Gorgeous German Cape Gun 10.3 x 60R / 20

M

Marplot

New member
Just landed a German Cape gun. See link for info.

I can't tell if the R.L Rasch is a retailer or maker? There are no proof marks I can tell. There is a Crown over a V on the top barrels and one hidden on the top of the receiver, near the barrels. I wonder if this is not a proof mark or "View Mark" maybe for Vorhat.

It should be here tomorrow and can give more info. Any ideas, even critical, are appreciated!

https://www.gunsinternational.com/g...-gun-10-3-x-60r-20-gauge.cfm?gun_id=102117390
 

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I will be interested to hear what you see, but bear in mind, it is kind of like the time the janitor answered the phone in the engineer's office: "I told you all I knowed when I said hello."

That site has a lot of information and is the only real source I googled.
 
Jim Watson

I did receive the Combo gun. It does say G.L. Rasch (Georg Ludwig?) in gold around the hammer. Hopefully it is the maker not just the retailer. It is faded out and hard to photograph. Around the other hammer is the town. It is wonderfully made and must have been a high end gun in its time.
 
It sure is a lovely gun. Are the finishes original? Since chamber has been lengthened I suspect more than that was done. If it is possible for an item to look Germanic....this gun would be a textbook example. Good on ya, great gun!
 
It sure is a lovely gun. Are the finishes original? Since chamber has been lengthened I suspect more than that was done. If it is possible for an item to look Germanic....this gun would be a textbook example. Good on ya, great gun!

Thank you. I don't have a clue if the finishes original. The seller thought it had R.L. Rasch as the manufacturer. However the gold was actually G.L. Rasch. Who could be the maker, and/or the retailer.

How could I find out more about it?
 
Well it does sound like Jim Watson was really helpful in getting you on the right track. Lots of resources out there. Time for a few hours of Google Fu. The key to research on the internet? Search terms.
 
While "Crown V" easily confused with a London view stamp, that is the German "vorrat" (on-hand) stamp meaning that this firearm was on-hand when the 1891 German proof law went into effect.
 
Since chamber has been lengthened
Click to expand...


I had to go back to the original advert to see where that came from.
But 2 1/2" 20 gauge is hardly rare; ever hear of a Winchester Model 12?

The seller says he was shooting black powder in the steel rifle barrel and AAs in the Damascus shot barrel. How's that again?
 
Sounds like the previous owner was using the AA low recoil rounds on the assumption they would not exceed black powder pressures, but loading the 10.3×60R himself, using black powder.

There are load data sources online for modern bullets; at least paid load data is available. I am a little wary of that paid source, as his drawings come from QuickDESIGN, so his load data may come from QuickLOAD, which can underestimate peak pressures a bit in some cartridges. If the previous owner didn't blow the gun up with his loads, I would pull down a sample of them to measure the powder charge and check its grain size, and check the bullet dimensions and weight. I would also ask him what brand of black powder he was using. Then, you'll have something you can replicate.
 
Does Quickload estimate black powder?
10.3x60R is the Continental version of the .450-.400 2 3/8" BPE. I understand that bottleneck BPCR is a little different to load but the basics remain, fill 'er up.
 
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