Korth .22 - Wow

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Paul7 said:
Just got this 1967 Korth .22, made back when Willi Korth was personally involved in the making of each. Easily the finest high end handgun I've owned, and I have a Python and have owned a Sig P210 and Manurhin 73 (albeit a police beater gun). Fit and finish, trigger, ergonomics and of course accuracy are all great. Beautiful bluing and European walnut grips. Empties slide out of the cylinder easily. The round button in front of the trigger is to remove the cylinder for cleaning. Some don't like the looks of Korth revolvers, I prefer the cleaner look of these older models with no cylinder release knob by the hammer or Korth billboard on the sideplate, it reminds me of a fine older Colt. Supposedly the later ones with the knob by the trigger have a better DA pull but this one is pretty good and I don't plan on shooting it in DA much anyway. Am getting an occasional FTF in DA but that seems to be not uncommon for .22 DAs, a local gunsmith says he can adjust it easily but I may leave it as is. The Nils grips are the most comfortable handgun grips I've ever used, they must have been special order as the originals that usually came in this period were pretty crude. This came from a lot from the German government, and may not have been shot for decades as the action was a bit stiff at first but with use and some lube has smoothed out nicely. The importer said when he was putting his discreet import marks on it was very difficult due to the hardness of the steel.

1" targets were six shots 30' off a sandbag.

If you've always wanted a Korth but thought they were $5K+, these older .22s can be had for about $2K. The older I get the more appealing shooting .22s is.

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Willi Korth designed those grips and the Korth Sonderverschraubung, the double ended screw. In 1969 a German start up company owned by a certain Karl Nill got the order to make the grips for Willi, the ones of your gun are the Nill manufactured ones. I had also replaced the Korth grips on an early gun I have.
ulxa2bHh.jpg

Willi had completed the design of his lock work by 1969 and those are the guns with the cylinder release mounted on top, their single action is not much different from the pre- 1969 guns but the double action is different, the earlier post 69 models came with five wheels that changed the D/A stacking and the reset can be externally adjusted.

Korth-inside.jpg

Ejection of spent cases is so easy since Korth pushed a ball bearing back and fourth in the chamber and smoothened the finish to an exact dimension like no polishing can achieve.
I would not let any gun smith touch my Korth.


The Evolution of the Korth Sport Revolver (smith-wessonforum.com)
 
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PzGren said:
Willi Korth designed those grips and the Korth Sonderverschraubung, the double ended screw. In 1969 a German start up company owned by a certain Karl Nill got the order to make the grips for Willi, the ones of your gun are the Nill manufactured ones. I had also replaced the Korth grips on an early gun I have.
View attachment 985560
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The seller thought mine were special order when the gun was made, they appear to be about the same age. I find them the most comfortable revolver grips I've used. Beautiful set on yours.

Willi had completed the design of his lock work by 1969 and those are the guns with the cylinder release mounted on top, their single action is not much different from the pre- 1969 guns but the double action is different, the earlier post 69 models came with five wheels that changed the D/A stacking and the reset can be externally adjusted.

View attachment 985559
Click to expand...

Would love to try one of the later DAs, although the DA on mine is very good.

Ejection of spent cases is so easy since Korth pushed a ball bearing back and fourth in the chamber and smoothened the finish to an exact dimension like no polishing can achieve.
Click to expand...

Agreed, with other .22 revolvers it can be a battle ejecting spent casings once the gun heats up.

I would not let any gun smith touch my Korth.
The Evolution of the Korth Sport Revolver (smith-wessonforum.com)
Click to expand...

Normally I would agree, but if just a matter of adjusting the pull my local gun smith is very good, he teaches gunsmithing and has worked on Korths before. The light DA strike issue has pretty much gone away with some oil and use. I doubt I'll ever wear out a Korth .22 to the point where it would need more serious work.
 
bc1023 said:
I’ve shot them all, yes

I don’t shoot the Autopistols these days with the way value has gone up. At $15K+ a piece with no parts available, I’d rather not.
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How would you describe the Autopistols shooting them? I imagine pretty accurate for one.
 
Paul7 said:
How would you describe the Autopistols shooting them? I imagine pretty accurate for one.
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Very soft shooting. DA trigger extremely smooth. SA trigger crisp with a super short reset. Accuracy was very good, though I have more accurate pistols.

Bore axis is high, but the gun behaves well.
 
bc1023 said:
Very soft shooting. DA trigger extremely smooth. SA trigger crisp with a super short reset. Accuracy was very good, though I have more accurate pistols.

