Can you give me any info about this H. Reichel, Graz gun?

[Nickolas M.]

The gun is light (about 2,4 kg). Caliber 12.
I haven't found much info about producer of this gun, H. Reichel. And I only know, that it's owner was from Ferlach, some noble from their castle.
I don't know, maybe someone knows anybody from their hunt museum, in Ferlach, to find more information about it's owner or history of this gun.
Ninety nine percent that it is a Second World War trophy.
The gun is not broken, but it is damaged by somebody, who was shooting bullets from it (trunk backlash is noticeable). And by rust, of course.
So it could be only used as a part of exhibition, my opinion. Or interesting for collector among relatives of it's owner (best of all).
Furthermore, for me it is difficult to find any information, because I'm Russian, don't know German language and live in Russia resp.
Will gladly receive your advices.
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[algmule]

Hello

Nickolas M,

Hugo Reichel, Büchsenmacher, Sackstraße 10, (1910 and in 1912). Ocassionally he is mentioned as Waffenfabrikant.

He seems to have been an avid participant in shooting contests (1901-1914).

I may have more on Hugo Reichel and if so I´ll be back.

EDIT: as Büchsenmacher in an Eröffnungs-Anzeige, May 1898, address Schörgelgasse Nr. 1/a and as Büchsenmacher in Sackstraße 16 in 1908 and 1909.

Kind regards
Peter

[Nickolas M.]

Interesting! Thanks!
I'll be happy for any additional info if it is found.
As I know, the weight of the gun is light. So maybe it was made for a woman or even for a child.
I almost don't know anything about marks on it. And numbers...
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[Nickolas M.]

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[mike ford]

Nickolas M.
You said the shotgun has been damaged, but from what I can see, this could be a nice gun, and if you hunt, you should enjoy it. A skilled renovation would make it really nice. The barrels seem to have been "parkerized", and would be better rust blued. Thankfully the engraving has not been destroyed by polishing with a "wheel", and the stock shows signs of nice figure hidden under the old finish. There is no doubt the gun was not chambered for the current standard 2 3/4"( 70mm); rather it would have been chambered for 2 5/8" (67mm) shells. The use of proper length shells, with light "field" loads will greatly tame the recoil. I hope you enjoy the gun.
Mike

[Nickolas M.]

But how to remove a trunk backlash? It is not awful, but it can be noticed. It is a result of bullet shooting, for sure.
Second, there are some caverns made by rust, inside the trunk. Our specialists in Saint Petersburg even say that it is maybe risky to use it.
Guys from our workshop said that backlash is impossible to remove if this gun was used by some idiot with bullets for hunting on elks... Sad, but true.
After weekend I'll make photos of caverns and upload them here.
What kind of renovation could be made in this case?

[Axel E]

As the proofhouse ledger numbers show, the gun was Nitro proofed by the Ferlach proofhouse in 1905. What do you try to describe as "trunk backlash"? This is no technical term known to me. Maybe another silly result of an internet translator? If you mean looseness of the action lockup, it is repairable by any competent gunsmith. Telling you otherwise merely shows the "competence" of your St.Petersburg "Experts". Have a look at this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Eqf...qnq6WG6cVuOfBg
Even severe looseness may be repaired by fitting a new, slightly larger hinge pin and fabricating a new underbolt.

[Nickolas M.]

If it is called looseness, it is it.
I don't know terms, sorry. But with simple words, if you hold in one hand this thing that google translates (I'm serious) as a butt of a gun, in your another hand you hold a trunk (google again) and then you try to stagger them, locked, in both dimensions, they move one against another. Stagger, a little. Slack??
If I correctly described, that gun was used with bullets. But it is forbidden with this gun, as written on it.
Caverns inside the "trunk" are the second problem.
And the last and the most interesting question - is it worth of renovation as one hundred years gun approximately? For me it is beautiful, but I'm not sure I can find qualified specialist.

[mike ford]

Nickolas M.
I also didn't understand what you mean by "trunk backlash", I thought you meant excessive recoil when using "slugs". That is why I mentioned using "field" loads instead. That is still good advice. Now that I understand better what your problem is, the repair described by Axel is precisely what is required. I have seen German gunsmiths make this repair several times, and we did it on one of my guns. It is not difficult, but requires skill and an understanding of the way each of the parts contributes to the lockup. A new larger hinge pin is installed moves the barrels backward, and they are re-fit, just as they were when new. German/Austrian guns usually have a hinge pin that can be removed. If you will notice, your gun has a threaded cover plate over the hinge pin (one on each side) with a small lock screw behind it. In form your gunsmith that the screws (including the cover plates) are likely marked on the inside end to indicate which side they came from. It is likely a line filed on the end, for one side, and nothing for the other side. It important that he re-install the screws in the same hole, to be sure the slots and engraving line up correctly. The "caverns" inside the "trunks" are likely understood here as "pits" in the "barrels", these can be cleaned up some by "honing" if care is taken to not remove too much metal. These were caused by using corrosive ammo; you should use modern non-corrosive ammo. If you can buy ammo with protective shot cups, a few pits in the barrels won't be so important. The internet translators, such as google, are very poor when translating technical terms and "terms of art". If you don't understand some of my terms, you should refer to a Russian/English dictionary. This would have more than one meaning for the term/word. One of them might be understandable to you. The " Nicht Fur Kugel" written on the gun means you must not use "full diameter" solid bullets, because the barrels are choked for shot. However "slugs"( called rifled slugs in the US) that are manufactured to pass through any choke will not harm the gun. I believe there are qualified gunsmiths in Russia, they may be "few and far between", but are there. There is another Russian member of this forum, maybe if he sees this, he can help you. I believe the gun is worth the renovation. Don't think "what it is", think "what it can be" if renovated by a qualified person. The best would be to have the work done in Germany, but I'm afraid I don't understand the Governmental complications with this.
Mike

[Diz]

Nickolas, Mike and Axel are quite correct about your shotgun but I must ask another question about the barrels being loose. Are they loose when it is open or closed? This is a very important difference and means a lot when trying to make the repair as far as how much work may be required. The same things are usually needed but may not be as extensive. It is a very nice looking shotgun. Thanks, Diz

[Nickolas M.]

Looseness being closed for sure. I can even make a small video of it, will try and upload it here!
Opened will check and write later.
How can I find that Russian member?.. Maybe someone know his name.
I'll try to find info about Governmental complications with renovation in Germany, but I suppose they are many!
Thank you, everybody, for your advices! It makes me feel optimistic about the gun, earlier I was thinking it is worthless.
Now I know some correct terms in English and understand the problem.

[Diz]

Nickolas M,

All is not lost with your shotgun even being loose when closed. As Mike mentioned a competent gunsmith could repair it without much trouble. I cannot say how you could contact a Russian member but perhaps one will read your posts and come in. Good luck with your project and keep us informed.

Thanks, Diz

[Axel E]

The forum Name of that other Russian member is MARAT. You may find his latest post here:
http://www.germanguns.com/upload/sho...many-postcards
Click on his name and send a personal message, PM.

[Nickolas M.]

Thank You for the link to Marat, but he is living so far from StP, that, I suppose, cannot help now.
Here are clips of looseness:
https://youtu.be/rdX5ogYRTOs
https://youtu.be/5Ra4Doyeeck

[Nickolas M.]

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