Mauser-Koka

Serbian Model 1878/80 (Mauser-Koka)
Serbian cadets with Mauser-Koka
Type	Service rifle
Place of origin	Kingdom of Serbia
Service history
In service	1881–1918
Used by	Kingdom of Serbia
Wars	Serbo-Bulgarian War Balkan Wars World War I (limited) World War II (limited)
Production history
Designer	Mauser
Designed	1871, 1880
Manufacturer	Mauser, Zastava Arms
Variants	Mauser-Koka-Đurić
Specifications
Mass	4.5 kg (9.92 lbs)
Length	1350 mm (53.15 in)
Barrel length	855 mm (33.66 in)
Cartridge	10.15×63 mm
Caliber	.43
Action	Bolt action
Muzzle velocity	1,680 feet per second (510 m/s)
Feed system	Single-shot
Sights	Iron sights

In 1880, Serbian Major Kosta "Koka" Milovanović (Коста "Кока" Миловановић) developed an updated version of the Mauser Model 1871, still single-shot, but chambered in its unique 10.15×63R caliber. It had unique additions in that it had a bolt guide (much like the M1870 Italian Vetterli) and the "progressive rifling" that was developed by Koka. The Kingdom of Serbia adopted the rifle in 1880.^[1] It was designated Serbian Model 1878/80, also known as Mauser-Koka, Mauser-Milovanović,^[2] and known in Serbian as Kokinka (Кокинка). The grooves reduced in diameter from breech to muzzle. The muzzle velocity of the Mauser-Milanović was 1,680 feet per second (510 m/s). It saw first combat in the Serbo-Bulgarian War. Approximately 110,000 Mauser-Milovanović rifles entered the Serbian arsenal. It was further developed in 1907.

The Mauser Model 1884 "Artillery Carbine" was produced in 1884 in 4,000 units at the Oberndorf plant for the use of the Serbian cavalry.^[3] It was based on the M71/84 and had a five-round tubular magazine.^[3] In the late 1930s, all remaining Model 1884 carbines were converted to the 1870s vintage 13.78mm "LAK" cartridge, which was in good supply in Yugoslav Army depots.^[4]

Starting 1907, about half of the Mauser-Koka inventory was converted in Kragujevac to shoot the 7×57mm from a 5-shot magazine; the new barrels were purchased from Steyr. Both the old and new guns (designated M80/07) saw action in the Balkan Wars and World War I. The converted M80/07 are often referred to as "Đurić Mausers" (Ђурић-Маузер).^[5] The M80/07 C rifles captured from the Royal Yugoslav Army by the Nazi Germany during the World War II were designated Gewehr 223 (j).^[6]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mauser-Koka.

• Serbian Model 1899^[7]
• Serbian Model 1908^[8]
• Serbian Model 1910^[9]
• Yugoslavian Model 90^[10]
• Yugoslavian Model 03^[10]
• Yugoslavian Model 24^[11]
• Yugoslavian Model 24CK^[12]
• Yugoslavian Model 24 Carbine^[13]

• Ball, Robert W.D. (2 August 2011). Mauser Military Rifles of the World. Gun Digest Books. pp. 311–314. ISBN 978-1-4402-1544-5.
• John Sheehan, 1 of 110,000. The Serbian M78/80 is one of the Rarest of Mauser Rifles", Guns magazine, May 2012, pp. 36-39
• Viktor Kovačević (August 1998). "KOKA POPRAVLJA MAUZERA". Srpsko nasleđe, Istorijske sveske, broj 8 (in Serbian). NIP „GLAS“. Archived from the original on 22 August 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2015.