Bore axis is high, but the gun behaves well.
Click to expand...

Cost aside, which would you pick between that and a Sig P210?
 
Paul7 said:
Normally I would agree, but if just a matter of adjusting the pull my local gun smith is very good, he teaches gunsmithing and has worked on Korths before. The light DA strike issue has pretty much gone away with some oil and use. I doubt I'll ever wear out a Korth .22 to the point where it would need more serious work.
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Paul7 said:
Cost aside, which would you pick between that and a Sig P210?
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Korth Autopistols were always kind of exotic, even in Germany and I have never seen one at a competition in Germany. The Swiss P210s were always present at the firing lines of competitions and still are to this day.
While I have a bunch of Ratzeburg Korth revolvers, I have absolutely no use for Willi's pistols.
 
Pretty sure my CP33 can do 1 inch at 10 yards too, but cost $1600 less.
 
JumboJVT said:
Beautiful gun. But 1" at 30'? Did you mean 30 yards? If not, how does that metric demonstrate it's quality?
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Not sure who did, but I never mentioned anything about accuracy.

I believe you quoted the wrong person.
 
OP, Paul7, stated his pistol shot 1” at 30’.

I held off commenting. I have a 2” S&W M34 that shoots 1” at 30feet. Also a Heritage Arms 6” w/adjustable sights.
Likewise, an M617 6” 6-shot that will shoot 1” at 30yds (90’) with selected ammo.

But, I acknowledge that Korths are world class revolvers.
 
I used to be the coach in several gun clubs and when shooters were off target and wanted to adjust the sights of club guns, I let them shoot my Korths. Sitting, shooting from a simple sandbag rest. Almost everybody could get one inch at 25 meters with either CCI or Geco standard ammo. Surprisingly, they did not need to adjust the sights but their shooting technique :).
 
GooseGestapo said:
OP, Paul7, stated his pistol shot 1” at 30’.

I held off commenting. I have a 2” S&W M34 that shoots 1” at 30feet. Also a Heritage Arms 6” w/adjustable sights.
Likewise, an M617 6” 6-shot that will shoot 1” at 30yds (90’) with selected ammo.
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Great, I don't claim to be the greatest shot or a competition shooter, and am working with 62 year old eyes. I included that because that's what you do in a review, it was only one of a number of features. I haven't shot it yet at targets at longer distances. You buy a Korth for the whole package, not because you think it is significantly more accurate than any other revolver. I've had a S&W .22, and still own a Colt pre-war .22 that were/are probably as accurate as the Korth, but don't compare overall.

But, I acknowledge that Korths are world class revolvers.
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That they are, you have to shoot one to understand.

I always laugh when I hear people say they can't afford, or wouldn't pay $2K for a Korth .22. I bet for most of those shooters if you added up the value of all their plastic and other lesser guns they could buy several Korths.
 
I have shot a Korth! Several in fact. They’re nice! But not for everyone.
But so are my S&W’s! (But they aren’t stock)
My eyes have three years on yours...
 
GooseGestapo said:
I have shot a Korth! Several in fact. They’re nice! But not for everyone.
But so are my S&W’s! (But they aren’t stock)
My eyes have three years on yours...
Click to expand...

I'll have to go back and measure my targets for the nitpickers here, I never said they were 1" groups, I said they were 1" targets. The OP one on the left looks to be less than 1", and as I said, I haven't shot at targets beyond 30' yet other than tin cans.

Personally, S&Ws don't do much for me.
 
PzGren said:
Willi Korth designed those grips and the Korth Sonderverschraubung, the double ended screw. In 1969 a German start up company owned by a certain Karl Nill got the order to make the grips for Willi, the ones of your gun are the Nill manufactured ones. I had also replaced the Korth grips on an early gun I have.
View attachment 985560

Willi had completed the design of his lock work by 1969 and those are the guns with the cylinder release mounted on top, their single action is not much different from the pre- 1969 guns but the double action is different, the earlier post 69 models came with five wheels that changed the D/A stacking and the reset can be externally adjusted.

View attachment 985559

Ejection of spent cases is so easy since Korth pushed a ball bearing back and fourth in the chamber and smoothened the finish to an exact dimension like no polishing can achieve.
I would not let any gun smith touch my Korth.


The Evolution of the Korth Sport Revolver (smith-wessonforum.com)
Click to expand...

The mainspring looks like a gas strut. Is there a regular spring inside the sleeve?
 
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