#7.92x57mm

Photo Of The Day and today we go full auto in a rare rare caliber and firearm. Rare is of course a relative term, as over 43,000 units of this light machine gun were produced. For practical reasons, I think I’d prefer my BREN in 7.62×51mm NATO, how about you?

In today’s Photos Of The Day we are taking a look at a WWII German Mauser K98 sniper rifle. The Mauser K98 became the standard service rifle of the German Army in 1935. Chambered in 7.92×57mm Mauser they seem to have a possible effective range of over 1,000 meters if equipped with a telescopic sight, and about half of that with iron sights.

World War II, as well known, marked the actual in-combat debut of semi-automatic rifles by the main nations involved, such as the United States (with the .30-06 M1 Garand), the Soviet Union (the 7.62x54Rmm SVT-40), and Germany (the 7.92x57mm G43/K43). The deep influence of the subsequent 7.92x33mm MP43/MP44/StG44 family on the post-war “assault rifle” design concept is equally well recognized. But it was the earlier Gewehr 43 that eventually caught the attention of Brazil as a possible way of locally manufacturing a semi-auto rifle for its armed forces, the Brazilian G43.