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1931 ankara 8mm

rob460rob460 Member Posts: 3 ✭✭
edited April 2011 in Ask the Experts
this gun came into my collection awhile back & I slugged the bore & its .323. However it does not feed 8mm rounds from the mag. Do you need a clip? I had thought this was an old gew 88 commission rifle when I purchased it.
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  • jonkjonk Member Posts: 10,121
    edited November -1
    Well it is Turkish of some description. It may be a variety of things. Quick question- does the mag protrude from the bottom of the gun? If so you have an 88 or a converted 88 (known as the 88/05/35). I've never seen a Turkish 88 with the Ankara stamp if it hadn't been reworked to the 88/05/38 spec. But the Turks were great scroungers, could be. Does it have a barrel jacket? If no mag is protruding it could be a 93 or 03 model, both were reworked to 8mm. If it has a 93 style bolt with dual opposed front locking lugs and no safety lug, it's a 93. If it has a rear safety lug and a 98 action, it's an 03.

    However, unless someone replaced the mag with an original Gew.88 mag, it should have the conversion to allow rounds to feed without the clip, or else be made from day 1 to require no clip (93 or 03).

    Where's the hangup occurring? Won't the rounds stay in the mag, won't they feed, or won't they chamber?

    Some links:
    88/05/38: http://www.texastradingpost.com/m88/turkconversion.html
    Regular 88: http://www.texastradingpost.com/m88/
    93: http://www.turkmauser.com/93/
    03: http://www.turkmauser.com/03/

    Be aware that even with a .323" bore, if you have an 88 action you shouldn't shoot full power 8mm surplus out of it. US commercial ammo is generally loaded on the light side in deference to the possibility someone might shoot it out of an 88 action. Handloads would also be fine. The 93 is also a bit on the weak side- I shoot some surplus out of mine- notably Romanian as it is fairly mild- but wouldn't feed it a steady diet of Turkish surplus. The 03 as a large ring 98 action can handle anything, assuming of course it's in good shape and headspaces well.

    Pics would help but I think the links I gave will help you determine what you have.
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  • rufe-snowrufe-snow Member Posts: 18,650 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    You might have a fairly rare rifle, if it's marked 1931? Can't find any reference to that marking in my references. With a .323 bore it sounds like a reworked commission rifle. The original 88 commission rifles with .317 bores used enbloc clips, rather then the later stripper clips. It's always possible that it was one the odd balls that fell through a crack and the magazine was never converted for strippers? See if you can get your hands on one of the original commission rifle enbloc clips to verify this theory?
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  • rob460rob460 Member Posts: 3 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Thanks for all of your answers. I was mistaken on the year it is a 1937 not 31. This has a protruding mag & will accept a stripper clip but the "commission" clip is to large to fit into mag well. This gun has ASTCFA over a crescent moon with a star in it.
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  • rufe-snowrufe-snow Member Posts: 18,650 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by rob460
    Thanks for all of your answers. I was mistaken on the year it is a 1937 not 31. This has a protruding mag & will accept a stripper clip but the "commission" clip is to large to fit into mag well. This gun has ASTCFA over a crescent moon with a star in it.



    If it's been converted and won't accept the commission rifle enbloc clip, it sounds like either the follower or mag spring is defective.
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