No, this is not a Kentucky or a Pennsylvania.
This is a Schutzen Rifle. What's a Schutzen?
It is a target rifle, designed for competition known as Schutzen which originated in Germany in the late 1800s.
The story goes that a Jaeger (hunter) was witness to the attack of an Eagle on a young child. The range was exceptionally long but the Jaeger took careful aim and killed the bird with his one shot.
Out of this idea, target shooting at a range of 200 yards, firing from a standing position without any support came to be.
Schutzen became very popular both in Europe and in the United States.
Traditionally, after the target shooting is finished, a wooden model of an Eagle is placed at a closer distance and the competitors take turns blowing it to bits. This is followed by good German food and lots of beer to wash it down.
Schutzen competition is still held however with the passing of time, telescopic sights and center fire cartridges are now the norm. The food and beer tradition is still part of the game.
The accuracy of this gun is outstanding and if the modern shooters were forced to use iron sights, I am sure this gun could easily blow away the centerfire competition.
After building several Pennsylvania rifles, I wanted to do something different. Pecatonica River offers a Schutzen kit so I decided that would be my next project.
The stock is #2 grade CM. With the exception of the Eagle on the cheekpiece most of the decoration is wire inlays, done to give the impression of a forest surrounding an eagle.
The barrel key is retained by a pin to prevent it from being lost. The nosecap is cast in place.
The front sight is a tall Lyman style with interchangable inserts. This tall sight was needed to work with the original style Swiss Diopter rear sight.
The trigger is a single phase double set trigger which must be "set" to fire the gun.
The barrel was made by someone in Florida (sorry, I forgot his name) who did an excellent job. It is 34 inches long, 1 inch octagon, .40 caliber. The twist rate is 1:18 with .005 deep rifleing. (This barrel is made to shoot elongated bullets and works great with 330 and 400 grain paper patched bullets. It also could be used with grease groove bullets but I prefer paper patching as the thoughts of removing leading in a muzzleloading rifle sounds like a lot of work). For more information on the Paper Patched bullets see my post on the subject.
This barrel also has a pilot diameter on the outside which is concentric with the bore. It is to be used with a bullet loading guide similar to a "false muzzle"
I have found a load of 70 grains of Pyrodex RS with the Paper Patched 330 grain slug can easily hold 1 MOA accuracy if the shooter can.
Not shown in the photos is a palm rest which installs just in front of the trigger guard. Placing your elbow against your side and cradling the palm rest in your hand provides a very stable position from which to shoot. The location of this palm rest by the way is exactly at the guns center of gravity. This is due to the heavy buttplate which counterbalances the barrel weight.
If you have quesions, feel free to ask them. Also if you have access to the July 2003 issue of "The Single Shot Exchange" magizine, you will find a 3 page article about this gun.
The lock is designed for the Schutzen and is made by L&R.
Thinking the gun needed a compartmentalized case, I built this one and lined it with green velvet. The stock and the barrel each have padded compartments. The case also has storage for the sight inserts, rear sight adjustment tool, caps and other items. My only complaint about the case it it weighs almost as much as the 12 pound rifle.
This is a Schutzen Rifle. What's a Schutzen?
It is a target rifle, designed for competition known as Schutzen which originated in Germany in the late 1800s.
The story goes that a Jaeger (hunter) was witness to the attack of an Eagle on a young child. The range was exceptionally long but the Jaeger took careful aim and killed the bird with his one shot.
Out of this idea, target shooting at a range of 200 yards, firing from a standing position without any support came to be.
Schutzen became very popular both in Europe and in the United States.
Traditionally, after the target shooting is finished, a wooden model of an Eagle is placed at a closer distance and the competitors take turns blowing it to bits. This is followed by good German food and lots of beer to wash it down.
Schutzen competition is still held however with the passing of time, telescopic sights and center fire cartridges are now the norm. The food and beer tradition is still part of the game.
The accuracy of this gun is outstanding and if the modern shooters were forced to use iron sights, I am sure this gun could easily blow away the centerfire competition.
After building several Pennsylvania rifles, I wanted to do something different. Pecatonica River offers a Schutzen kit so I decided that would be my next project.
The stock is #2 grade CM. With the exception of the Eagle on the cheekpiece most of the decoration is wire inlays, done to give the impression of a forest surrounding an eagle.
The barrel key is retained by a pin to prevent it from being lost. The nosecap is cast in place.
The front sight is a tall Lyman style with interchangable inserts. This tall sight was needed to work with the original style Swiss Diopter rear sight.
The trigger is a single phase double set trigger which must be "set" to fire the gun.
The barrel was made by someone in Florida (sorry, I forgot his name) who did an excellent job. It is 34 inches long, 1 inch octagon, .40 caliber. The twist rate is 1:18 with .005 deep rifleing. (This barrel is made to shoot elongated bullets and works great with 330 and 400 grain paper patched bullets. It also could be used with grease groove bullets but I prefer paper patching as the thoughts of removing leading in a muzzleloading rifle sounds like a lot of work). For more information on the Paper Patched bullets see my post on the subject.
This barrel also has a pilot diameter on the outside which is concentric with the bore. It is to be used with a bullet loading guide similar to a "false muzzle"
I have found a load of 70 grains of Pyrodex RS with the Paper Patched 330 grain slug can easily hold 1 MOA accuracy if the shooter can.
Not shown in the photos is a palm rest which installs just in front of the trigger guard. Placing your elbow against your side and cradling the palm rest in your hand provides a very stable position from which to shoot. The location of this palm rest by the way is exactly at the guns center of gravity. This is due to the heavy buttplate which counterbalances the barrel weight.
If you have quesions, feel free to ask them. Also if you have access to the July 2003 issue of "The Single Shot Exchange" magizine, you will find a 3 page article about this gun.
The lock is designed for the Schutzen and is made by L&R.
Thinking the gun needed a compartmentalized case, I built this one and lined it with green velvet. The stock and the barrel each have padded compartments. The case also has storage for the sight inserts, rear sight adjustment tool, caps and other items. My only complaint about the case it it weighs almost as much as the 12 pound rifle.
