Walther Olympia Schnellfeurer ???

deadin · Jun 18, 2016

I picked up the above today at a local gun show. (At least that's what I think it is.

)

It is with a 7 3/8" barrel, duraluminum slide and chambered in .22 Short with a 6 round magazine and a large counterweight that hangs under the front part of the frame. The gun shows a lot of use and the grips have been modified by a previous owner. (They have added heel rest and extended thumb rest using what looks like plastic wood of some sort. Then the additions were covered with some sort of fabric to give a better grip.) Obviously a "shooters" gun.
There also was a large brass "muzzle brake" included. (I think it may be a one-off after market accessory.)

It's my understanding that this rapid fire model was made especially for the German 1936 Olympic team and therefore is fairly scarce.

Anybody know anything about these??

I'll try to get some pictures out in a day or two......

Cyrano · Jun 18, 2016

Here's my Hammerli/Walther Olympia, made in the 1950s under license from Walther who wasn't back in the arms business yet after WW II. It's my understanding that this is the same configuration as the Walther Olympia made for the '36 Olympics.

I usually remove the front weight when shooting mine, as my arm isn't as strong as a high-level competitior in shooting trim. And so far I've done nothing but punch holes in paper and bounce beer cans (great fun!!) wih mine. One picture shows my friend's daughter shooting it.

A real Walther from the pre-WW II period would be very rare. Also it's not unusual for competition shooters to modify their guns to suit their whims. The higher the level of the shooter, the more extreme the modifications (My S&W Model 41 is stock).

6string · Jun 18, 2016

Hi,
Pictures will help a lot. There are a few standard variations, and lots of variables by customization or special order. Any accessories?
While these were certainly used by the German shooters in the 1936 games, they were also used and sought after by others.
Hämmerli produced the gun in Switzerland after WWII. Sometimes you'll see older Walthers with some sort of mods or repairs using later Hämmerli parts.
You probably know this, but for other readers: Three different barrel lengths, chambered for 22 short or 22 LR. The former with aluminum slide the latter with steel.
I would personally like to see a pic of the underside of the barrel with the weights removed, as I think there are different milling groove patterns. But, I haven't seen enough of these to confirm.

You could probably get lots of info at the Walther forum. They have a number of members that own and use these.

They are very nice!

Best regards,
Jim

JohnRippert · Jun 18, 2016

OP: It sounds like it will be fun to shoot. I hope we get to see it soon.

Cyrano said:
And so far I've done nothing but punch holes in paper and bounce beer cans (great fun!!) with mine.

I had a 6in S&W 422 that we used to play "How far can you knock this can in one magazine?" back at the ranch. The kinds of pistols you guys have sound like a real good way to play that.

Cyrano · Jun 18, 2016

6string said:
Hi,

I would personally like to see a pic of the underside of the barrel with the weights removed, as I think there are different milling groove patterns. But, I haven't seen enough of these to confirm.

They are very nice!

Best regards,
Jim

I'll try to post a picture of the underside of my barrel. When you tighten the allen bolts, they expand the sides of the weight into grooves in the barrel, rather than the weight pinching the barrel.

6string · Jun 19, 2016

I've attached a picture of my early post war Hammerli-Walther Olympia. This one is the 22 LR version. It is a very rare left hand special order.
Besides the left hand grips, it has a very unusual extended magazine release, and a right side safety. The frame safety markings are even engraved on the right side! A special time when gunsmiths built guns to order for individuals.
The group shown was fired bullseye style (one hand standing), slow fire, at 25 yards.

I look forward to seeing your pics!

Jim

Cyrano · Jun 19, 2016

6string said:
Hi,

I would personally like to see a pic of the underside of the barrel with the weights removed, as I think there are different milling groove patterns. But, I haven't seen enough of these to confirm.

They are very nice!

Best regards,
Jim

Here's a picture of the underside of the barrel. Muzzle is towards the left. There are two wide places in the grooves; one is at the far left, the other about 2/3 down the length of the grooves. You loosen the screws and slide the weight foreward (back in the picture) as far as it can go, then lift it out of the grooves.

