doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Rifle Caliber Question

Bit off topic, but thought I would canvas the brotherhood. I picked up a wonderful inter-war Teutonic express rifle today. Seller had no idea of caliber. It is a Suhl built guild gun with a Hanover seller's address on the rib. All the ususal bells and whistles (octagon to round, solid rib, express sights, etc) built on a 98 action with a three quarter length commercial mauser style stock. My assumption was that it had to be something like a 10.75x68. Only markings, other than proof marks, are a 10.9mm stamp over a number "72" and a "STMG 26 gr". I'll make a chamber cast, but any ideas what caliber I might be dealing with?

11.2x72 Schüler I presume.

With kind regards,
Jani

Who was the Hannover retailers name on the Gun?

m4220

I'll vote with Jani on 11,2x72. The 10,9 mm indicates bore, not groove diameter to the nearest 1/10 mm, 72 showing chamber length in mm and a St.m.G. = Stahl-mantel Geschoss (steel jacketed bullet) of 26 grams (401 grains) all perfectly describe the 11,2x72 Schuler.

There's a thread on the Accurate Reloading boards that talks a bit about the round ==> here <==

11.2x72....

Best,

Thanks all. The 11.2x72 seems like a winner. Will make sure with a cast, but brass and bullets (SP and Solid) seem available. It is in pristine condition, and if I can get it up and running, I'll take it to the Caprivi next summer for cape buffalo. Thanks again.

All info is pointing toward the 11.2X72mm Schüler and more than likely not the rare bird 11.2X72mm R Schüler. The Hannover firearms merchant probably sourced the longarm from Schüler who sourced it from Sempert & Krieghoff, who at some point purchased machinery and some components from Schilling. I’m curious if there is a “S&H” or “S&K” stamp on the tube. If Schilling had made it I would think it would be in a smaller calibre and something above 6x58 Foerster and up to an 8mm diameter. Besides Bock's 9.3X62, Schüler’s proprietary cartridges cornered the bolt market.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

That sounds about as big as they would have come in its day. What would be the Anglo equivalent, and how much lead would that cartridge have likely pushed? TT

Lessee, my ancient 4th edition of CotW shows the .440" diameter 401 grain bullet factory loaded to 2438 fps giving 5300 fp energy. In a typically light Mauser sporter I would think recoil would be, ah, noticeable.

It would not be rimmed; standard mauser bolt face. And Raimey you have it correct. This would essentially be a .458 Winchester. Will be interesting to see how it shoots. While it is, as you note, built like a mauser, it has significantly more heft than one typically finds. A 28 inch barrel and three quarter length stock contribute. That said, the guy three benches over likely will be aware when it goes off.