Wunder & Gunther, Leipzig pistol

[R. Marshall]

A friend has a nice single shot German pistol that I'm trying to find out a little info on. I can get more pictures but this all I have at the moment. It is marked Wunder & Gunther, Leipzig on top of the barrel and has a fancy wood grip. She said it is a .22 cal of some kind. Here are the pictures I have. Thanks

[mike ford]

R.Marshall,
The marks on your friends pistol show it was made after Mar.1893, when the Proof Law of 1891 came into effect. The marks mean it was proofed for 0.2 grams of Neues Gewehr-Pulver Model 71( New Rifle Powder mod.1871)( this was a powder developed for the Mod 1871 Mauser), and a 1.8 gram Blei(lead) bullet. If you have your friend take the barrel off the pistol and post photos of all markings, we may be able to offer more information.
Mike

[R. Marshall]

Thanks Mike, I will ask her if she will remove the barrel. She also had two Mauser 98 shotguns one was a 16ga Geha and the other was 12ga that had a chrome looking tag like the geha but it was not a geha. I had never seen a 98 shotgun before.

[algmule]

Hello

R. Marshall,
I'm most likely the only one who would appreciate images of the two Mauser 98 shotguns. Please ask your friend for images.

I hunt with a 98 shotgun conversion - a Remo II, 16 gauge. Other than that I own two Geha's (a 16 gauge and a 12 gauge) and two more Remo's (a Remo 1, 16 gauge; and a second Remo II also a 16 gauge).

From your description one of your friend's Mauser shotguns may be a Hard Hit Heart (essentially a Geha with a different stock medallion, metal) but I sure would like images. The stock of an HHH also has "cartouche" with a "smiley face". HHH was the trade mark/trade name of Carl Thilo Münzer.

The Geha may have either wooden or metal medallions.

Kind regards
Peter

[R. Marshall]

Hello

R. Marshall,
I'm most likely the only one who would appreciate images of the two Mauser 98 shotguns. Please ask your friend for images.

I hunt with a 98 shotgun conversion - a Remo II, 16 gauge. Other than that I own two Geha's (a 16 gauge and a 12 gauge) and two more Remo's (a Remo 1, 16 gauge; and a second Remo II also a 16 gauge).

From your description one of your friend's Mauser shotguns may be a Hard Hit Heart (essentially a Geha with a different stock medallion, metal) but I sure would like images. The stock of an HHH also has "cartouche" with a "smiley face". HHH was the trade mark/trade name of Carl Thilo Münzer.

The Geha may have either wooden or metal medallions.

Kind regards
Peter

I will see if I can get some pictures the next time I go by her shop.

[Axel E]

The pistol was retailed by Wunder & Günter, Universitätsstr. 1, Leipzig, a gunshop that existed from 1878 to 1910.Such "Kunstschützenpistolen" = sharpshooter pistols were made by several shops in Zella – Mehlis for the trade, sort of a cottage industry. Knowing additional marks may point to the real maker. The service load data 1.8 gramm = 28gr lead bullet in front of 0.2 gramm = 3 gr black powder points to the .22 short cartridge.

[R. Marshall]

The pistol was retailed by Wunder & Günter, Universitätsstr. 1, Leipzig, a gunshop that existed from 1878 to 1910.Such "Kunstschützenpistolen" = sharpshooter pistols were made by several shops in Zella – Mehlis for the trade, sort of a cottage industry. Knowing additional marks may point to the real maker. The service load data 1.8 gramm = 28gr lead bullet in front of 0.2 gramm = 3 gr black powder points to the .22 short cartridge.

Thanks Axel, I'm working on getting more info plus i'm trying to work a deal out for this pistol.

[R. Marshall]

Here are some more photos.

[R. Marshall]

a few more

[R. Marshall]

I fired a couple of .22 shorts out of it and it function well.

[R. Marshall]

It would be cool if the "1" on the barrel and water table was the serial number.

[R. Marshall]

it Also has Crown B and Crown U on the receiver.

[yamoon]

I have one like it.
Mike

[R. Marshall]

I have one like it.
Mike

Mike, does your have a serial number? Do you have any pictures of it's markings?

[R. Marshall]

From what I've seen on the web this could be a System Langenhan free pistol which is internal hammer with a tip loading barrel, but the closest I've found in looks was a Buchel system which looks to be a falling block. Which I guess the same shop could have been building both types of actions.