I did not know it at the time but it seems my last purchase is rather a rare bird due to its historical significance. According to info. provided by "kuduae" it seems these rifle where the first modern scoped rifles to be used as sniper rifles by the German army from 1914 to 1916. In 1916 these where replaced by a "regular" Mauser sniper rifle, the scopes and mounts were removed from the Commercial sporter and used on the Military 98. There were some 4700 such rifles, only 3 have resurfaced to date.
Some details - Oberndorf Commercial action with integral DSTs mfg. early 1912. Had claw mounts at one time. Kelber barrel in 8x57, half octagon to round with an integral rib & front sight. Unfortunately / fortunately the entire gun has been refinished but IMHO this does not lessen the historical significance. I have some pics. but need a volunteer to post them. --- John Can.
