Small bore Jaeger?

[Jarikeen]

Did the German gunsmiths ever do a Jaeger style rifle under .54 Cal?

 

[Birddog6]

Years ago I did a bunch of research on Jaegers because it seems the general idea was that Jaegers had to be .58 cal & 31" long. I found them to be from .40 cal to .75 cal & barrel lengths from 21" to 51"....
From that point on I built any caliber & barrel length I wanted.
:thumbsup:

 

[Stophel]

YES, though they are not common. They are considered "Vogelpuerschbuechsen" (bird stalking rifles) and used for birds and other small game. Of the few that I have seen photos of, all of them had long (meaning 40"+) barrels.

 

[Jarikeen]

Thanks for that, it was just the information I was looking for. I can image that your research would have taken some time - thankyou for sharing. My small search was pretty much fruitless. With those specs, it makes things a little easier.
Cheers

 

[benvenuto]

I've only ever seen two or three of these type of rifle... Always from Silesia and the Czech lands
Any books you can reccomend?

the profile has always struck me as suspiciously similar to that of the American rifle - do you have any thoughts on this?

 

[Gary]

George Shumway collected his articles on the German Jaeger rifle to write a book on that subject. You may buy the book direct from George Shumway (and be sure to ask him to autograph it to you). Here's a link:
[url] http://www.shumwaypublisher.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=44[/url]

As to your observation on the American longrifle and the jaeger, the jaeger is the ancestor to the American longrifle. As gunsmiths in America built rifles, they made them smaller bore and gradually more slender and longer.

 

[Birddog6]

IMHO, I suggest you look at the book before ya buy it. :hmm: I bought mine at Friendhsip & didn't look at it, just grabbed it with confidence it was of his usual quality. When I got home & looked at it I was sure disappointed. It is just a bunch of copies of articles & the photos are copies of copies of copies & very poor quality. :shake: I sold the book the next day.

 

[Roy]

I'm still kicking myself for not getting measurements and photos of an original at a show. The one I saw was long and slender and couldn't have been over a 45 cal. :shake:

 

[Stophel]

The little "Tschinke" wheel lock rifles are (so far as I know) all small-bore. (from Schlesien...Silesia).

I've got photos of a doozy of a small bore, long barreled German flintlock rifle. I'll get a picture up after while...

 

[John Tice]

As always, can't wait to see what you have Herr Der Fett Deutscher... :bow:

 

[Gary]

BTW, Jim Chambers is selling a book on the German Jaeger rifle. It's pricey, but it's well bound and has colour pics.

 

[Herz_aus_Stahl]

is that book published in Germany?

 

[arilar]

is that book published in Germany?

What I can understand its both published in Germany and written in "Deutsch". Chambers dont reveal the author. Doubt its Chambers himself?
Hopefully Gary can provide more info.
ARILAR :grin: :thumbsup:

 

[Birddog6]

I will say IMHO it is undoubtedly the Best Jaeger book I have ever seen & possibly the best one published to date, with LOTS of brilliantly displayed & photographed rifles in it. IMHO, an outstanding effort on the photographer & publisher. Only fallback is it is all in German, however I am told Jim is getting a translation made for it for everyone that bought the book.
:thumbsup:

 

[benvenuto]

I know the jaeger is the ancestor of the american rifle, I was just wondering if the early german/american gunsmiths "remembered" the small bore birding rifles and figured somthing similar would work well in american conditions.
Of course I also like Alexander's theory that it was Indians who demanded long barrels on their guns, having been so impressed with the Boucanier guns and Dutch long fowlers

 

[arilar]

I will say IMHO it is undoubtedly the Best Jaeger book I have ever seen & possibly the best one published to date, with LOTS of brilliantly displayed & photographed rifles in it. IMHO, an outstanding effort on the photographer & publisher. Only fallback is it is all in German, however I am told Jim is getting a translation made for it for everyone that bought the book.
:thumbsup:

Makes me even more interested! Guess its more accurate to order it from Germany in my case. Reading german language is no problem. Could you please name the author?
Vielen Dank,
ARILAR :grin: :thumbsup:

 

[Capt. Jas.]

I think the author is Erhard Wolf.
The name of the book is Steinschloss-jägerbüchsen.

Here is the publisher[url] http://shop.dwj-verlag.de/index.php?cl=details&anid=91143807d618cdb28.41039114[/url]


See here for what some of the pictures look like inside the book[url] http://www.flintlocks.com/rifle.pdf[/url]

 

[Stophel]

Many of the earliest American rifle makers were Swiss. I have seen only a FEW known Swiss rifles. I could probably count them on one hand. I have seen two or three other "probable" Swiss rifles. ALL of them are long barreled.

There were always "longrifles"! :winking:

 

[Stophel]

OK, I have the picture up now. The gun itself is from about 1700. The barrel is earlier, and is dated 1624. The lock is signed "I. (J.) Moritz, Zella" (Zelle?). The barrel is rifled and about 9mm cal. which is about .36". 131 cm long...whatever that is. Looks to be 4 feet plus. The photo cuts off the muzzle and it doesn't show the complete length! It's a very attractive lock. I love the shape of the plate and cock and the wide bevels.

 

[arilar]

Ach so, eine vogel-pirschbuchse!!
A rifle used when sneaking up close enough to get the bird?
Nice rifle!
ARILAR :grin: :thumbsup: