Indians For Guns

Bengt Berg's Guns


http://www.germanhuntingguns.com/archiv ... simson-co/

What an article and what beautiful guns! I wouldn't know of their existence but for stumbling on these treasures.Thanks Nick.

Best-Vikram

Nick,

Thank you very much for another absolutely fantastic article. Was Bengt Berg Natascha Ilum-Berg's father? Just wondered after reading his name and his wife's...

I wonder what happened to the Simson family after WW-2. They were Jewish and I presume everyone must have died during the horrors of the Holocaust, or else someone would have re-started the company like some of the German gunmakers did after the war.

Thank you very much for this fantastic post. One cannot expect any of your posts to be anything less than spectacular.

Mehul

Mehul,

Just a speculative idea. Any guess about how much would a similar rifle with six of those barrel sets cost these days? Say the maker would be same or some one from Suhl.Would you like one like that? I am fascinated with that idea.Imagine. What you can do with a battery like that. I am partial to the Teutonic designs.They look very aggressive and muscular, the rifles and even shotguns.


Best- Vikram

Vikram,

Any of the Ferlach gunmakers would be able to build a set like this without trouble. Suhl is a mixed bag - experienced people seem to think that the new Merkels are not all that good and though many of their modern actions are nominally the same as some of the old ones like the 140 and 160 for example, they are not really the same. Merkel have also dropped their top U/O action the 324 and it's plain version the 323 these days. Ziegenhahn are a new company with a very old and reputable name - I haven't heard from anyone who owns one of their rifles or has shot one. Maybe my friend PWM at the NE forums would know - he is a professional gunwriter and firearms historian.

If I had the money to buy a fine double rifle, I would either go to Birmingham and get W W Greener to build one of their new Facile Princeps action guns or head to Ferlach to Johan Fanzoj where my friend Hannes Fanzoj works and get them to build me something. That said, my chances of winning the lotto are very slim and if I ever buy a double rifle, it would most probably be a US make if new, or a BPE if a used gun.

Somehow, the interchangeable barrels for different calibre designs don;t appeal to me because the frame would have to be a large one, making the small bore barrels heavy in comparison to dedicated small bore double guns and also throwing the balance - a most important aspect of double rifles - off. As someone who has visited the London greats, I am sure you understand what I mean.

Cheers,

Mehul

Hi Mehul,

I know what you mean. Somehow, the Suhl and Ferlach gunmakers hold a great deal of interest to me.It all started with one superlatively well written article I read in India Today Plus quite a while back. It was written by ...... Oops, sorry I forgot the name.

The robust masculine design , large cheek pieces, no holds barred aggressive styling etc. I think, this is just my notion or a fancy, that German rifles match the best in the world.

The models I saw on Zeigenhahn's website a while back were impressive to say the least. Their bolt rifle looked great.I really like to know from someone held them and shot them.

Best- Vikram

Vikram,

Some of the German gunmakers are very "English" in their designs. Hartman und Weiss, for example, produce some of the finest guns in the world - their bolt action rifles are without peer. So are Karl-Heinz Ritterbusch. In the past we had Simson and Immanuel Meefert as well.

The Germans have built very good guns - their bolt action rifles are superb. In doubles, they have never quite managed to make their own designs (as opposed to British designs that they have copied or refined) very good in handling. They are strong, no doubt - but the best British guns have always had a premium for a reason. You can still find some of the old Merkel 324s and 323 Es in India even in the big NE calibres, but though they were among the strongest U/O designs, they were boxy like a WW-1 tank and heavy, with poor handling. It was Merkels attampts at improving their design that has made their current offerings even worse, some experts say. I wouldn't say that the huge prices that the British ask are fully justified - Morten said that Holland and Holland refused to sell a 700 NE engraved by Grifnee for $ 300,000 recently because they expect much more - but the fact is that the British can get away with asking for $ 60,000 plus for their rifles and they have waiting lists while $ 20,000 Merkels, Blasers and Krieghoffs are available off the shelf...

Thanks and best wishes as always,

Mehul

Stripes,

One of the older members at my hunting association in South Africa wants to sell a 7.9mm (.323) Simson Rifle (no.27872). The Firearm was given to Baron Otto von Strahl, a Nazi consul in South Africa prior to WW2, by Bengt Berg. Its got a silver plate on the stock to prove this.
I started Googling everything I could about Otto von Strahl and Bengt Berg.

I came across this post of yours, to see whether this rifle is still shown in the collection. Unfortunately I cannot open the document, that you've posted. It takes me to a website where I need to download free stuff... .And I'm not sure that I want to download it, or that it will help me to access the document.

I have attached a couple of pictures of the rifle. Beautiful thing. It was save by the current owner as it was about to be handed in to the police to be destroyed. It groups very well as well.

Could you, or any of the other guys on this chat help me to access the document?

Hi,

Noticed when the thread began?