Karabiner 98k (Sniper)
- Category
- Sniper Rifle
- Barrel
- 600 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.10 kg
- Introduced
- 1935
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Karabiner 98k sniper variant was the standard German sniper rifle of World War II, selected from standard K98k production for superior accuracy and fitted with various telescopic sights including the ZF39, ZF41, and ZF4. Approximately 132,000 scoped K98k rifles were produced during the war, serving on all fronts from Stalingrad to Normandy. The Mauser action's legendary strength and reliability, combined with the powerful 7.92x57mm cartridge, made it one of the most effective sniper weapons of the conflict.
Matthäus Hetzenauer of the Wehrmacht's Gebirgsjäger (mountain troops) recorded 345 confirmed kills on the Eastern Front using a K98k fitted with a 6x ZF39 scope, with his longest confirmed shot at 1,100 meters. Josef 'Sepp' Allerberger, another Austrian Gebirgsjäger, achieved 257 confirmed kills with the same rifle type. Both were awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for their service.
German sniper rifles used a variety of commercial and military scopes, with the most common being the Zeiss Zielvier 4x (ZF39) and the shorter-range ZF41 1.5x scope. The ZF41 was controversial as its low magnification made it more of a sharpshooter's aid than a true sniper scope. Late-war production saw increasing use of the ZF4 scope, a copy of the Soviet PU scope. German snipers were trained at specialized schools and were required to demonstrate consistent accuracy at ranges exceeding 600 meters. The K98k sniper rifles were hand-selected from production lines, test-fired for groupings, and only rifles capable of sub-2 MOA accuracy were accepted for scope mounting.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Mauser
- Category
- Sniper Rifle
- Country
- Germany
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1935 to 1945
- Variant of
- Sniper
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 600 mm
- Overall length
- 1110 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.10 kg
- Weight, loaded
- 4.40 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Bolt action
- Firing mechanism
- Striker fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Trigger pull
- 25.0 N
- Capacity
- 5
- Magazine
- Internal
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 760 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 3700 J
- Effective range
- 800 m
- Maximum range
- 2000 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Telescopic sight mount
Hand selected barrel
Controlled round feed
Mauser claw extractor
Iron sights retained
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 430 sniper rifles | 4.10 kg | 5.40 kg | Lighter than about 80% |
| Overall lengthAmong 429 sniper rifles | 1110 mm | 1150 mm | Shorter than about 70% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 434 sniper rifles | 600 mm | 620 mm | Shorter than about 70% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 434 sniper rifles | 5 | 6 | Holds fewer rounds than about 70% |
Answers
Questions about the Karabiner 98k (Sniper)
How much does the Karabiner 98k (Sniper) weigh?
The Karabiner 98k (Sniper) weighs 4.10 kg (9.04 lb) empty and 4.40 kg (9.70 lb) loaded.
What caliber is the Karabiner 98k (Sniper)?
The Karabiner 98k (Sniper) is chambered in 7.92x57mm Mauser.
How many rounds does the Karabiner 98k (Sniper) hold?
The Karabiner 98k (Sniper) holds 5 rounds, fed from an internal magazine.
How long is the Karabiner 98k (Sniper)?
The Karabiner 98k (Sniper) is 1110 mm (43.7 in) long overall, with a 600 mm (23.6 in) barrel.
Who makes the Karabiner 98k (Sniper)?
The Karabiner 98k (Sniper) is made by Mauser (Germany). It was designed by Paul Mauser / Mauser Werke.
When was the Karabiner 98k (Sniper) introduced?
The Karabiner 98k (Sniper) was introduced in 1935 and discontinued in 1945.
How does the Karabiner 98k (Sniper) operate?
The Karabiner 98k (Sniper) uses a bolt action, and its firing mechanism is striker fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Wehrmacht
- 1935
- Waffen-SS
- 1935
- Norwegian Armed Forces
- 1945
- Israeli Defense Forces
- 1948
Provenance
Confidence in this record
87%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/karabiner-98k-sniper' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "karabiner-98k-sniper", "name": "Karabiner 98k (Sniper)", "manufacturer": { "id": "mauser", "name": "Mauser", "countryCode": "DE", "foundedYear": 1874, "website": "https://www.mauser.com", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:38", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:40:45", "version": "ebf488347439c6088bd29deb6dd22bcc1ca8215e5042f489f4bf5cbea07e3307" }, "category": { "id": "sniper-rifle", "name": "Sniper Rifle", "description": "Precision rifles optimized for long-range accuracy" }, "country_of_origin": "DE", "year_introduced": 1935, "barrel_length_mm": 600, "weight_empty_g": 4100, "action_type": "bolt_action"}