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Hot Topic (More than 10 Replies) Luna Buchel Meister (Read 8801 times)
gsbvpepsint
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Luna Buchel Meister
May 11th, 2014 at 10:18am
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Greetings. I am a new member and am seeking more information about a Schutzen rifle I found on gunbroker. I have done some research online and remain confused about if Luna was a component or brand of Buchel or another business entity that utilized a Buchel manufactured action? Is such a rifle safe to shoot? If the answer to this question is yes - how difficult is it to find or make 7.6 ammo?

Thank to members for any help you can provide!
  
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Fred Boulton
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Re: Luna Buchel Meister
Reply #1 - May 11th, 2014 at 2:32pm
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The Buchel Meister action was supplied to other gun makers to build the final rifle. Mine was built by Bruno Anschutz. The 7.6mm stamp is not the calibre, but the bore diameter before rifling. The calibre is 8.15 x 46R. Brass is easily re-formed from 30-30, but, if you have a German contact, RWS still make it. 
The rifle uses a stop-ring bullet---moulds are available from several US sources.
The barrel has a long throat to effectively re-form the stop ring, which is a raised area of lead which stops the bullet being seated too deeply.
After first firing, it is not necessary to use reloading dies---you simply de- and re-cap. add powder and thumb seat the bullet.
Fred
  
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rgchristensen
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Re: Luna Buchel Meister
Reply #2 - May 11th, 2014 at 2:33pm
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    The names "Luna" and "Buchel Meister" are good ones, suggestive of a good quality item.   The names are sometimes those of a vendor, sometimes of a maker.  Hard to tell.  Anyhow, the ctg is undoubtedly the 8.15x46R, easily made from 30-30 brass.   
    Whether is is "shootable" depends on whether it comes with sights or not.   Being detachable, they are many times lost from the rifle.    It is a serious desecration of fine rifles to tap them for scope blocks, but there is generally a top rib to which ad hoc blocks can be clamped.  
     Bullets can be a problem -- given the right diameter and something to hook a breech seater to, breech-seated ammo can give good results.    The Germans used a bullet with a belt on it that seated on the case mouth  --  One would reprime a case, charge with powder, and stick a bullet in it.   The case acted more-or-less as a bullet seater.   This is something I am tinkering right now with a couple of German rifles.   I am having best results with what would seem to be an over-size bullet, fitting the mouth of the fired case rather than the bore.
     
CHRIS
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jfeldman
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Re: Luna Buchel Meister
Reply #3 - May 11th, 2014 at 6:09pm
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Saw this in an old Gun Trader's Guide from about 1986.  Always thought it would be a neat rifle to have.  Good luck!
  
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yamoon
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Re: Luna Buchel Meister
Reply #4 - May 11th, 2014 at 8:25pm
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Very nice rifle except it is missing the tang sight. The way the tang sight mounts on that Luna is different than most German schuetzen rifles so it may be hard to come up with a sight, even a reproduction. I have several German rifles including a Buchel Meister, I always figure a rifle is worth 25% more if it has the original sights. I believe the 7.25 in the proof marks refer to the month & year it was proofed (July 1925) and the 366 refers to  it being the 366th rifle proofed that month. I use to breach seat, but now use stop ring bullets. You can do searches on this web site as there were several good threads on German rifles & 8.15 x 46R reloading.
Mike
  
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Walter  Matera
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Re: Luna Buchel Meister
Reply #5 - May 11th, 2014 at 10:29pm
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Alfred Schilling, gmbh made sights for those rifles before they started making their own scheibenwaffen.  Of course, being a custom German machining item it wouldn't be cheap but if you're interested shoot me a PM and I'll get a price for you.
  
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gsbvpepsint
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Re: Luna Buchel Meister
Reply #6 - May 12th, 2014 at 12:46pm
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Thank you everyone for your informative responses. I will continue my research but have found that this subject is a bunch tougher than researching others Springfields, Lugers, 1911s, Japanese, etc. I guess because foreign and not military.
  
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gsbvpepsint
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Re: Luna Buchel Meister
Reply #7 - May 12th, 2014 at 12:49pm
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yamoon wrote on May 11th, 2014 at 8:25pm:
Very nice rifle except it is missing the tang sight. The way the tang sight mounts on that Luna is different than most German schuetzen rifles so it may be hard to come up with a sight, even a reproduction. I have several German rifles including a Buchel Meister, I always figure a rifle is worth 25% more if it has the original sights. I believe the 7.25 in the proof marks refer to the month & year it was proofed (July 1925) and the 366 refers to  it being the 366th rifle proofed that month. I use to breach seat, but now use stop ring bullets. You can do searches on this web site as there were several good threads on German rifles & 8.15 x 46R reloading.
Mike


Thanks Mike. Because the rear sight is harder to get does that mean the Luna is rarer than other similar makers?
  
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yamoon
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Re: Luna Buchel Meister
Reply #8 - May 12th, 2014 at 1:29pm
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I don't really know about rarity, as I purchased my rifles 20ys ago and don't follow the gun auctions, but the photos on gun broker show what appears to be a rifle in nice shape. The rifle is plain, no fancy carving or engraving, if I were buying it, I would bid $700 to $900 without sights, I sure other members on this web site have different ideas on value.
Mike
  
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Fred Boulton
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Re: Luna Buchel Meister
Reply #9 - May 12th, 2014 at 2:19pm
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Mine has a purpose built German scope, made to fit on the top rib. It is the only one that I have ever seen.
Fred
  
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gsbvpepsint
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Re: Luna Buchel Meister
Reply #10 - May 13th, 2014 at 12:38pm
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Are there charts available that cover makers and production numbers to determine rarity?
  
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Fred Boulton
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Re: Luna Buchel Meister
Reply #11 - May 13th, 2014 at 2:39pm
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You are scratching at the surface of one of the more complex manufacturing scenarios. The best source of information on these rifles is the three volume set of books published by Tom Rowe. The Buchel Meister is in volume 2.
Three volumes, packed with information and the authors admit that they are a long way from covering everything in the history of Schuetzen Rifles.
Fred
  
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John Boy
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Re: Luna Buchel Meister
Reply #12 - May 17th, 2014 at 3:46pm
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Quote:
cover makers and production numbers to determine rarity?

Production numbers = No
  
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yamoon
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Re: Luna Buchel Meister
Reply #13 - May 23rd, 2014 at 7:35pm
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I wonder who bought it, I thought it went a bit on the high side w/o sights
Mike
  
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