Third Party Press

KLEIN KALIBER metal target

luftmacher

luftmacher

Senior Member
Brought home along with a KKW by a WWII tanker, this target device survived in pristine condition. Silhouette locks down when hit. Three spikes secure the target base from moving. Fully functional, with maker's decal and carrying cord/handle, limited use before "capture" as seen by bullet strikes. Has to be a "one-of-a-kind" in this condition.

Steve

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Now that is cool. Kudo's to him for bringing that back when probably nobody else would have even thought of it or bothered. He probably shipped it back direct from the ETO, as there was a weight limit on stuff brought back in duffel bags.
 
very nice... can you get a shot of the decal with the maker mark ? Id like to see it.. what a great item !!!
 
"Scheiben überall!" I will check the DRGM number later on Depatis.net to see what I can find on patents and further information on the company. Have seen them offered in catalogs before, but do not recall offhand if it was Geco, Akah, or another company.

Steve

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Have not found a record of the DRGM (Gebrauchsmuster) for it, but the same firm did have a full patent on a system for remotely re-setting a whole row of these that is fascinating. Patented in 1939, the document includes three pages of drawings and I will include an example of that here. Have not found much information on the company yet. The individual target device likely never received more than the temporary Gebrauchsmuster protection, as there were several similar targets available even prior to this design. That silhouette pattern was officially adopted in 1933 (I think ? but don't hold me to that without letting me look it up again) but similar devices were used in the 1920s if not earlier there. Love the research part of the history!

Steve

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Very cool and unique indeed. Not many people have an example in any condition in the U.S. There are probably some floating around Europe. Interesting that the silhouette looks like a German soldier, I would figure I would want a silhouette of a potential enemy.
 
Any that remained in Europe after the war were likely either used until they were worn out, or gathered for scrap metal during the hard times post-war. Not many people would have selected such a thing as a war souvenir, due to its weight, so I would think the odds of seeing another in any condition are slim-to-none. One as good as this is really unbelievable. You just never know.
The silhouette pattern is fairly generic by design, and was the officially accepted target pattern for KK shooting in Germany after von Tschammer und Osten took the reigns and forced the standardization of shooting organizations and practices in April 1933. It isn't a German style helmet, nor French, nor American, nor British, etc. We might call it "politically correct" today, or "diplomatically indifferent" as far as the shape goes?
Steve
 
Here is the same target (listed first, and depicted on the left) from an AKAH catalog. The only thing we are missing which was included with them as sold is a 50 meter long cord for remotely resetting the target.

Steve

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I really like model 8686. What would these targets cost in today's dollars? Would an individual buy the single silhouette or were these bought by clubs/organizations?
 
That's a very cool find!!! Amazing. Would not be too tough to replicate and I would certainly buy one.

What I find interesting (since I shoot at a lot of steel, both pistol and precision rifle out to 1050 yards) is that shooting at steel targets is still frowned upon in most gun clubs in the US. In fact it has taken decades for clubs to loosen up, and here the Germans were using them with .22s in the '30s.
 
The club I am part of has many steel targets on the .22 cal range. They have even added one that swings back and forth so it does not have to be reset. Before they installed the new target I would bring my own swinging target. As long as it is in front of a berm or a trap the range master does not care.
 
luftmacher said:
Here is the same target (listed first, and depicted on the left) from an AKAH catalog. The only thing we are missing which was included with them as sold is a 50 meter long cord for remotely resetting the target.

Steve

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Hi steve, i get this item with original document showing list of all Third reich groups ( SA, SS, NSKK .....) who buy this "Brustringschiebe" metal target for training at 50m range with KK.
 
Great to know that another one survived, Bruno, and interesting to note the change in the decal label. By the way, the patent info and drawings for the multi-profile unit you have pictured is available from a search in Depatis.net, if you are interested.
Steve
 
luftmacher said:
Great to know that another one survived, Bruno, and interesting to note the change in the decal label. By the way, the patent info and drawings for the multi-profile unit you have pictured is available from a search in Depatis.net, if you are interested.
Steve
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Steve, you find one original document i get with metal target; is this doc you are talking about?
 
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