The word is: "SCHUTZEN"!
Howdy!
All the prior comments seem correct, but no-one has mentioned what this rifle really is.
It is a great example of a "schutzen" target rifle.
It was designed to be fired in the offhand (standing) position, at targets at 200 or 300 yards. The target was a 25 ring target with the center only 1 1/2" in diameter, and a 12" bull.
The firing was done in a relatively leisurely fashion, since it was common to reuse the same reprimed cartridge case, for each shot. When using this method, the bullet was inserted into the rifling by a bullet seating rod, then the case, with a load of black, smokeless or a mix of the two powders, with a wad over the mouth, was inserted into the chamber immediately before firing.
Some shooters chose to load paper patched bullets directly into the cases, thus eliminating the seating process, but many would argue that this produced accuracy that did not quite reach that of the seperate bullet/case method.
The 8.15X46r cartridge dates back to sometime between 1890 and 1900, and was still offered by RWS as late as 2000, though I haven't checked lately.
Everything on the rifle was intended to improve accuracy by the standing shooter. The double set trigger, hooked buttplate, contoured and high mounted cheek rest, carved thumb rest, finger contoured trigger guard/grip, long barrel, and tang mounted peep sights (some with corrective lenses in varied color glass, to match light conditions),were all standard equipment on a Schutzen rifle.
The barrels were constructed of the finest Krupp or Bohler steel, which was the finest in the world, and could have had rifling in 2, 4, 6, or 8 grooves, and one type even had grooved lands. These barrels could be expected to last from 30,000 to 40,000 rounds, since the 8.15X46r was seldom loaded past around 15,000 psi, and only lead bullets were used.
Interestingly, one common feature, missing from the pictured example, was the drooping "hogbelly" or "potbelly" at the bottom of the buttstock, which could assist in steadying the rifle by resting on the shooters chest. The absence of this feature makes me wonder if this particular example could have done double duty, with different sights, as a hunting rifle.
This form of offhand competition was a popular national sport in Germany and Austria for centuries, and in the U.S. from the late 1800s until the late 1930s.
In somewhat less grand scale, these "schutzenfests" still take place.
The competitions of old sometimes took on festival staus, over several days, before a champion was crowned(literally).
The rifle pictured seems to be a beautiful example and I drool a bit just looking at it.
I hope it gets a great home.
It's an example of shooting "art", from a time long gone.
Thanks for your time.
