Pics of my 1938 Greifelt German Stalking Rifle

[Tucson T4R]

I have been doing some online research on this stalking rifle and thought you folks might enjoy taking a look too. :elkgrin:

My father brought this back from Germany after WWII. Firearms were being turned in after the war as new town governments were being set up. This rifle was turned in by a local Count and appears to be a custom made hunting rifle.

It is a break open single shot, 5,6X52R European caliber (22 Savage High Power) made by Greifelt & co, Suhl and stamped with Carl Stiegele's name.

It fires a 71grain .224 cal bullet and drives tacks at 200 yards. :sombrero:

It has claw scope mounts that I didn't want to mess up so I had a gunsmith make some custom claw mounts that fit the stock mounts and then mounted the modern scope to those blocks leaving the gun unaltered.

On the left side of the barrel it is stamped:

Krupp-LAUFSIHAL

and to the right of that:

Carl Stiegele, Hofgewehrfarrik
Munchen

Under the barrel it is stamped with the typical proof marks and the 3 digit number 438. I believe that indicates it was manufactured in April of 1938. the serial number is 37765.

It has some normal usage wear but is still a beautifully crafted rifle.

Here are few photos:

Proof marks under barrel:

These marks are just forward of the latch lug, also on the bottom of the tube.

 

[LACamper]

That's incredible!

What did the original scope and mount look like?

You need to invest in a more appropriate looking sling... and have the scope and mounts re-coated to match the rifle. They're a bit too glossy. Not hard to do with duracoat.

 

[Tucson T4R]

Thanks, the craftsmanship has amazed me ever since I first saw this as a kid.

The original sling looked identical to this one. The leather had deteriorated and fell apart so I use the original design and wood and brass hardware and made a duplicate with new leather.

The rifle's scope mounts are old European claw mounts that are designed to take two claw feet for the front and rear scope mounts and hold them in with a spring loaded rear catch. The hunters would typically carry the scope separately in a leather pouch and only mount it to the gun when situated and ready to shoot.

The crude steel adapter blocks were just to allow me to mount the modern scope without altering the claw mounts. If I was to market this I would remove the modern scope.

 

[spressomon]

Gorgeous Brad!!! What's the 2nd trigger for?

 

[Tucson T4R]

The rear trigger is a set trigger to cock the firing pin. The front trigger is an adjustable firing trigger. The little screw between them is used to adjust the trigger pull. It's currently set for an extremely light touch.

 

[LACamper]

Don't ever sell it... that's one to keep in the family.

IF you still have the original scope and mount I'd love to see a photo.

 

[Tucson T4R]

Don't ever sell it... that's one to keep in the family.

IF you still have the original scope and mount I'd love to see a photo.

Sadly I don't. Just the rifle was turned into my father so we never had the original scope or mounting rings.

Since the scope was usually kept in the separate leather pouch it was common for them to get separated. I would love to find one someday though.

 

[BIGdaddy]

Beautiful.

 

[Tucson T4R]

Further research with experts at Germanguns.com identified an interesting unique feature on this rifle.

"The rifle has one somewhat unusual feature; the hook under the trigger guard. Kaiser Wilhelm II had a crippled left arm and the hook was developed for him to better handle a gun without much support from the left arm. Other guns for him had a very short grip in conjunction with this hook. It was called the Kaiser Grip. Some of the Kaiser's guns had a fold-out spike bedded into the forend that could be folded out to steady the gun on a tree trunk."

Since this rifle was manufactured in 1938 and Kaiser Wilhelm II died in 1941 I don't believe this gun was made specifically for him but instead the "Kaiser hook" was probably just incorporated in some of the future hunting rifle builds after designing the custom feature originally for Kaiser.

It's nice that with today's internet connectivity you can surface experts that can share interesting historical details like this. :wings:

 

[Abel Villesca]

Wow! That's a beautiful rifle.

 

[Tucson T4R]

Thanks for the comments. It is very beautiful but is also a thrill to shoot. The tight tolerances and quality craftsmanship results in very consistent accuracy.

I have shot many different rifles and hand guns throughout my life but shooting this is definitely a unique and pleasurable experience. :wings:

 

[mogwildRW1]

Nice firearm, You should join up and post it here:

http://forums.nitroexpress.com/ubbthreads.php?Cat=

-Trev

 

[robert]

Wow- beautiful rifle. That old world craftsmanship is just so pleasing to look at.

 

[Dave Bennett]

Amazing rifle!!! :drool:

 

[Tucson T4R]

Thanks, It is a pleasure to fondle and appreciate the detailed work that went into making it.