Oberndorf target rifles

[Jim's Militaria]

Beautiful rifles guys! Information on Wehrmanngewehrs is extremely limited.

Anyone know what the lowest Banner Mauser Oberndorf 8,15x46R Wehrmanngewehr serial is?

Did they start the full production (non conversion) Mauser Oberndorf Wehrmanngewehrs in 1938 or earlier?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Jim's Militaria]

I was corresponding with Jon Speed regarding the T.St.V. Mauser target rifles and I suggested that perhaps the shooting club requested the logo, initials and serial number on the chamber to assist in inventory identification at the club storage area. For whatever reason, Mauser complied with their request but found that the full 120 xxx serial number was too long for the chamber.So..... they dropped the 1 from the number and we now have a 1000 gun special range from 20 000 to 21 000. Walther did the same thing but for a different reason on their last PPs approaching the 1 000 000 range. Why not here?

Hi Joe,
I think that my (non-T.St.V.) ring marked Banner Mauser with ser#1208XX would probably put that idea to rest.

 

[JoeW]

Hi Joe,
I think that my (non-T.St.V.) ring marked Banner Mauser with ser#1208XX would probably put that idea to rest.

Hi Jim

As they say in the song, "It ain't necessarily so.....". Denny has passed away and I don't know who has his data base. I haven't been adding much lately, but I had never gotten past 208xx. So as of nowthere were not a 1000 issued as was theorized and yours indeed may be a post contract production by Mauser. Any photos available of yours of the receiver ring? Single shot or magazine? Thanks for adding to this thread.

Joe

 

[Jim's Militaria]

Hi Joe,
Sorry to hear of his passing. I fear we are loosing a lot of knowledge with the passing of some of our older collectors.

Sadly I don’t post any pictures on the forum anymore. I can send you a picture on Monday if you need one for your data base. The rifle is BUGN proofed with magazine. I think the serial would put it around late 1938 to early 1939. Any help on narrowing the date would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mikegermany]

Another Mauser target typ in 8,15x46R :

B/U/G/N #111807

and still searching for the diopter- someone have ever seen one? I would be lucky about any info or pics for rebuild !!!!

 

[Jim's Militaria]

Hi Mike,
That is a beautiful rifle! I haven’t encountered that version yet.

Thanks for sharing that gem.

 

[JoeW]

Hi Joe,
I think that my (non-T.St.V.) ring marked Banner Mauser with ser#1208XX would probably put that idea to rest.

Well I heard back from Jon Speed this morning. My theory is trashed. Apparently Denny early in this thread indicated his belief this was an independently numbered contract by Mauser. I concocted the notion of them dropping the first number of the serial number. Speed wrote that the contract had its own serial range that was standard Mauser procedure. Whether T.St.V. wanted the serial info on the chamber or for whatever reason is unknown. The 120,000 serial range starts in the 1938/39 period and continued till the end of the war, with at the most 1500 of these WMG sold. I think that puts an end to it.

 

[learjet]

Heres mine.

 

[Mikegermany]

very nice example, thanks for sharing!

 

[Pisgah]

I am adding another T.ST.V. target rifle to the thread. I like the Wehrmanngewehr rifles, especially those manufactured by Mauser Oberndorf. This rifle was appealing to me because of its Innsbrück Landesschießen stickers from 1943 and 1944. Knowing where a rifle was on a given date is pretty cool.

 

[Pisgah]

A few more photos. I tried to show all of the numbering/markings (or lack thereof) in these photos. There is a three digit number on the left side of the stock which I believe is a rack number. I didn't pull it out of the stock to check its internal numbers but have no reason to doubt it is matching (and know it is not an RC ).

 

[Pisgah]

I started to feel guilty about not pulling it out of the stock so removed the handguard to take a photo of its internal numbering. The rifle was duffle cut. Someone put a paper shim between the handguard and the forward end of the rear sight base's lip. I'm curious whether that was done by whomever repaired the duffle cut or if that individual found it when he did the repair and then retained it. It was definitely out of the stock when the stock was repaired so it is not an accident that the shim is there. It makes me wonder if a previous US owner actually shot it.

 

[learjet]

ever seen one built on a G33/40? theres one in the much maligned collection in NH, i passed thinkin it was one of the POs many fantasy pieces. I wont be back up that way this year, but i can tell you where its at via pm if you want.

 

[Pisgah]

That sounds like a fantasy piece. When a manufacturer uses a receiver from an outside source (or reuses one that was previously used) one can tell.

 

[jsz]

Here is mine... matching, except clean rod, duffle cut below rear band.
A couple of photos.
Jeff

 

[Cyrano4747]

The ammo for these is mildly annoying to make if you reload (.30-30 works as a parent cartridge, but you need to turn down the rims) but doable if with some care. I've got a mystery maybe-Wehrmansgewehr (or just general target rifle) built off a pre-WW1 action that was 100% worth the effort to get a 8.15 load going for.

They're great rifles and were built with shooters in mind. Very, very pleasant to shoot if you can figure ammo out.

 

[Pisgah]

I was doing some Spring cleaning and ran into this example. It is a Mauser banner 8.15x46r target rifle like the others in this thread, but I noticed some differences that I hadn't previously noticed. Unlike the later Oberndorf rifles, this one is definitely single shot only and has no magazine. It also has a rear receiver bridge which is missing the usual hump near the stripper clip feeding area. It almost looks like a pre-98 Mauser receiver in that area, but everything else about the receiver seems to be large ring 98.

 

[Pisgah]

Anyway, I did not realize there was any variation in the Mauser Oberndorf rifles in 8.15x46r. This one seems to be numbered in the same range as the other MO rifles posted (but not the TSTV rifles which has their own serial numbering range).

 

[Pisgah]

A few more photos.

 

[biggymu]

That really is interesting . All the subtle differences. Very nice