Peter Paul Mauser was born in Oberndorff, Neckar, in 1838. Working with his brother Wilhelm Mauser (1834-1882), he developed the needle gun that was adopted by the German Army in 1871.

In 1897 Mauser produced the Mauser Gewehr magazine-rifle. It was Germany's answer to the French Lebel M1888. It has been claimed that it was the most successful bolt-action rifle ever designed. Peter Paul Mauser died in 1914.