I have this rifle!

[jwest142]

Hello all,
How many times have we all heard this line? Well, I have this rifle, it's made by a company by the name of Braun & Munzel( with an umlaut over the u in Munzel). I have figured the weapon is probably of German or possibly Belgian origination. My grandfather bought this gun to use for elk and deer hunting, the caliber is 9mmx57mm.
It has a scope on it that is possibly made by the same company or a German optical company. My father inherited the rifle from his father and I inherited it from my father 11 years ago when he passed. The problem I'm having is that I can't find any information on this weapon at all, anywhere. It's a beautiful rifle with possibly a Mannlicher action, it has a set trigger on it, the barrel is octagonal and the bore is quite something to see (big hole!), it has a serial number on it, it's in excellent shape for its age and I know it's close to 90-100 years old, my grandfather died in 1968 when I was 4 so I know it was made well before that. The barrel has a nice patina and the scope does as well. That's what makes me think the scope is made by the same company. The metal all looks the same. It has quite ornate scope mounts as well. The rear mount has a knurled edge on both sides and it slides back and then the scope lifts out of the mounts and then you can snap it right back in without affecting the accuracy. I remember my father talking about this feature.
I have searched high and low for information about this rifle, I have looked in the Blue book of gun prices, I have sent letters to the NRA (with no return I might add). I have emailed people, I have been to the library, I have searched The Library of Congress (online) with no luck. Is there anyone out there that has even heard of this company? If you'd like pictures of the rifle, I will be happy to take some and send them along. I would love to know where this rifle came from and who made it and when. Thank you for any information you can provide.
My father and I shot this rifle when I was about 16, I remember I shot it twice and it left quite a bruise. My father shot 4 rounds through it that day, that's the only time we ever had it out and fired it.

JW

 

[Sunray]

Most likely a custom made rifle. There were literally thousands of small gun makers in Europe prior to W.W. I. Very hard to find any info on most of 'em.

 

[Mp7]

Hmm... well Brown is obviously english origin, and Münzel is german.
I googled it and found a Gunsmith-store in Koblenz by that name,
but it´s not like they are prouldy talking of like 200years of history ...
so it should be a coincidence.

The two names on it could lead to england or belgium ...
but in case the german name is a lead,
here´s the email-addy of the german weapons museum in Suhl
[email protected]

they have an english website, so if u write easy-english
and include pics ... some Yoda-type Gunsmith might know sumthin

 

[Cosmoline]

Not much info to go on. Photos would be a big help.

 

[jwest142]

I can't believe I did it again, I misspelled BROWN in the original posting, it should have read BRAUN as it does now after I edited it.

 

[Mp7]

well, instantly found one gunsmith by the name of BRAUN and one MÜNZEL, might be their tradition has benn kepot by their kids ... might not.

 

[Jim Watson]

Pictures, pictures, more pictures. Close and clear.
Whether it is a Mauser or Mannlicher action (or Something Else) will be immediately apparent to a knowledgeable viewer.
The proof marks will tell where it was made or at least where sold. They might provide an idea of the era made, although probably not the year.

 

[Jim K]

Many German long guns bear the name of the retail store, not the actual maker. In Germany prior to WWII, many guns were made by groups of gunsmiths (guilds), each of which worked on a specific part (stock, action, etc.) and the product was then sold to a retail gun store which put its name on the gun.

After both WWI and WWII, many thousands of ex-military Mausers were converted to sporting rifles and sold in Germany both to Germans and to Allied occupation forces and marketed throughout the world to gain hard currency. I can't be sure without pictures, but odds are that your rifle is one of those.

Jim