doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com A Borchardt Action for sale,

Well,now I am really going to have trouble sleeping.Thanks for the link Mr. Eales.Hugo Borchardt would be proud to see his design updated and still producing superior rifles.

The problem you run into when putting DST in a Borchardt is you do away with the safety.

Not needed on a target rifle but hunting rifles should have one. Zischang built a safety into the trigger guard and Niedner used a cocking knob.

Terry's Zischang with safety,


Dr. Baker's Niedner with cocking knob,

Back in the early '90s I fitted a Canjar SST to one of my Borchardts and retained the safety slide. No alteration to the rifle was required, only parts substitution. SUPER ugly and as mentioned before, required careful and very snug hand-fitting of the top knob of the trigger lever in the sear slide opening. And did I mention that it was SUPER ugly? Worked OK though. Later sold the SST portion separately and returned the rifle to the non-set version.

I bought my SST parts (trigger lever and kicker/shoe assembly) directly from Canjar, they don't make triggers any longer but they may still have parts or can tell you who to call.
Regards, Joe

Every time I see that picture of your Zichang Borchardt I have to stop and admire it again. I always thought I wanted one with a paneled reciever but when I see how the stockmaker picked up the lines from that reciever and the Zichang triggers, that's the one!

The Zischang is Terry's although I have the pleasure of handling it three times and could go for a fourth ;-).

I think that rifle is the nicest single-shot sporting rifle I have ever seen. Zischang IMO was one of the best in both metal and wood with an artistic eye as well.

I've dreamed of finding a bolt gun made by Zischang.

Michael,

Do you have any pictures of the Zischang safety or an explanation of how it works?

In all my researches into Borchardts I haven't found anything describing or illustrating it.

I believe that a Zischang Borchardt is the most gracefull of all the Borchardts, his work also included a subtle refining of the action lines that give his actions a really sleek look that no one else seems to have copied. He probably knew Borchardt actions better than any custom gunsmith of that period, he having been a foreman in the Sharps Factory during the Borchardts production.

Harry

Suppossedly there is a Zischang Krag out there somewhere.

I completely agree about Zischang, he had taste as well as mechanical talent. Many schuetzen rifles are functional for their purpose, but awkward looking. I saw a Zischang high wall several years ago that was just lovely, while still being a full offhand style target rifle. I can't explain what it is, but I know it when I see it!

Having never owned nor even handled a Borchardt and being totally uninformed of their variables, could someone please explain the several different screw patterns visible on the actions? Obviously some of the internals are diferent.

You can probably identify the lever screw and its keeper at the lower front of the receiver, it's fairly obvious. The action is fitted with 2 internal plates, one on each side, each retained by two screws and a locating pin arranged in a slanted fashion on the action's sides and encompassing the entire action side(s) internally from top to bottom. These internal plates contain cocking cams for the striker. There are 2 additional small transverse pins visible, one for the trigger and the other at the extreme rear is for the internal safety lever.

As the finger lever is lowered, the block moves downward and the internal cocking cams withdraw the striker rearward into the cocked position, ready for the next shot. The proper timing of this striker withdrawal is critical in order to prevent the striker nose from hanging up in a fired primer when the block is already beginning to move downward. This timing is IMO the single biggest downfall of many earlier single shot smiths, they simply didn't understand that the cam plates should be specially timed to act as mechanical striker retractors.

Several of the pictured actions also have a second small pin for the additional DST trigger and also a larger takedown pin located transversely through the bottom of the barrel's thread shank.
Regards, Joe