Mauser Model 71/84

About the Mauser Model 71/84

The Mauser Model 71/84 (Gewehr 71/84) was a German bolt-action repeating rifle and the first repeater adopted as standard issue by the Imperial German Army. It improved on the single-shot Model 1871 by adding an under-barrel tubular magazine holding eight rounds of the 11x60mmR Mauser black-powder cartridge, fed by a Kropatschek-style mechanism. It served as Germany's principal service rifle until superseded by the smokeless-powder Gewehr 88.

The 71/84 was Germany's first standard-issue magazine repeater, briefly giving the Imperial Army a firepower edge before the rapid arrival of smokeless powder made its black-powder cartridge obsolete almost as soon as it was fielded.

Mauser Model 71/84 specifications

Designed by Paul Mauser as an evolution of the Model 1871, it retained the proven Mauser turn-bolt action while adding the tube magazine. A magazine cutoff allowed single loading while keeping the tube in reserve. Many were later relegated to reserve, naval, and colonial use after the Gewehr 88 entered service.