Also included; a picture of the top of the weight, showing the flanges which extend (up and down in the picture) under pressure of the allen screws and thus clamp the weight in position. Also a side view of the weight. In both pictures the muzzle is towards the left.

Hope all of this helps.

My pistol is SN 0-1730. Anybody have an idea or even a SWAG of the date of manufacure.

Andyd · Jun 19, 2016

According to Mauser, Walther & Mannlicher Firearms by W.H.B Smith Hämmerli started production in 1954 at 0-500 and reached 7,000 by September 1, 1961 for .22 l.r. and several thousand in .22 short. You and 6string have the model 203, the 205 American model had micrometer sights and some features catering to NRA regulations.

It is hard to find info on those Walther-Hämmerlis!

deadin · Jun 19, 2016

OK! Here are some quick pictures of my Walther Olympia..

Notice how the "additions" to the grips looks like something growing on them but it is more like suede leather. It's actually quite comfortable in the hand....
The barrel is pristine and the trigger is about as good as they come. I can't wait to see how it shoots....

The next picture is of all of the marking I could find other than the serial 6031 which has the last three digits repeated on each grip panel and the bottom of the slide. (I would love to know who "B.N." was....) I found no sign of any numbers or markings on the magazine.

I mentioned that it came with some sort of a muzzle brake. Here are some pics of it: (Homemade?? Probably..)

And here it is mounted: (All 5 1/2 oz. of it. Seems like a lot more when it is out on the end of the 7.4" barrel..)

One last thing... I'm not going to be able to dismount the weights until I can find a wrench that fits the following studs.
(They look like the square headed bolts used to mount the tang sight on Schutzen Rifles....)

Given what little research I have done so far, it looks like this is a pre-war schnellfeurer (rapid fire) pistol. Comments????

Cyrano · Jun 19, 2016

It's certainly a pre-war Walther Olympia Pistole since Walther wasn't allowed to produce firearms for quite a while after the war, hence the licensing of Hammerli to produce the Hammerli/Walther Olympia.

I'm glad my Hammerli/Walther has hex headed bolts for the weights instead of square ones

My weights are a little different than yours. The weigh attached to the receiver is in two pieces instead of one, and there's a weight attached to the bottom of the barrel, which doesn't seem to be the case with yours.

6string · Jun 20, 2016

Cyrano, thanks for posting the pics. That's the standard post war Hammerli-Walther weight set up. There is a similar model of the pre-war Walther 1936 Olympia that I "think" (not sure) uses a continuous dovetail groove without the notches; the whole weight slides on from the front. (Again, not sure.)
Deadin's Walther Olympia is a 1936 model but with a barrel and weight set up similar to the older 1932 version.
By the way, the weights on yours use a clock key to remove. They are easy to find from clock repair shops and on eBay. You need to measure the width of the square, in millimeters, to get the right size. Here is a chart that tells you what size key you need for the specific width of the square head.
Clock Keys

By the way! For an interesting bit on the pre-war Walther Olympia, check out the movie "OLYMPIAD" by Leni Riefenstahl. There's a great scene of the Pentathlon that shows one of the German athletes shooting the rapid fire pistol event with a 1936 Olympia!
Back then, the Pentathlon was an event intended for military officers, with fencing, swimming, running, horseback riding, and of course, pistol shooting. They even used humanoid shaped targets. Don't look for it today: It has been long dropped from our "woosified" Olympics.

Here's a link to a bunch of Olympias for sale at Simpon's:
Simpson Ltd

H Richard · Jun 20, 2016

For those square headed bolts on the weight, you might try a mantle clock winder key, mine looks about 1/4" point to point.

Walther Olympia Schnellfeurer ???

deadin

US Veteran

Cyrano

US Veteran

Attachments

6string

Member

JohnRippert

Member

Cyrano

US Veteran

6string

Member

Attachments

Cyrano

US Veteran

Attachments

Andyd

Member

deadin

US Veteran

Cyrano

US Veteran

6string

Member

H Richard

US Veteran

Similar threads

Latest posts