K98k Identification Guide: Codes, WaA & Marks
This K98k identification guide is a plain walk-through for the standard German infantry Karabiner 98k. How to read manufacturer codes, year, Waffenamt (WaA) stamps, and serials — and how to spot the common postwar stories (Russian Capture, Yugo rebuilds, US importer marks). Cousins get short callouts. Sniper rails and the G33/40 wait for a later […]
Colt SP1 AR-15 Rifle
1971 Colt SP1 AR-15, full left-side profile. Photo property of Eisel Armory. The Colt SP1 was the AR-15 that brought Eugene Stoner’s rifle design to American civilian gun owners. Colt introduced the commercial SP1 in spring 1964 (Model R6000 / AR-15 Sporter), chambered in .223 Remington, as the semi-automatic commercial counterpart to the M16 the […]
German G.29(ö) Mauser Rifle
A Steyr-manufactured G.29(ö) Mauser rifle, built for German Luftwaffe service in 1938-1939. Photo property of Eisel Armory. In the final years before World War II, Austria’s Steyr arms works supplied Germany’s Luftwaffe with a stopgap rifle known today as the G.29(ö) — chambered in 7.92×57mm Mauser and built between roughly 1938 and 1939, just before […]
Portuguese Model 1937 (M/937) Mauser Rifle
Full-length right side view of a Portuguese Model 1937 M/937 Mauser rifle. Photo property of Eisel Armory. The Portuguese Model 1937, known simply as the M/937, was adopted as Portugal’s standard infantry rifle in 1937, chambered for the 7.92x57mm Mauser cartridge — the same round used by Germany’s own service rifles of the era. Built […]
US Model 1896 Krag Carbine
A Cavalry Carbine from the Spanish-American War Era US Model 1896 Krag Carbine, full right-side profile. Photo property of Eisel Armory. Adopted by the U.S. Army in 1896 as a shortened, cavalry-length version of the standard Krag-Jørgensen rifle, the Krag Carbine was chambered in .30-40 Krag, America’s first smokeless-powder military cartridge. It served through the […]
German Model 1917 Stick Grenade (Stielhandgranate)
The ‘Potato Masher’ of the Trenches Full-length view of an original Imperial German Model 1917 stick grenade (Stielhandgranate). Photo property of Eisel Armory. Introduced during the First World War, the German Model 1917 stick grenade — officially the Stielhandgranate, or “stick hand grenade” — became one of the war’s most recognizable infantry weapons. Its long […]
German MP 40 Submachine Gun
Germany’s Wartime Standard Submachine Gun A genuine WWII-era German MP 40 parts kit, disassembled. Photo property of Eisel Armory. Adopted by the German Wehrmacht beginning in 1940, the MP 40 became the standard submachine gun issued to squad leaders, NCOs, paratroopers, and armored vehicle crews throughout World War II. Chambered in 9mm Parabellum and fed […]
German Karabiner 98k (K98k) Rifle
A Wehrmacht Standard Through World War II Karabiner 98k rifle, right-side profile. Photo property of Eisel Armory. Adopted by the German Army in 1935, the Karabiner 98k was a bolt-action service rifle chambered in 7.92×57mm Mauser. It became the standard infantry rifle of the Wehrmacht through World War II, serving on every front the German […]
German Gewehr 43 (G43) Rifle
Germany’s Late-War Answer to the Semi-Automatic Rifle Race Right side profile of a Walther-produced G43 semi-automatic rifle, chambered in 7.92×57mm Mauser. Photo property of Eisel Armory. Adopted by Germany in 1943, the Gewehr 43 (G43) was a semi-automatic service rifle chambered in the same 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge already used by the Karabiner 98k. It was […]
Ottoman Turkish Model 1903 Mauser Rifle
Germany’s Rifle for an Empire at War Right side profile of an Ottoman Model 1903 Mauser rifle. Photo property of Eisel Armory. Adopted by the Ottoman Empire in 1903, this Mauser bolt-action rifle brought the stronger, more modern Gewehr 98 action into Ottoman service while keeping the empire’s existing 7.65×53mm cartridge already in the field. […]