doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Niedner Stuff

Because the safety was removed for the DST's Niedner made a cocking knob. As a matter of fact that's a new breech block Niedner made. A safety was never needed or used on a Schuetzen or target rifle but needed for a rifle taken into the field.

Zischang built a safety into the front of the trigger guard on his sporting rifles.

Michael, I have it packed away right now, but I know it had a .38 caliber die in it.
Jeff

Obviously , Shelhamer didn't do ugly!

Very neat stuff (as usual I have to say!).

Someday I'd like to actually list all the variations of the ".25 Krag" and get a timeline for who devised them, what dimensions and ballistics they had, and when they were developed. For a single shot guy, I think it's the nuts.

I guess I'd have to add: "What they were called"!

The first reference to the Krag shell necked down to .25-Caliber is by F. W. Mann circa 1904.

These early rifles used what I call the same method of loading as the Schuetzen rifles of the day. A breech-seated bullet in front of the case. A base-band was used to seal the bore and keep the primer from moving the bullet up the barrel.

This is a chamber cast of one of Dr. Mann's barrel (1909) having the outside case diameter the same as the bullet diameter. You just dropped a bullet into the chamber and seated a loaded case.


The name of all of the Krag to .25 caliber cartridges were called the ".25 High-Power" back in the Mann-Niedner days.

Beautiful. And I like your woodchuck impression a lot (or is that a baby seal that escaped clubbing?).

Michael, do you know who "invented" the .25 Krag Short, and more-or-less when? And was the .25 "High-Power" originally conceived as a big game or a varmint round when it got past the experimental stage? Or was it to be a combination round like the original .25 Roberts?

I'm not sure I even know what the "Short" version is.

Many of the these jacketed bullet high-speed cartridges were developed for use in the Schuetzen matches. They were allowed and very soon after barred.

The next place was in the chuck fields on the East coast, a few made it out West but most were back East.

The chuck hunters, Niedner & Mann included wanted fixed ammo for that. The next step was a case that would hold a base-band bullet in the last 1/16" of the case.

Many of these rifles had what we now call a "tight chamber". What I mean by this is the first case only needed to be de and re-capped, a powder charge thrown and a bullet seated.

I was very luck when a friend sold me his Niedner-Borchardt that has a perfect bore and tight chamber. Because I have Mr. Niedner's case making tools and base-band bullet tools for this it was a snap to get it to shoot.

Niedner-Borchardt .25 HP.

The summer I was working with this rifle and keeping everything in a database I notice that the groups shot last that day seem to be better.

One day after shooting I did not clean the rifle and the next day took it to the range with a fouled bore. The first shot in the cold barrel was a little high so I then fired five more. I thought that was good so shot another five-shot group on the next target. I took the rifle home, cleaned it and have not had it back out.

If I had a Niedner Borchardt or any rifle that shot like that, I would probably shoot it every day!

Beautiful rifle; stunning groups!