I just read it - it's a great 230 page book. Here is the link for the US market:

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I have made an English translation. If anyone buys the book and would like me to send them my English translation pdf (text only) please send me a private message (want to make sure the author gets his due credit/compensation for writing it).

-Dave

oneatatime wrote on Jan 6^th, 2025 at 1:06pm:


Short answer is no, the Wehrmannsgewehr shooting at the big triannual Federal Rifle Shoots (Bundesschießenfest) were done at 175m in the standing position without any rests just like the traditional Schützen rifles (Aydts, Martinis, Buechels, etc...).  I'm not sure why that drawing shows someone shooting from a rest - unfortunately there isn't any context or description of that drawing in the book. I am curious though. 

But I'll give a brief (in English) summary of the Wehrmmansgewehr that I learned from this book along with the feuerbixler.com website. One of the reasons for foundation of the German Federal Shooting Association (Bundesschießen) in the 1860s was to provide some level of shooting training for national defense, this was the time that the German states were in the process of unifying into the eventual Empire under the Prussians. However the majority saw target shooting with traditional schützen rifles with big cheek rests, diopter sights, set triggers in a standing-only position as purely a social sport having little value to military training. 

Those that believed that target shooting should encompass more military-like rifles introduced the Werhmannsgewehr which on the outside looks like the military rifles (Mauser 71, Gewehr 88, or Gewehr 98) but were usually chambered for popular 8.15x46R target cartridge. This allowed shooters to become more familiar shooting the military rifle (with traditional stocks, open sights and triggers with pulls >1.5 kg), but while using the target cartridge. The military German 8x57mm cartridge was too powerful for most ranges. Most shooting was at 175m but 300m was also used. The targets were slightly bigger than schützen. 

Also in terms of international competition the 300m three-position shooting was quite popular from the 1890s onward and shooting with the Schützen rifles in kneeling and prone position was quite difficult. So the Werhmannsgewehrs were also used by Germans participating in these international events. 

There was some difference on the local level between shooting techniques. In the north 'laid up' shooting with a rest was popular but in the south the free-standing was exclusively used - in fact in the early 1800s in Bavarian it was forbidden to shoot with arm resting on the chest, rather the elbow had to hang free away from the chest

KaiserKong wrote on Jan 6^th, 2025 at 4:19am:

FYI, The amazon page is also in German so here is an English translation of what is written about the book on the amazon page:
"When the term "traditional firearms" is used today within the German Shooting Federation (Deutscher Schützenbund), it usually refers to the classic target rifle, the Feuerstutzen. Sometimes, the Zimmerstutzen is also mentioned, although this particular firearm was at best tolerated by the DSB as a training weapon during the winter months.

However, there is another firearm that, just like the Feuerstutzen, is part of the traditions of the German Shooting Federation: the Wehrmannsgewehr. Although it is hardly known today, this firearm marks the beginning of the Federation's modernization, which is characterized by international competitions and performance comparisons.

To understand why the militaristic-looking Wehrmannsgewehr is part of the Shooting Federation's tradition, it is necessary to look at the history of the German Shooting Federation and the development of sport shooting from 1861 (the founding year of the German Shooting Federation) up to the period of Nazi restructuring of all shooting organizations.

Based on contemporary articles, records from the Mauser company, and other historical sources, the history of the Wehrmannsgewehr and its predecessor, the Deutsches Schützengewehr, is presented here. Details on the production numbers from manufacturers such as Mauser and Hänel are also provided, along with information on the ammunition used for the Wehrmannsgewehre." AI translation per ChatGPT