German .22 Revolvers

[Goony]

Many will have to confess to having one (or more) of this genre, probably if for no other reason than that they often turn up at a "what the hell" price point. Despite their being inexpensive, both when new and now used, they're actually serviceable. Their zinc alloy frames render them illegal in some jurisdictions (something that can also be said of the Colt Scout).

The single action at the top is a Herbert Smith 21S, which is pretty common. It has an interesting safety which consists of a bar that, when the hammer is brought back to its first notch, can be slid downwards to block the hammer from contact with the frame mounted firing pin. This allows for carry with all six chambers loaded. Then when the hammer is fully cocked, this bar automatically moves up out of the way so that the gun can be discharged. One thing about German proofs is that the year of manufacture is incorporated into them. This one was made in 1971. The Rock Island Auction Co. actually sold a consecutively numbered pair of these a couple of years ago. See: Two Herbert Schmidt Model 21S Single Action Revolvers with Boxes | Rock Island Auction

The lower double action is a Burgo HW7. You'll see these more typically branded as Arminius. The "HW" stands for Hermann Weinrauch Revolvers GmbH. The ventilated rib on this example is a nice touch. It dates to 1969.

 

[lihpster]

First handgun I ever shot was my dad's old German single action .22LR/.22Mag convertible with a 10" barrel. Ugly as sin but it hit what you aimed it at. With the standard plastic "jigged bone" grips and an old holster and cartridge belt it made a respectable woods gun.

 

[Andyd]

Guilty as charged. I have many cheap German revolvers. Here are a few of them:

 

[Andyd]

...

The lower double action is a Burgo HW7. You'll see these more typically branded as Arminius. The "HW" stands for Hermann Weinrauch Revolvers GmbH.

Burgo was just a distributor. HW is part of the model designtation. The revolvers are the Arminius line, but the HW60 existed as a light hunting rifle and HW60M was the match version, the HW52 was a falling block rifle and then there are all the air rifles & pistols ....

 

[Goony]

Guilty as charged. I have many cheap German revolvers. Here are a few of them:

These, especially that last one made by J.P. Sauer & Sohn, appear to be of substantially higher quality than the common types normally seen. Even if they were cheap to buy, they don't look cheaply made.

 

[oysterer]

These, especially that last one made by J.P. Sauer & Sohn, appear to be of substantially higher quality than the common types normally seen. Even if they were cheap to buy, they don't look cheaply made.

Herr Andy: Enjoy your cheap revolvers, cheap meaning compared to our national dept. I assume these knock offs shoot quite alright?

Never seen a Sauer revolver, you think the frame, crane and cylinder were sourced from S&W?

 

[murphydog]

These, especially that last one made by J.P. Sauer & Sohn, appear to be of substantially higher quality than the common types normally seen. Even if they were cheap to buy, they don't look cheaply made.

I think andyd is pulling your leg, those are part of his extensive Korth collection.

 

[Goony]

I think andyd is pulling your leg, those are part of his extensive Korth collection.

Well, I feel like a fool now. I wasn't at all familiar with Korth Waffen.

 

[Wyo]

This is a Rohm RG-14. This particular revolver was used by one John Hinckley back in 1981. Some of you may recall that event. I always tell people to “never poo-poo the .22.” Then I tell them that I know one guy who knocked four people flat with six shots from a .22 in about 1.5 sec. They always say “Oh, yeah? Who?” John Hinckley, that’s who, and he did it with this little “inexpensive” .22 that most of us would never even look twice at.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Country Boy here, came up shooting Shotguns and 22s.
So there I was down at Walker AFB NM and going out with guys to shoot Jack Rabbits.
With borrowed 22 rifles and handguns.
So they tired and yelled - Buy A Gun!
OK! So I bought a RG single-action revolver.
It was junk! Metal flew every time I pulled the trigger.
Took it back to the gun store - pawnshop where I got it.
And bought a Ruger.
That was my only experience with foreign revolvers.

