9fingers,

You may have luck posting your enquiry on the Doublegunshop Forum they have a forum section devoted entirely to mainland European firearms, doubles and singles, there's a lot of Single Shot guys over there, including many from this forum.

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Without seeing more of the rifle in additional photographs I would suggest the lever of the side of the action is a safety catch of some form.

Harry

I have been doins some research on my own and it is looking like this is actually an Austrian firearm made by Ferlach, judging from the proof marks and the Bohler Rasant marked barrel.
9 fingers

Bohler steel was especialy rated by German gunsmiths---I have a German rifle with a barrel by Moeller in Bohler steel.
Fred

westerner wrote on Jan 10^th, 2011 at 9:30am:


Hello Joe,

Rooks are members of the Crow family and are a very numerous species throughout Britain. They nest communally in tall trees and breed early in the season.  The young birds just out of the nest but not actually flying are known as 'branchers' and their meat or at least the breast meat, was a part of a countrymans seasonal diet in the late 1800's and into the early decades of the 1900's. 

It was these 'Branchers' that the Rook Rifles were made to shoot. The calibres are usually fairly small (seldom over 0.300" cal). These rounds were low powered with muzzle velocities in the .22" Long Rifle speed range. Shooting at a target on a branch anywhere from 60 -100 feet up in the air doesn't need a lot of power from the round used. It may seem like shooting ducks in a barrel, but the thin branches certainly swing about in the high winds of March and early April when these birds are suitable for eating and hitting them is not as easy as it may seem. Head shots are best as you don't want to damage the edible parts. 

Once they have learned to fly their meat gets very tough and the adults breast meat is like old boot leather. I think the meat is an acquired taste, but I have eaten it and found it quite palatable.

In the early 1900's when the .22 RF became a firm favourite the other rounds gradually got dropped from production.

Colin Greenwood an English firearms expert has a neat little book out about them and I believe that Wal Winfer has one or possibly two books coming out about them as well in the not too distant future.

Aside from Rooks these small rifles were also used to keep down four legged and some other avial predators as well. They were quite capable of taking Rabbits, Foxes, as well as Stoats, and Weasels that raid the nests of ground nesting game birds.

Harry

Thanks Harry! Very interesting. I looked the bird up on the net but didnt see anything about them used for food.  I didnt look very hard. I figured you would know all about it. 

Thanks,      Joe.

Your rifle probably was intended for something larger than Rooks: the Germans liked lightweight hunting rifles. This one is in 8.15 x 46R and is engraved with a stag on one side and a boar on the other.
Fred

BP wrote on Jan 11^th, 2011 at 8:50pm:


Hello BP,

The Rook Corvus frugilegus and the Raven Corvus corax
are, as the names indicate, distinct species. Here is Britain the Raven is a larger species than the Rook and prefer to nest on cliffs and mountain crags than in trees.

Both species have several sub species scattered around the world. The Raven is a much rarer bird in Britain then the Rook.

Harry

Hello from Leicestershire, England. I hope that you will excuse my question! I'm thinking of buying a secondhand Hertel and Reuss of the EXACT type you have on your rifle.

So please can I ask is this IMAGE MOVING or RETICULE MOVING when you put in windage or elevation adjustment. The seller is in Germany and my German does not extend to the finer points of "scope technology.

Many thanks in advance.

Oh no! Don't turn it as you will curse me when you have to put it back on zero! There is an easier answer. Just look through it and see if the reticule is "dead centre" in the sight or off to one side or other. If off to one side or other it is reticule moving type. If it is "dead centre" it is image moving.

Thanks for replying. My m/cycle days are long gone now. I used to have a Kawasaki 750 Turbo. My brother still has the BSA A10 that he bought over forty years ago though!