Third Party Press

1913 WMO Pre-war Wehrmanngewehr

chrisftk

chrisftk

Moderator²
Staff member
Hey Guys,

Been busy, then sick, then busy again. Hello 2024!

Anyway, I took some pictures of this one for a conversation I was having with a friend the other day, so I thought I'd share it here. I got this one back in 2020 in trade with another member for one of my nice 71/84 Jagers. It's a great example of a Pre-WW1 wehrmanngewehr chambered in 8.15x46R. I recall from an other post that the bent bolt was a custom option. This has an intact 5 round magazine and is in great shape. The stock is super crisp, but devoid of markings (commercial, so no surprise). The stock is duffel cut, however, which I would attribute to being brought back from WW2 (I can't imagine it being a WW1 trophy) According to what I recall, they made a few hundred of these in 1913, so not super common.

Note the use of some accepted parts on this.

The serialization is different than a military rifle too-- note the orientation of the bolt shroud SN, for instance.

In any case-- thought it was a nice example of a pre-war commercial target rifle.

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That’s in stunning condition Chris. Congratulations. I wouldn’t have been able to pass that one up. What might the small hole in the ejector box be used for?
 
Tom H said:
That's awesome Chris. Few months ago bought a CG Haenel Wehrmannsgewehr. Also in that weird caliber. Don't know anything about them but goes great with the .22 trainers.
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Thanks Tom-- the 8.15x46R was one of the big civilian calibers... After WW1, military caliber rifles were illegal in civilian hands, so these were a popular target rifle for training purposes. They were eventually supplanted in popularity by the .22 trainers being pushed by the NS organizations ( much more economical too)

PrayingMantis said:
Damn fine commercial. Pretty cool to see a prewar one, especially in such gorgeous shape.
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Thanks Cyrus, this and the 1903 wehrmann in Patrone 88 are a neat compliment to my military rifles.

MichaelWC said:
Great looking rifle Chris. That bent bolt gives it a unique look.
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Thanks Mike, appreciate you parting with it a few years back.

biggymu said:
That’s in stunning condition Chris. Congratulations. I wouldn’t have been able to pass that one up. What might the small hole in the ejector box be used for?
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Thanks Rick-- regarding the hole, I'm really not sure..it's odd. I can't think of a reason, but suspect it was after market. Maybe @Fal Grunt has an idea.
 
Oh man, that's a great one.

I love 8.15x46r as a cartridge. It's a pain in the butt to get set up for, but it's really pleasant to shoot.
 
chrisftk said:
Thanks Rick-- regarding the hole, I'm really not sure..it's odd. I can't think of a reason, but suspect it was after market. Maybe @Fal Grunt has an idea.
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I think there was a rear sight that could be mounted to the ejector. It would maybe explain as to why the bolt handle is turned down.
 
Pure speculation on my part... I think the pointed pin shown in the picture of the diopter sight is a screw that replaces the ejector box screw to attach the sight to the top of the ejector box. The small hole shown in the picture of the rifle may be for a locating pin on the bottom of the sight that is not visible in the picture. Otherwise the sight can't be securely mounted with the screw alone. If anyone has one of these sights they may able to confirm this theory.
 
GEM said:
Pure speculation on my part... I think the pointed pin shown in the picture of the diopter sight is a screw that replaces the ejector box screw to attach the sight to the top of the ejector box. The small hole shown in the picture of the rifle may be for a locating pin on the bottom of the sight that is not visible in the picture. Otherwise the sight can't be securely mounted with the screw alone. If anyone has one of these sights they may able to confirm this theory.
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The front of the mount goes around the ejector box thumb tab.
ED
 

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Nice (and rare) example for 1913; while I am not a fanatic trending commercial production, this is the only 1913/WMO trended (2017 in this case), though there is a Wurt commercial from 1913 (3713) too. I doubt they are related other than both commercial sales. (military production reached the early b-block at least.....)

The BC is most interesting, not shown in 2017, quite busy and not typical of military contract. Nice rifle and rare!
 
Awesome rifle Chris. Love commercial military pattern rifles as they are so often better taken care of than military rifles (no surprise there lol). Kind of like the Lee Speed Long Lee Enfield rifles made by BSA. They have the look and feel of a military rifle, but sold to civilians. These appear to be much less common, and this is a nice one!!


Wehrmann said:
Sight for Wehrmanngewehr
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I'd like to just show my appreciation for this style of target sight. I love how it is as minimally invasive as possible. Target sights for Lee Enfield rifles are more intrusive and involve taking off the safety catch or rear volley sight. Whenever I see that on a Lee Enfield I cringe a little as the rear volley sight is typically lost. This one you can just take on and off. The tiny hole on top of the ejector box is not offensive.
 
eddie d said:
The front of the mount goes around the ejector box thumb tab.
ED
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So this type of mount would require no hole to be drilled if it is secured at both ends. Would you know if your ejector box is drilled for this sight to be used?
 
FYI

Chris mentioned that the bolt sleeve (shroud) was numbered at right angles to the usual German military practice for this component. In fact this is the usual numbering practice for the bolt sleeve if processed in the sporting rifle part of the Oberndorf factory. No idea why; they just did it that way! Bob
 
Loewe said:
FYI

Chris mentioned that the bolt sleeve (shroud) was numbered at right angles to the usual German military practice for this component. In fact this is the usual numbering practice for the bolt sleeve if processed in the sporting rifle part of the Oberndorf factory. No idea why; they just did it that way! Bob
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Thanks Paul... I had suspected this to be the case, but good to have confirmation!
 
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