doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Double Rifles, Paradox Guns & Gauge Rifles @ doublegunshop.com F. Kettner Combination Rifle Koln-Suhl

Incredible....gorgeous.

Here's some additional pictures of the wood and grip extension.I'm going to try and do a writeup on this gun for the owner and would appreciate any information you might have on the Kettner firm. I will also look for any additional marks on it but what's in the picture of the standing breech is all that's there.

Update:
I just went over the gun again with a magnifying glass and found "WK" in script on the two rifle set of barrels. This mark is just behind the forearm lug.
Jim

Interesting piece of horn, there Jim. Any idea of its function? I was hoping M-4 would chime in with his thoughts.

Mike Ford chimes in via email to note that the maker of additional tubesets would serialize the new set to the sporting weapon and many times stamp the number of sets on the action flats. I have seen the same but on the barrel flats. He also notes that the 1927 set has 16 bore 65mm chambers while the 1936 set has 16 bore 70mm chambers.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

I would posit that the horn grip addition was an attempt to copy what became known as the Eschen(sp?)Grip, pioneered by Fred Eschen, who was Rudy's father, who is Joel's dad. Fred wrote a treatise on shooting and was a very strong advocate of the more pronounced grip angle for better gun control in target & flyer shooting. He was also a very fine shot and coach and was active & well known & respected during the time frame this gun was made & being used.

FWIW, Rudy became known as 'Mr. 870' and was simply incredible as a shooter for Remington and a fine gentleman as well. I want to say that Fred ran/managed a rather exclusive gun club in Florida before the depression, but I may not be remembering that correctly. Rudy, I spoke with on a number of occasions. Fred was before my time, but I have his book & think it is quite possible the owner of this gun did as well.

edit: It is also possible that the original owner of the gun visited the club where Fred managed & instructed, but that will have to fall into the bucket of pure speculation, though it is not outside the realm of reasonable. Whoever that gun belonged to originally, they had means.

That piece of horn in the pistol grip: my speculation would be that the gun was inherited or bought by somebody with very small hands, or some other physical problem. Hence the addition to improve the grip of the right hand.
Regarding the "Etchen grip": a similar type is still popular in Germanic countries and called the "Kaiser grip", by hearsay invented for the German emperor Wilhelm II, who had a crippled left hand, and shot using the right hand only.
I remember having seen several rifles discussed in the internet, from Scherping in Hannover with such a steep pistol grip.

fuhrmann

Jim,

I don't have anything to add but just want to thank you for taking the time and effort to post this beauty. That's the kind of gun that got me interested in Germanic guns.

Thanks,
Roger

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has taken the time to contribute to this thread. Because of the advantages of modern technology we can gather information in a matter of a few days that would have taken months to put together prior to the Internet.
Again thanks to all and I will appraise the current owner of what has been discovered on this informative thread.
Jim