The powerful 7.92x57mm Mauser rifle cartridge, when coupled with a scoped Gew 43, made for an effective sniper weapon system. The weapon's self-loading action worked well as the operator did not need to operate a manual bolt mechanism to ready the next cartridge - he could simply could keep scanning the battlefield for available targets and fire repeatedly until his magazine ammunition supply was spent. The optical sighting scope was fitted to the upper rear of the receiver's end along two support points and all Gew 43 sniper rifles for the German Army were issued (when possible) in this simple modified fashion.
At any regard, the Gew 43 surpassed the original Gew 41. Attempts were constantly being made to simplify the production process with plastic, and even laminated wood, used in the furniture to replace valuable materials needed elsewhere in the German war effort. The latter months of the war saw Gew 43s leaving factories with some rather crude finishes due to haste. In 1944, the "Karabiner 43" was even brought online as a more simple form of the base Gew 43 design. Though designated as a carbine in name, the Karabiner 43 was only shorter than the original by some 2 inches to help make her a more portable weapon system. This version was further differentiated by its larger trigger guard.
When the war in Europe concluded in May of 1945, production of the Gew 43 still continued to some extent thereafter. The Czech Army became a notable post-war operator, admiring the system's usefulness particularly in the sniper role. In all, 402,713 Gew 43 rifles were produced - seemingly a large amount but a figure that did not truly reflect complete success for the gun. Comparatively, the American war-winning M1 Garand self-loading rifle saw production figures reach 6 million and even the Soviets managed 1.6 million units of their Tokarev SVT-40 semi-automatic rifles. With that said, at least fifty Garands were produced for every one Gew 43.
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