up to WW 1 the common designation for the 8x57I cartridge was "Mod. 88 8mm"
because it was the cartridge for the M88
the 7x57 Mauser was first chambered in the spanish Model 93 Mauser so the designation was Mod. 93 7mm
see it standing here under the cartridge illustration
so your rifle is chambered for THE Mod. 93. 7mm cartridge in a DWM made M 88 action
there is a thread for pics of M 88 sporters, please add some more of your rifle. http://forums.nitroexpress.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=188673&page=0&fpart=2&vc=1 the M 88 in 7x57 is rare so I suspect it was made for export to south africa because the cartridge was very popular there. is it still for the M 88 clip? I remember another M 88 sporter that was made for export to argentina and chambered for the 7,65x53Mauser.
-------------------- Norwegian hunter misses moose, shoots man on toilet
.
bringing civilisation to the barbarians
Imho this rifle was not made by DWM. It is merely chambered for the DWM made M93 7mm = 7x57 cartridge. As to cartridge dimensions not very much was standardised before WW1, so it was wise to mark exactly what cartridge make the rifle will certainly take, especially on rifles made for export.I have seen the same bolt handle shape on several post-1908 Haenel sporters on M88 and Haenel M1908 actions. Remember, these Haenel sporters were not built on surplus ex-military actions, but on new-made by Haenel M88 type ones, just as the M30 Remingtons were not surplus M17s.