Old Gun-Needs Identity!

G

Gnarly

New member
A .22 single-shot rifle with double triggers and 24.75" bull barrel.No sights except a ~7" long scope rail with 3 screws, including one for elevation-similar shape to a Picatinny rail,but scaled down to .22 size.The largest part of the bolt ass'y is stainless.Very smooth action.Got it in 1980 or so.
Under the scope rail, is marked 'Waffenfabrik Walther Ella Mehlis (thur)' and one the left side of the barrel, the word 'Nitro'.
Serial # 20464.
When I checked Google, there was a similar .22 rifle, made in ?1939? but it had a birch stock; mine is walnut...and it was drilled/tapped for factory sights.I believe they called it a 'trainer rifle'.
Bore is bright;no rust.
Bluing is ~80%.No rust.
Wood is ~80%.Few scratches;no cracks.
Shoots any .22 short,long,long rifle but the scope is junk (crosshairs loose!)so can't tell much about accuracy.Don't shoot much rimfire,so haven't replaced the scope.
Any info?
Thanx!
----Gnarly
 
Other than it is a single shot Walther, no info. It could be one of several single shot rifles made by Walther. It could also started out as one thing and after modification by a previous owner it is now another.I also doubt the bolt is stainless, probably just polished steel. Stainless steel wasn't used in firearms until much later and then not for rifle bolts. The markings do show it was pre WWII. It could even be a KKW which was a single shot with a military type stock.
 
The Walther factory had been in Zella-Mehlis, in Thuringia for years, but after WWII, the city ended up in East Germany. When Walther resumed operations they set up in the West German city of Ulm, so the markings on your gun indicate it is pre-war. With a picture or so after WWII, Walther resumed operations in Ulm.

In the 1920s and 1930s, Walther made ordinary .22 sporting/target rifles. In the later years, they made trainer rifles that looked like the military K.98k and were used by the Hitler Youth and other groups for pre-service military training. The latter are more valuable than the purely sporting rifles.

Jim
 
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