German Guns and Others

[MichaelZWilliamson]

The Rack of Doom

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From the top:
Cape gun, German, about 1800, converted to percussion, .61 nominal caliber.
Mortimer, Edinburgh, about 1840, damascus percussion 12 gauge.
W&C Scott & Sons, London, 1873-1880, damascus 10 gauge. Has the patent number for the tumbler latch they invented.
Henri Pieper, Liege, 1883, machine forged laminated 10 gauge, Has the patent for the barrel monobloc they invented.
Williams and Powell, Liverpool, about 1880, rebarreled in steel in the 1950s, 12 gauge.
Westley Richards, London, 1879, damascus 12 gauge. Anson and Deeley patented boxlock, with a barely 4 digit license number.
Haenel Grade 2 sporter conversion of the Gew 88, 8X57 Mauser, double set triggers.
Drilling, Thieme & Schlegelmilch made for Robert Faller, 1912-1915. 16 gauge over 8X58R Sauer.
Luciano Rota, Noboli, Brescia, Italy, about 1965. 12 gauge.

[sharps4590]

Nice collection!!!

[Diz]

That is a nice collection. Do you shoot them? Diz

[MichaelZWilliamson]

Everything is shootable, and I just acquired another cape gun from about 1853-1860. The seller thought it was German and it certainly is styled that way, but it's Belgian proofed and the text on the rib means it was marketed for the UK or US.

The Haenel is lovely to shoot, and the double set triggers break at 2 lbs and 2 oz respectively. It's insanely accurate.

[sharps4590]

I have a Haenel/Rasch on the same action as yours except the magazine is not like yours and it's in 9 X 57. As with yours, it is simply a delightful rifle. I don't know that mine is "insanely" accurate but it will cloverleaf every shot after the first from a cold barrel.

I also have a Thieme & Schlegelmilch drilling except that mine has the rifle barrel about 4 inches shorter than the shotgun tubes and is in the proprietary 9.3 X 74R Nimrod. I installed a Sempert-Krieghoff einstecklauf in 22 LR in the right shotgun barrel. For woods loafing that is the firearm I grab most often.

[MichaelZWilliamson]

That drilling sounds interesting, Sharps.

Haenel made these in four grades. I have pics of the catalog pages. This is grade 2. A 4 has full engraving and a full length stock.

[sharps4590]

As I mentioned, mine is a Haenel/Rasch and has a completely different magazine from yours. My magazine looks typically Mauser from the outside except for the release and the folllower. Both are completely different from the Mauser. I don't know if that means mine isn't of the Haenel series or what. I suspect it isn't so it wouldn't fall within one of the 1-4 grades you mentioned. Axel had me straight at one time but, I've slept since then.

[mike ford]

Vic,
Your rifle is one of the "improved" Haenels, if I remember correctly a Mod.1900. The one in this thread is a Mod.88. The Mauser patents were still in force and the "improvements" were intended to avoid these patents. Mauser had a patent on the common(today) W spring that powered the follower. This is why the "improved" models( both 1900 and 1909) use a system of levers and flat springs to power the follower, allowing a "flush" magazine, without violating the patent. Axel has written a couple of good explanations of the "improvements" and the "whys" for them. I recommend new members look them up for interesting reading.
Mike

[sharps4590]

Ahhh, yes, 1900. Somehow I got it in my head it was 1890. I remembered Axel explained the why's and wherefore's of the different magazine and I did remember it had to do with the Mauser patent. It is assuredly a clever magazine and follower and I've shown it to several friends locally. All were impressed and said they had seen nothing like it. I hadn't either. Given my limited experience with it I think I like it better than the Mauser "W" spring. Especially the way it shucks the cartridges in the magazine when you open it all the way and it cams down the follower. There's no fiddling to get it back in the magazine well either, just close the floor plate. The latch is so positive I don't believe a 460 Weatherby could shake it loose. However, it can't be inexpensive to manufacture

The drilling I mentioned. Yes sir, it is interesting. It is stamped as 9.3 X 74 1/2 in its proof. I had a devil of a time making brass for it and never would have figured it out had Mike not come to my rescue. I ended up taking a Lee 38-55 sizing die, removing the decapping pin and grinding out the threads so the entire case would fit through. Then I had to anneal the case body so it wouldn't split when I sized it down. After that it was mostly fairly straightforward. Axel discovered what the cartridge was and even had a few, I think in a box of goodies he bought somewhere. I worked up a load, wrote it up, submitted it to COTW and they published it.