Mauser 98k, first fire from the hip? Huh?!

K

Kimio

New member
While talking with a friend of mine from school, he mentioned that he went to the range over the weekend and fired an old WWII Mauser.

When I inquired about how it was, he said this.

"Well you fire from the hip for the first round to make sure it doesn't go off in your face. Once you put rounds into the clip and slap the bolt home, I'll tell you what. There's a reason the Germans almost won the war"

Now I don't know much about his familiarity with firearms, but the first part "Fire from the hip for the first round to make sure it doesn't go off" just rubs me the wrong way.

The only way I can see the round going off prematurely is if the rifle isn't properly head spaced or the firing pin is protruding further than it should. Even then, wouldn't it take a significant amount of force to detonate the primer? Either that, perhaps the trigger is worn and prematurely releases when going into battery?

What exactly is he trying to accomplish by doing something like this, it sounds terribly odd to me.
 
What exactly is he trying to accomplish by doing something like this, it sounds terribly odd to me.
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He's trying to show you what an idiot he is, and I think he did an outstanding job.
 
You know what I think happened. He went somewhere and someone offered him a chance to shoot their rifle and decided to see if they could make him look like an idiot. And they were successful.
 
fire from the hip for the first round to make sure it doesn't go off in your face
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Oh, I see, it's better if it shreds your liver that scratch up your face.:p
Once you put rounds into the clip
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Mauser 98s don't have clips.:p
The only way I can see the round going off prematurely is if the rifle isn't properly head spaced or the firing pin is protruding further than it should.
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Headspace has nothing to do with premature firing. And the firing pin does not protrude when you are closing the bolt.
"Covered all over with ignorance," seems to me.
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What he said.;)
 
If I'm concerned about safely firing a potentially unsafe rifle action -

I'll sand bag the action and pull the trigger with a long string! :D
 
Well, if the rifle fails and gases escape to the rear, or the bolt escapes to the rear I would prefer the rifle be at my hip rather than directly in front of my face. There is some logic in his advice even if I have not heard it before now.
 
I was under the impression that if there is something wrong with the bolt, the firing pin may protrude and potentially cause issues.

Guess I was mistaken.

As for knowing the difference between "clips" and "magazines" I was quoting exactly what he said. I wasn't in the mood to correct him on that because I was too baffled by the statement he gave.

Either way, I think proper inspection of the firearm prior to taking it to the range is the "Safest" way to prevent accidental discharges. Especially with surplus firearms.
 
Kimio,
Where is this guy located?
I'm in Utah too & would prefer to not be around when he's firing a Mauser from the hip.
Or even touching a gun at all.
Denis
 
I was under the impression that if there is something wrong with the bolt, the firing pin may protrude and potentially cause issues.
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On a Mauser (or any bolt action, really), the firing pin can not protrude forward of the bolt face until the bolt is in battery.
 
If you're worried about a catastrophic failure, then securing the gun in a rest and using a string to pull the trigger is a better idea.

Still better is to take the gun to a smith to see if the head spacing is right or any other safety problem.

But here's my question, what does the guy mean by first shot?
 
FWIW, it used to be fairly common practice to fire the first shot from a strange rifle holding it away from the face, either at arms length or at the hip. I am not sure it doesn't make sense; if something does go wrong, and a lot of high pressure gas comes out the wrong place, I don't want my face in its path.

Mausers don't have clips, in the meaning of detachable magazines, but all the Mausers from the 1889 through the 1898 were commonly loaded from clips, aka "stripper clips" or "chargers."

Jim
 
You guys make fun of his method, but I can definitely see how it makes sense. Heck, first time I fired my 1945 Garand, I held it away from my face. :eek:

I personally witnessed an OOB case head blowout. Guy rented an M1 carbine and he came into the range shop with a bloody face from high velocity powder. Fortunately he was wearing glasses.

Someone hands me an old milsurp they haven't fired yet, like hell if I'm gonna hold it up to my face.:cool:
 
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Doesn't make that much sense to me. :)
If it's gonna blow up, it can still shrapnel your face (just from underneath), or your torso side.
If it's gonna blow gas backward, it's designed to deflect & shouldn't be a huge facial hazard.
And so on.

Denis
 
a british mk4 firing pin can move foreward if the lock screw is missing. i bought a mk4 .303 brit that was missing the lock screw and after working the bolt several times the firing pin had moved foreward to protrude out the firing pin whole, when you tried to run a shell up out of the magizine the shell hit the firing pin jamming the rifle. eastbank.
 
He questioned the condition of the rifle and didnt want it near his face when pulling the trigger. As others said not a good practice but to someone who doesnt know it makes sense. If he is receptive to learning it might be a good opportunity to teach.
 
James K said:
FWIW, it used to be fairly common practice to fire the first shot from a strange rifle holding it away from the face, either at arms length or at the hip. I am not sure it doesn't make sense; if something does go wrong, and a lot of high pressure gas comes out the wrong place, I don't want my face in its path.
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I think another common practice with an unknown arm was to have someone else test fire it, which may be what the owner in this case did.

As for firing from the hip for safety, I note that I have some parts in that area of which I am still fond and hope to use again before I am planted.
 
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