Franz Merkel Drilling

[norsk]

I was fortunate to find this drilling (my first!) at a recent gun show. It’s marked Franz Merkel, Zella-Mehlis on the barrel rib and frame. Barrels are 600mm long, chambered 16 x 16 x 7 X 57R. Proof marks show the Zella Mehlis fir-tree-inside-a-heart, a February 1941 proof date, and the Eagle/N nitro proof. Also, the rifle barrel, locking lug, and breech face have the Udo Anschutz trademark. I would welcome any comments about this gun, such as whether Franz Merkel was connected to the Merkel family in Suhl, and what the Anschutz marking means. I have attached some photos.

[norsk]

Here are some more photos.

[ellenbr]

Franz Oscar Merkel married an Anschutz daughter and he took the reins of the company.

Cheers,

Ramey
rse

[norsk]

So was Franz Oscar Merkel related to the Merkel family in Suhl? Was he a son or grandson of one of the original Merkel brothers?

[ellenbr]

The following are sons of engraver Friedrich Ernst Ferdinand Merkel of Suhl:

1. Ernst August Merkel
2. Otto Gottlieb Merkel.
3. Albert Oscar Merkel
4. Louis Franz Ferdinand Merkel
5. Gebhard Merkel
6. Karl Paul Merkel
7. Bernhard Emil Merkel

I'll have to look but Franz Mekel was the son of one of the above. Also I'm confident that Büchsenmacher Heinrich Gottfried Funk was the father-in-law of
Friedrich Ernst Ferdinand Merkel, i.e., most in Suhl were related and sourced along family lines.


Cheers,

Raimey
rse

[Axel E]

Franz Merkel, born 1898 in Suhl, died 1977 in Zella-Mehlis, was a son of Albert Oskar Merkel, MERCO tm, and son in law of Udo Anschuetz. After UAZ's death in 1935 he took over and continued on a small scale until 1965.

[norsk]

Thanks for that information Raimey and Axel!!!

Merv

[ellenbr]

Not a drilling but a bolt gun, but did MERCO actually make trigger groups?







Cheers,

Raimey
rse

[Axel E]

Not a drilling but a bolt gun, but did MERCO actually make trigger groups?

Slightly off the topic of this thread. Have seen such a device on a 1930s "Original Wilhelm Brenneke, Leipzig" rifle made by Schmidt & Habermann, Suhl, too. Usually such items wer made by and bought in from specialist "Stechermachern" = set trigger makers. On the Brenneke rifle this override trigger device provided a very clean letoff, using the unset front trigger of a dst only. IMHO MERCO only installed it and stamped it with their trademark, as they did with the ex-military Gew98 action.
By 1936 the "Oskar Merkel" company was run by Oskar's son, Franz' brother Paul Ernst Merkel, 1890 – 1962..