The Ottomans eventually terminated this contract and made the switch to smokeless powder after accepting 270,000 of these rifles. This rifle was somewhat similar to the German Imperial Army Gew. 88, in that it had a charger loaded, 5 round, single stack internal magazine. However, this was completely a Mauser design. It was chambered for Mauser's new 7.65x53 smokeless powder cartridge. The Ottomans received 280,000 1890 rifles, the remainder of the 1887 contract.Īs soon as the Ottomans saw the Spanish Modelo of 1893, they placed an order for 201,00 rifles in the new configuration. Chambered for 7.65x53, it was virtually identical to the Spanish model, except for the magazine cutoff. Those that remained in Turkish hands were converted to 8mm in the 1930's.Īgain, the Ottomans kept pace with the German army and ordered new rifles in the pattern of the Gew. These were chambered for 7.65x53 and had a few other changes that kept the rifles similar to their previous purchases. These are intermediate length actions and a bit shorter than the standard 7.92, 98 action. This is a large ring small shank (LRSSM) rifle.

The straight bolt handle has a distinctive tear-drop shape. The rear receiver bridge will have a 'high hump' at the clip loading point. This hump was necessary to support the unique stripper clip used at the time. There was also two carbine versions of this rifle with 21.65 and 17.72 inch barrels. When converted to 8mm this is often called an 03/38.

The model names given to these classifications are likely to be factually incorrect. However, these are the current common names used in print and are usually what the importers are calling their rifles. The Turkish Republic updated their old rifles to a common configuration commonly know as the Model of 1938 and all in 8x57 Mauser.

Turkish mauser 1938