The Mauser K98 is chambered for the 8MM Mauser centerfire cartridge while sharing an improved version of the same action that operates the Gewehr 84. In 1898, Waffenfabrik introduced the Mauser K98. The Mauser brothers understood that they needed to create a unique design that could handle the power of smokeless powder. By the late 1800s, centerfire cartridges filled with smokeless powder gained popularity. Early Mauser firearms were designed to fire black powder cartridges. The only problem with the Gewehr 84 is in the ammunition it fired. Minor improvements were made to the design giving the official designation of Gewehr 84. Germany officially adopted the Mauser M1871 in 1884. At Waffenfabrik Mauser, the brothers worked feverishly to design and manufacture revolutionary firearms while releasing the Mauser C78 (Zig Zag) in 1878. Instead, they opened their own manufacturing firm under the name Waffenfabrik Mauser. When Wilhelm and Paul Mauser returned home, they did not continue working at the Royal Weapons Forge. Prussia was the first nation to adopt the Mauser M1871 bolt-action rifle officially. It proved successful, and the Prussian military contracted the Mauser brothers to produce the new rifle as a Prussian state secret. They ventured to Prussia to sell the idea. In 1869, Wilhelm and Paul Mauser developed a new rotating bolt action. After working long hours with their father at the factory, the brothers often designed firearms on their own time.
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Each brother apprenticed under their father at the Royal Weapons Forge, also known as the Royal Wurttemberg Rifle Factory in Oberndorf, Germany. Wilhelm and Paul Mauser were no strangers to firearms' design, construction, and operation.