Wiesbaden Rod & Gun records?

[Themauserkid]

I just bought one of the fairly numerous rifles from the Wiesbaden Rod & Gun club and I’m wondering if anyone is aware of any records retained, perhaps when Dietrich Apel came to the US?

[mike ford]

Records, that far back, of the Wiesbaden Rod & Gun Club ( indeed of any of the clubs) are likely no longer existing. Rod & Gun club were Non-appropiated Fund Activities and when disbanded, the records were not likely treated as official records. If they do exist, you might find them included with US Army Europe and 7th Army, Morale and Welfare Office records. There are several articles about Dietrich ( some written by himself) included in GGCA publications ( WAIDMANNSHEIL and Der WAFFENSCHMIED), copies of which may be available from the "home office" for a small fee. You should be able to find about when he came to the US and when he worked at Wiesbaden. In any case, you will likely find the story of his life interesting.
Mike

[Themauserkid]

Thanks for the information Mike, that is interesting, I will go ahead and order what I can get on him. Many or most of these rifles I see have Wiesbaden marked buttpads, this one is a Dschulnigg gun from Salzburg and then I presume retailer marked to Waffen Reich in Darmstadt. I’m trying to figure the schematics of this, I presume purchased/ordered through the Rod & Gun Club from the retailer, who then got it from Austria.

[Themauserkid]

Or does it seem more likely that the scope was simply purchased from this retailer?

[algmule]

Hello

Waffen-Reich, Darmstadt, is Alfred Reich, B?chsenmachermeister, Saalbaustra?e 35.

Peter

[mike ford]

Recoil pads and scopes were most often "after market" items. At one time Dschulnigg was very supportive of Rod & Gun Clubs in Europe, which were a pretty good customer source for then. A late friend (stationed in France at the time) won a MS rifle through some competition or drawing at the annual Rod & Gun Club convention. Dschulnigg had donated it , which is a good sign of their support and at the same time good advertisement for them. The scope could have been purchased from Waffen Reich , but such a purchase alone usually would not result in the scope being marked by them. More than likely Waffen Reich mounted the scope in claw mounts with soldered on half rings for a service member stationed in or near Darmstadt. To do this they would have taken the scope apart, soldered the rings on, reblued the scope tube ( which would have given a chance to engrave it w/o damage) and reassembled it. The recoil pad could have been mounted at Wiesbaden or purchased there for mounting somewhere else. At this point, it cannot be determined precisely what happened, unless you could speak to the person that had the work done.
Mike

[Themauserkid]

The engraving does look more German to me than Austrian, and the engraving on the rings matches the whole rifle so it may have been engraved there. It looks like most Waffen Reich guns are signed on the action somewhere typically but that may not always be the case. I’ll take some pictures when I return home.

[mike ford]

Look under the barrel, when you take the rifle apart, you may find either their name or touchmark.
Mike

[Themauserkid]

It’s a 1955 stutzen, marked on the barrel to Dschulnigg, I havent taken it apart, the screws are still all indexed, maybe one of these days I will.