Repetirgewehr Modell 1889/96

Introduction

From the very beginning of its time in service, issues with the Ig. 89 were reported and widely-known. Chief among these was the extremely long bolt body, with its locking lugs placed right at the very rear. Colonel Schmidt, the original designer of the rifle, saw his creation as complete, and refused to refine it further. Thus, the head inspector at the Eidgenössische Waffenfabrik (W+F), Major Vogelsgang, assisted by a factory gunsmith by the name of Rebholz, endeavoured to develop an improved model. The layout, form, and mechanism of the rifle remained essentially unchanged from Schmidt's original design. However, the bolt sleeve was essentially reversed (along with the corresponding mortices in the receiver), to bring the locking lugs forward to the mid-point of the bolt. This minor redesign increased the strength of the action enormously, with the additional advantages of improved precision due to more consistent lock-up. 1896-action rifles can be easily distinguished at a glace from the preceding 1889 action by the placement of the lightening grooves on the top of the receiver: the rear-locking 1889 has them at the front (directly behind the loading/ejection port), whereas the centre-locking 1896 has them at the very rear of the receiver. The receiver itself is also marginally shorter, with the result that the gap between the magazine and trigger guard is smaller, the hole in the operating rod housing is further back, and the gap between the hole and the front of the housing is longer.

Fifty prototypes, converted from Ig. 89 actions, and serialised 1-50 underneath the rear sight, were delivered to the Federal Shooting School in Walenstadt, Canton St. Gallen, on 1st June 1895. Following extensive trials, the design was adopted for service and designated as the Repetirgewehr Modell 1889/96 [Repeating Rifle Model 1889/96]. It was put into serial production, with the serial number range picking up where the Ig. 89 had left off at 212001. Excluding the 50 prototypes, 137,000 rifles were produced, with the final batch receiving their final inspection on 8th May 1911. 

Nomenclature

As with the Ig. 89, the Ig. 89/96's designation would change over time. At the time of adoption, the old spelling of 'Repetirgewehr' was still in usage, being updated after 1901 due to orthographical reforms to 'Repetiergewehr'. In 1908, the Swiss Army reformed its terminology, and the type was redesignated as an 'Infanteriegewehr' [Infantry Rifle].

The correct abbreviated designation for the rifle is Ig. 89/96. As all of the salient points apply equally to both rifles, please see both the pages for the Ig. 89 and our overview of Swiss Army abbreviation conventions for a more in-depth look at the correct formation of abbreviations. 

Of note also is the fact that, although the format of '89/96' would typically suggest that the Ig. 89/96 was a conversion of the earlier Ig. 89, this is not the case. All Ig. 89/96s were built from scratch as such, and very few parts are compatible between the two types.

Serial Numbers and Dates of Production

We have created a tool to look up your rifle's serial number in the W+F purchase records, which you can find here!

Service History

Following its adoption as the standard service rifle of the Swiss Army in 1896, the Ig. 89/96 went into full-scale serial production. However, with most of the Army already well-stocked with Ig. 89s, and the new rifle offering only marginal improvements over the old, initial production in 1897-1898 was largely sent to stockpiles in the Federal Military Depots. From around 1899 onwards, the Cantonal Arsenals began issuing out Ig. 89/96s to new recruits, treating them as essentially interchangeable with the Ig. 89s already in stock. 

By 1907-1908, the Army was beginning to look at a new, higher-velocity cartridge which could take full advantage of the increased strength of the Ig. 89/96-style centre-locking action. With the eventual acceptance of a new rifle in 1911, Ig. 89/96 production came to a halt, although small deliveries of rifles held in the W+F depot's stockpiles would continue until 1914. A major project was then undertaken to bring all of the Ig. 89/96s in service back to the factory to be overhauled and converted into Ig. 96/11s, with soldiers being reissued with either Ig. 89s or Ig. 96/11s or 11s. This meant that the Ig. 89/96's service life was relatively short, with the conversion process being almost entirely completed by the end of 1916 (though a few small deliveries took place until 1920). The Ig. 89 action lacked the strength to handle the new GP11 cartridge and thus the early rifles were spared conversion, making them much more common on the collectors' market nowadays. In fact, so thorough were the Army and W+F that almost all surviving examples of the Ig. 89/96 in original configuration came from the few thousand rifles sold commercially on the civilian market. Some Ig. 96/11s have also been converted back into their earlier setup using Ig. 89 parts, but collectors should be aware that these conversions were done privately by gunsmiths or collectors and are not original. 

However, while the Ig. 89/96 itself did not last long, the Vogelsgang-Rebholz centre-locking action would live on in all models of Swiss straight-pull rifle produced until the Kar. 31's introduction in 1933. 

Technical Characteristics

Action: two lug, centre-locking straight-pull bolt action

Length: 1.3m (4'3.18")

Barrel length: 780mm

Unladen weight: 4.5kg (9.92lbs)

Calibre: 7.5x53.5mm Gewehrpatrone 90

Feed system: detachable 12-round double-stack, double-feed box magazine

Muzzle velocity: c. 590 m/s (approx. 1,935 fps)

Accessories

• Infantry-type leather sling (with buttons at both ends)

• Muzzle cap (brass, long type)

• Bayonet (Standard roles: Dolchbayonet Modell 1889 or 1899. Engineers/specialist roles: Vierkant-Stichbajonett Modell 1889/92 or Sägebajonett Modell 1906)

• Cleaning kit

Ammunition

The Ig. 89/96 was designed for the same 7.5x53.5mm Gewehrpatrone 1890 as the Ig. 89. This cartridge used a round-nosed, paper-patched, heeled lead bullet with steel cap, and used smokeless powder and a non-corrosive primer. The operating pressure of this early round was much lower than the later 7.5x55mm GP11, but, unlike the Ig. 89, the Ig. 89/96's action is more than strong enough to handle either cartridge. Nonetheless, it is inadvisable to fire GP11 through a GP90 barrel, as the shorter, faster bullet will not stabilise correctly and performance will be poor. 

If a collector encounters an Ig. 89/96 that is not from the Privat series of commercial rifles, it is most likely to have been down-converted from an Ig. 96/11, and thus will probably still have a GP11 barrel fitted. Where doubt exists, please seek expert advice before firing the rifle.