Meet my family (Smith & Wesson, Brno, Winchester) Brno added

[The Doc]

Very nice indeed. Congratulations Bowman and thanks for sharing.

best,
Rp.

[BowMan]

Very nice indeed. Congratulations Bowman and thanks for sharing.

best,
Rp.

My pleasure Doc and thanks for liking them...

[manu]

dear, thanks for sharing

[xl_target]

Very sharp rifle! Beautiful bluing, and while not all that fancy, an excellent piece of wood. Very nice!

Love the BRNO. As liljake says, that is a very nice piece of European Beech. Beautiful fish scale pattern!
While today's renditions of the BRNO by CZ-UB are good, they don't have that hand finished touch that the originals had.

[James_Bond]

Hi Friends,

After thinking about doing this many times over I believe it is time now to introduce you to my family. As is the tradition I will begin with the youngest member which is a Smith & Wesson Model 17-3. This gun feels right at home in the family punching holes in 1.5" at 50 yards which is the minimum level of performance guaranteed by Smith & Wesson.

Connoisseurs and Smith & Wesson collectors will note that it is a pinned and recessed gun with target trigger and target hammer. The model 17 has always been the top of line as far as .22 revolvers are concerned and much as I am aware there are only 2 other guns from Smith in .22 LR which command a higher value.

The gun shoots just as well as it looks (the bore is pristine) and I hope to post some groupings as well.

I hope you enjoy meeting Mr. Smith.

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(Mods - There will be some rifles coming up next. Please move this post if this is not the relevant section.

Its a very nice family friend. Congratulations

[BowMan]

dear, thanks for sharing

Thanks manu...

[BowMan]

Very sharp rifle! Beautiful bluing, and while not all that fancy, an excellent piece of wood. Very nice!

Love the BRNO. As liljake says, that is a very nice piece of European Beech. Beautiful fish scale pattern!
While today's renditions of the BRNO by CZ-UB are good, they don't have that hand finished touch that the originals had.

Thanks for the appreciation XL, I am glad you like her.

While we in India do not have access to newer Brnos but I can understand what you say. I hear the new Winchester Model 70 is now assembeled in Portugal. Perhaps an indication that present manufacturing practices though highly precise and efficient are somewhat lacking in the personal charm of days gone by...

[BowMan]

Its a very nice family friend. Congratulations

Thanks Mr. Bond!

[dev]

Love the revolver Bowman and the BRNO is immaculate. So did you sell an arm and a leg to get them?

[brihacharan]

Love the revolver Bowman and the BRNO is immaculate. So did you sell an arm and a leg to get them?

> Congrats Bowman
Briha

[Peacefulguns]

Awesome. If you ever dream of selling them off, you know where to look!

[xl_target]

This one is perhaps one of the most desired .22 bolt action rifles available in India and I believe even in other countries CZ Zbrojovka or Brno as it was formerly know has a reputation for making fine, sturdy and practical firearms.

Bowman,
Just an observation.
CZ stands for Ceska Zbrojovka. A literal translation would be "Czech Arms Factory".
These were state owned concerns and were differentiated by the location of the factory.
So you had something similar to:
CZ-Strakonice (after ceasing to make arms, they made motorcycles like the famous Jawa)
CZ-Uhersky Brod ( CZ-UB; the current seller of arms on the international market)
Zbrojovka Brno (now a subsidiary of CZ_UB)
Zbrojovka Praga

As far as I know the bolt action rifles are no longer made in Brno. They make a drilling, an over-under shotgun and some break action single shot rifles. The CZ-UB models 452, 453, 455, 513 and 527 are the current Czech smallbore rifles sold in the US today.

[BowMan]

Yes I believe you are correct XL. The Česká zbrojovka or CZ company as we know today did not exist under the communist regime. The guns then were manufactured by a number of loosely integrated units located in and around the town or Brno.

The current firearm producer CZ-Uhersky Brod or CZ-UB was incorporated in 1992. Here is what the CZ website has to say about this;
On 1 May 1992, the National Property Fund of the Czech Republic established the joint stock company Ceska zbrojovka a.s., Uhersky Brod in accordance with a privatisation project.
http://www.cz-usa.com/about-cz-ub/

Now going by the markings on my rifle it seems to belong to the Zbrojovka Brno arsenal which was set up in 1918. During the course if its existence there was a period where Zbrojovka Brno was a subsidiary of CZ-Uhersky Brod. "Monitoring developments in the Czech Republic then resulted in a good idea not to develop new own firearms but to save the promising designs of Zbrojovka Brno. BRNO RIFLES, s.r.o. was founded in spring 2004 and was acquired in November by EXIMAT, a.s., owning a majority ownership interest in Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod. BRNO RIFLES thus became a sister company of CZUB and the “relationship” was confirmed in a way when Ing. Kamil Růžák, MBA, Member of the Supervisory Board and Safety Director of CZUB, became a Director of BRNO RIFLES."

However this arrangement did not last for reasons I do not know much of. Apparently CZ-UB sold its share in Zbrojovka Brno to a Slovak holding company called J&T in 2008.

"Present situation of Brno Rifles s.r.o.

In 2009, the company started looking for adequate premises which would replace the original production and assembly halls. This move resulted from the deteriorating condition of buildings, high overhead costs connected with the original areas, as well as the newly chosen strategy of the company.

The suitable location was chosen and approved by the superior bodies of the company. The famous tradition of Zbrojovka will therefore continue - and in BRNO."
http://www.zbrojovka-brno.cz/en/pages/340-about-us.aspx

Glad you brought up this XL...

[TC]

Love the last posts by XL and Bowman.... why don't Brno owners on IFG start a new thread on Brnos. It will help a lot of Indians since this rifle is still the most valued, most common in rifle clubs and yet the most expensive in the market.

TC

[BowMan]