 

[Andyd]

Herr Andy: Enjoy your cheap revolvers, cheap meaning compared to our national dept. I assume these knock offs shoot quite alright?

Never seen a Sauer revolver, you think the frame, crane and cylinder were sourced from S&W?

The Sauer Medallion/Trophy line of revolvers were made in Eckernfoerde only for a very short time, right before S&S became SIG Sauer, they sent the machinery to Italy and Euroarms continued to build the revolvers for a short time. The design is obviously borrowed from S&W, while Willi Korth went a completely different way.
The Arminius line of revolvers is a direct copy of the High Standard Sentinel line. Arminius is the name the Romans gave to Hermann, the son of a chieftain that was a hostage in Rome, became a captain in the Roman army and defeated Quintus Varus in the Varus Battle and annihilated two legions, making him a national hero.

Korth

Sauer & Sohn, Hawes was the U.S. importer at the time


Or did S&S just copy the Taurus by mistake ?

 

[djohns6]

When I was a kid my Dad had a Rohm .22 revolver . White plastic grips . Nobody could hit a darn thing with it .

 

[Andyd]

This is a Rohm RG-14. This particular revolver was used by one John Hinckley back in 1981. Some of you may recall that event. I always tell people to “never poo-poo the .22.” Then I tell them that I know one guy who knocked four people flat with six shots from a .22 in about 1.5 sec. They always say “Oh, yeah? Who?” John Hinckley, that’s who, and he did it with this little “inexpensive” .22 that most of us would never even look twice at.

I had bought them by the shoebox in the 1990s when my gun store had sourced blue 50 gallon drums full of guns at law enforcement auctions. Some worked surprisingly well!

 

[Andyd]

Well, I feel like a fool now. I wasn't at all familiar with Korth Waffen.

No need to feel bad, they were so expensive that Korth went bankrupt three or four times, and eventually priced themselves out of the market when the last sales price was $6,000 in 2008 and built on order.

 

[Andyd]

The only photo I have of my HW9 is one with a target shot at 25 yards offhand a few years ago. Weihrauch sources their barrels from the same manufacturer that Willi Korth had used. The HW9 is the target version of the Arminius line and has an excellent single action trigger.

 

[AJ]

Had an RG 66 a long time ago. What a piece of junk. Shaved lead so bad that you could not be on the firing line while someone else shot it. The only thing that you could depend on was, loading one round in the cylinder, spinning the cylinder and cocking it. The round always came up under the hammer. Not the gun to play Russian Roulette with! I had bought it for $25 and sold it to a guy for $20, He knew it's faults and wanted it for a truck gun.......

 

[Billylee]

I have one marked EIG, E15, Made in West Germany. Single action, no safety or transfer bar, plastic grips w/buffalo, 4 1/2” barrel. It’s my favorite plinker. Picked it up at a gun show about ten years ago for $45.00. It’s a tad rough but looks aren’t everything.

 

[forindooruseonly]

I have a couple of Hawes single actions that I use for cowboy action shooting, which I gave next to nothing for. Then I have a couple of Korths that I gave a kidney for. Different wants for different things.

 

[Goony]

Falcon Single Action Convertible

Here's one I picked up last year in a pawn shop, primarily because it was essentially new in its original carton. Overall it's a rather conventional design. The wood grips and gold plated hammer and trigger are nice touches.

The original receipt that came with it shows that it was purchased at Globe Shopping City on this exact date in 1971 for the princely sum of $43.86 (Globe was a discount department store chain that operated across the southwest). The proofing on the gun shows it was actually made in 1968, however.

 

[ACORN]

First gun I owned was a RG single action .22 Ruger clone. I paid $25 to a friend for it around 1978. Somehow I in the pre-internet dark ages I bought a set of walnut grips that improved its appearance than the brown plastic. It made the rounds among a group of us. Never failed to go bang. Don’t know who has it now.