Being a certified Gun Nut, which I am not sure that it is any better than being a “nut job”, I am in a constant and endless quest for the ultimate, if not perfect, toy. That such toy should be a classic walnut and blued steel rifle goes without saying, and it should be equally at home both indoor and outdoors. As for the caliber what else could it be but the most ubiquitous cartridge in history, der König der Kleinkaliberpatronen (the King of small bore cartridges), the beloved 22 Long Rifle.
Due to only being semi-retired, being involved with greater or lesser degree in multiple businesses across the estate and the unforecastable Michigan weather, my most reliably available range is my basement, where I am generally limited to airguns, and while I have many lovely, high quality and very precise air rifles, their intrinsic behavior is quite different from firearms.
During my last visit to sister company Randy’s Hunting Center in Bad Axe, Michigan, I saw an attractive single shot bolt-action 22 LR rifle featuring a 25 inch heavy barrel and a beautiful walnut stock. Upon closer examination it proved to be a Waffenfabrik Walther Zella-Mehlis Thuringen (Sportmodell) .22, also known as Meisterbüchse or Master’s Rifle.
Walther was one of a dozen or more German firearms manufacturers that produced small bore training rifles in the inter-war years (roughly 1920 to 1940) designed to have similar dimensions, weight and ergonomics to Karabiner 98k, in this way allowing Germany to train a large number of people in marksmanship using inexpensive 22 LR ammunition, but without violating the restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles.
Although I had previous access to different Kleinkaliberbüchse (small caliber rifle) of the period, what set the Walther Meisterbüchse apart, especially for my aging eyes, was the possibility of mounting a scope, using the 11 millimeter rail, that is machined not only over the receiver, but also over a long portion of the barrel. I mounted an UTG 3-12x40 intended for airguns that I had available, but may eventually replace it by something more aesthetically matched to this century old piece of history.
Considering the construction and limitations of my range I needed to use the least powerful ammunition possible and my starting point as the Aguilla Super Colibri that shoots a 20 grains bullet at 590 feet per second. The Super Colibri has always been a staple of my basement shooting, being very quiet, precise and less powerful than many of my air rifles, however, due to the long and “tight” match grade barrel of the Walther it just didn’t have enough energy to leave the barrel.
But a true Gun Nut never despairs. We just look for a solution among all the all the twenty-two ammo we have scavenged over the years. First I tried an old box of Winchester 22 CB Short, which shoots a 29 grains bullet at 710 feet per second, which translated into nice groups at my 10 meter (33 feet) range, zero recoil and basically zero noise, except for the sound of the bullet hitting the target. This combination was a winner, except that I had only one 250 count box, and I knew that it wouldn’t last long.
Next I tried CCI 22 CB Long which has exactly the same ballistics as the Winchester 22 CB Short discussed above while being slightly more precise in my rifle. As I have access to several thousand rounds of the CCI ammo I can practice with the Meisterbüchse without being afraid of running dry.
Searching online I found that the Walther Sportmodell Meisterbüchse retailed for RM 85 sometime in the 1930’s and eighty-five Reichsmark (the Nazi Germany currency that went out of circulation in 1948) would be roughly equivalent to USD 830 today.
Considering that these rifles are available online starting at $1,000-1,500, it doesn’t appear that a century depreciated any of the value of these fine firearms.
You should look for your own ultimate toy. As for me, I will look for a not too hot summer day when I can take this master’s rifle in the woods along with my grandson and hunt some T-Rexes and Triceratops, and when fall comes squirrelsaurus and rabbitatops could be on the menu!
