First supplied by the Ludwig Loewe & Co during 1895-1896 then later by the DWM, the Mauser model 1895 first made its appearance during a small arms race between Argentina and Chile in 1896 and 1898. In this period, over 80,000 Model 1895 rifles and 30,000 Model 1895 carbines were shipped and deployed to the Chilean army. The Model 1895 was also deployed to republic of the Orange Free State and the South African Republic by DWM shortly after the Jameson Raid in December 1895 to deal with the shortage of modern magazine fed rifles for the state army. Roughly 50,000 Mauser rifles were ordered but only 37,000 were delivered because DWM diverted them to fulfill their contract with the Chilean army. Due to many rifles being diverted to Chile, many of the rifles in that country bore the inscription “O.V.S”, Orange Free State. The Model 1895 brought to the “Transvaal” was also known as "Boer Model" Mauser and were marked “O.V.S” just above the serial number accompanied by MOD.MAUSER and the date of the manufacturer. Because of this issue, a misunderstanding occurred regarding the identification between the Model 1896 and Model 1897. At the time, an Afrikaans farmer could purchase a Mauser Model 1895 at a price of £3, another variant known in Afrikaans as Plezier Mauser was sold slightly above cost by the respective governments and private dealers for sport and private use. These rifles varied in stock style, barrel, sight lines and ornamentation. Some of the last rifles delivered by DWM were equipped with turned down bolt handles which made them suitable for the South African farmers on horseback. Work on the manufacturing of the Mauser Model 1895 was halted in 1899 by the Second Boer War. The Mauser Model 1895 also saw service in Mexico, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Iran, El Salvador and Honduras. Mauser Model 1895 rifles and carbines were the standard weapons of the various Mexican armies during the Mexican Revolution while the Paraguayan rifles saw combat during the Chaco War.
Design
The Mauser Model 1895 is a modification of the Mauser Model 1893. The flush-mounted staggered columnbox magazine has a capacity of 5 smokeless powder 7×57mm Mauser cartridges. The magazine can be loaded from a stripper clip, or with individual rounds. The stock has a straight wrist and a handguard which stretches from the receiver ring to the lower barrel band. The upper band has a lug for the Model 1895 bayonet. The Model 1895 differed from the Mauser Model 1893 with regards to the bolt face. The bolt face used in the Mauser Model 1893 was square whereas the Model 1895's was cylindrical, this is due to the fact that the square face was unnecessary for reliable feeding. In addition, the Model 1895 had an auxiliary shoulder behind the bolt handle in order to provide additional locking in case of bolt failure. Another major modification regarding the Model 1895 to the Model 1893 was the magazine follower, the tail of which was rounded so that the bolt could be closed on an empty chamber The Mauser Model 1895 iron sight line had an open post type front sight, and a tangent-type rear sight with a rear notch. These standard sight lines consisted of somewhat coarse aiming elements making it suitable for rough field handling, aiming at distant area fire targets and low light usage, but less suitable for precise aiming at distant or small point targets. The rear tangent sight was graduated for 1893 pattern 7×57mm Mauser cartridges loaded with a long round-nosed bullet from in increments.
Variants
Model 1895 Short Rifle
Also known as the mosqueton, the Short Rifle is a slightly longer version of the carbine with an overall length of, a barrel and a rear sight. The only other modifications are a bent bolt handle and sling swivels on the left side of the barrel band and stock.
Model 1895 Carbine
Also known as the Carabina Mauser Chilena Modelo 1895, this shortened variant was primarily designed for cavalry and artillery. This model is similar in design to the Mauser Model 1895 except for the fact that it is smaller. It is only long with an barrel. It was also closely related to the short rifle except that the sling swivels are on the left side of the barrel band and on the stock behind the wrist. It also has the same modified form of the bent bolt handle as the short rifle.
Serbian M1899
The Serbian Mauser M1899 in 7×57mm is a variant of the M95, it was produced by Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken from 1899 to 1906 and later by Œ.W.G. in Steyr from 1906 to 1910. Depending on the slight modifications during the production, they were designated M1899, M1899/07 and M1899/08. 10,000 carbines, designated M1889/08 or M1908 were also delivered by Steyr. They were the most modern rifles of the Serbian Army during the Balkan Wars and World War I. Yugoslav used them as Puska 7 mm M 99 and Karabini 7 mm M 8 C. Before World War II, the M1899 long rifle was shortened and rechambered in 7.92×57mm to resemble the M24B short rifle. This version was designated Puska 7,9 mm M 99 C. The rifles captured by Nazi Germany were designated Gewehr 222 , Karabiner 421 and Gewehr 291/4 .
