rapidly adopted in the Anglo-American Pattern 1914 Enfield/ M1917 Enfield and the Japanese Arisaka Type 38/ Type 99. The Gewehr 98 (abbreviated G98, Gew 98 or M98) is a German bolt-action Mauser rifle firing cartridges from a 5-round internal clip-loaded magazine that was the German service rifle from 1898 to 1935, when it was replaced by the Karabiner 98k. Schilling Co., Simson, Imperial Arsenals of Amberg, Danzig, Erfurt, Leipzig, and SpandauĤ.09 kg (9.0 lb) with empty magazine Gewehr 98Ĩ78 m/s (2,881 ft/s) with 1905 pattern 9.9 g (154 gr) ball ammunitionĥ round stripper clips in an internal box magazine Mauser, Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken, Haenel, Sauer & Sohn, Waffenwerke Oberspree, V. From the collections of the Swedish Army Museum Gewehr 98 in mint condition, made in 1898.