odd caliber in an old rifle

[Llywelyn]

Greetings,


I was given what appeared to be an old single shot bolt action .22 But when I took it apart and cleaned it up to see what markings it had on it I found this information. J.G.A Zella-Mehilis Germany on the top of the barrell. Near the bolt it had a double circle wth JGA inside it. And on the side of the barrell 5.4mm was stamped. From the research I did I figured out that it is probably pre WW2, 1930's maybe? And from anything I had read they were anywhere from 6mm to 9mm. Anyone ever heard of a 5.4 mm? It would be safe to shoot a .22 in a 6mm I think....anyone know anything about this rifle or this caliber?

It also had on the bolt itself an on the barrell G, B, and U with little crowns above them.

Thanks,
Llywelyn

 

[Ron James]

You might slug the chamber and barrel or instead you could just shoot the correct .22 caliber shell in it because 5.4 MM is European metric for the .22

 

[SDC]

That'll be an Anschutz ("J.G.A." is "Julius Gotfried Anschutz"), and it'll certainly be in 22 rimfire, but we'd need more info and/or pictures to give you more info on it.

 

[Jim Watson]

Crowns over G B U is known as the "BUG proof" and are standard old German proof marks. I think the Nazis changed the stamp from crowns to eagles in 1935 or thereabouts.

 

[Ron James]

They changed the Crown over N in 1940-41 to Eagle over N

 

[Llywelyn]

Ok, thanks guys, i will see if i can get some pictures of it over the next few days. I am working on cleaning it up now. I will probably refinish the stock in the end. I don't think its worth much, and I would rather have a nice looking firearm sitting around than one in original beat up shape.


Llywelyn

 

[Gordon]

5.4mm is aproximately .221" = .22 rimfire bore size.

 

[falmike]

You need to do more research to ensure it is NOT a Flobert gun. Lack of a "Nitro" proofmark w9ould be one clue. Try google for old Flobert guns.

Mike

 

[falmike]

Here is one bit of reference material

 

[falmike]

Here is another:

http://gunaccessory.com/Proof_Marks/proofmarks.htm


Mike

 

[falmike]

And finally:

http://jga.anschuetz-sport.com/index.php5?sprache=1

Here is the English language page for Anschuetz. Write to them in English, it's not a problem. I am sure they will be happy to help you with the history of the rifle. I bet they would be curious to see photos.

Have fun.

Mike

 

[Llywelyn]

Well, I finished cleaning and refinishing the stock. This morning I tried it out. It took a .22 lr just fine and fired. So i guess thats what it is. I'll probably shoot it some more tonight just to make sure everything is working good. It is missing the front sight though. I will have to try and make a new one. Anyone have a good closeup picture of the front sight?


Thanks for all your help,
Llywellyn