During the 2016 Safari Club International Convention I
had a prescheduled meeting arranged with my good friend Jochen Hennig and one
of his friends. Jochen and I met many years ago in Germany, became friends, and
stay in touch regularly. Any chance we have to meet either here in the United
States or in Germany is a done deal. Throw hunting or firearms into the mix and
we are making plans! Jochen is a racing consultant who is also an avid hunter
and connoisseur of fine rifles. I was told the gentleman I would be meeting and
spending a little time with was a highly skilled custom gun maker from Germany,
which as you might guess also happens to be one of my favorite hunting
destinations.
The gentleman, Gottfried Prechtl, is the owner and Master
Gunsmith of Prechtl Jagd- und Sportwaffen. As luck would have it we had a chance to
share many stories, enjoy a glass or two of wine, some delicious smoked salmon,
cheese, and of course discuss his custom manufacturing of quality rifle systems.
I enjoyed learning that besides his gun making skills
Gottfried grew-up hunting. He has a background in tool-making and is also a machinist.
Those skills led him initially to a hobby of gunsmithing that blossomed and
grew into his becoming an internationally known fine custom gunmaker.
Gottfried and his five employees work to produce hunting
rifles, sporting precision rifles, and rifles for law enforcement. He also
makes actions, gun parts/components, as well as production machines, various
gunmaker accessories, and also a Bisley vice in addition to his custom gun
making. Many of you may be familiar with his precision Universal Milling
Machine and tooling.
Gottfried builds his best quality bolt action rifles on
his own Double and Single Square Bridge Prechtl M98 Actions. Additionally,
Gottfried also produces a high-strength match action in single shot or repeater
configurations for precision target shooters. Specialty models are also
available for the tactical law enforcement community.
The Prechtl M98 standard and magnum rifle systems are
made based upon the original drawings of Paul Mauser. Gottfried strives to stay
true to the original proven design. Working
from those drawings, Gottfried has made several changes that have improved upon
that original foundation. Things such as extractor length, ejection port
modification, square bridge refinements, optimized cocking piece with solid bottom
lug for use with adjustable trigger assemblies, firing pin and bolt diameter
changes, receiver width modifications, plus bolt and receiver tolerance
modifications just to name a few areas. One of his developments, the Prechtl
3-Position Safety with Safety Lock is well known throughout the world.
Available action types include the Prechtl M98 Magnum,
Standard, Lightweight, and the Prechtl 07 Express which is a precision Magnum
rifle. A new addition is the Prechtl GS-04 Long Range Hunting model designed
for hunting conditions more suited to longer distance shots. I had the
opportunity to handle a prototype of the GS-04 Long Range in .338 Lapua Magnum that
was simply stunning. Other calibers are available along with a variety of
options including an adjustable cheek piece. The .338 Lapua I handled has a
stated precision of 0.3 MOA with Berger hybrid 300 grain bullets.
Gottfried’s versions of the Model 98 Mauser action design are machined from solid stock. In the Prechtl Magnum action a total of 15 kg of steel is cut and the weight of the finished action is 1.35 kg. The manufacturing process requires 92 hours of machining just to complete an action.
A very popular option in the U.S. Market is the take-down
model version of Prechtl rifles. This version accounts for approximately 80% of
the rifles built by Prechtl for U.S. customers. The take-down version is
available in both the standard and magnum version.
All Prechtl models are manufactured and assembled at his
shop in Birkenau, Germany. All actions and rifles are built and hand finished
by Gottfried and the other skilled craftsman that he employs. The only rifle component
not made in his shop are the barrels. These are made by the German Lothar
Walther Company. There is one variable to this and that is the Prechtl-Express
07 Mansory model.
As some of you may know, Mansory is known for making a
line of the very best ultralight high-strength carbon cars for manufacturers
such as Bugatti, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, and Mercedes-Benz just to name
a few. They have teamed up with Prechtl to create a carbon stock and carbon
barrel sleeve paired with selected match grade barrels made by Lothar Walther.
All other parts are Prechtl.
I have many friends living in Germany who are avid
hunters. They know of the new Mauser bolt actions that Gottfried makes and
speak very highly of his gunmaking skills and craftsmanship. I had the
opportunity to handle many versions of his M98 rifles and I must say they are
functional works of art. To say his actions are as smooth as glass with
triggers that are unbelievably crisp is an understatement. They must be
experienced firsthand to be appreciated. I was highly impressed with every
model in his rifle line that I handled. Fit, finish, function, attention to
detail all superb. His takedown rifle version was extremely well designed and
executed.
Why would you want to consider having Gottfried build a
rifle for you? Well besides what I have already mentioned consider this as
well. The rifles are fully custom and because of this you will have a wide
range of options such as stock and recoil pad style, stock finishes, stock fitting, sling
swivels, express sights, semi-express sights, no sights, German pivot mount on
integral bases, other mounting options, safety and safety lock options,
standard or take-down options, magazine capacity options, barrel length &
diameter options, integral barrel with quarter rib, and caliber options. There
are many other options that are available such as custom engraving by some of
the best German engravers as well as finish options such as color case
hardening for example. This list is incomplete but it serves as an example of
the variables that are tailored to your specific needs or desires.
Gottfried’s company philosophy and objective are simple. “There
is nothing that cannot be made even cheaper… but there is also nothing that
cannot be made even better. The wheel does not have to be reinvented, the wheel
already exists.”
“Our main activity is manufacturing quality systems for
repeater rifles in standard and magnum versions, sport weapon systems in
standard and magnum sizes and both single shot and semi-automatic, as well as
hunting, sporting and police weapons from systems produced by us. Compensators
for rifles and shotguns, match triggers, weapon parts and rifle maker supplies
are also the object of our production. Repairs of all kinds to hunting weapons and large caliber
sporting weapons are carried out reliably in our quality workshop.”
So there you have it! A snapshot of Gottfried Prechtl, the
owner and Master Gunsmith of Prechtl Jagd- und Sportwaffen and some of his custom
rifles. I am very excited about what I saw and had a chance to handle. I am
looking forward to discussing the possibility with Gottfried of a custom driven
hunt rifle in the not too distant future.
Be sure to look up Gottfried and pay him a visit if you
live in Germany or elsewhere in Europe. If you live in the United States be
sure to visit his booth during the next Safari Club International Convention.
If you’re in the market for a beautiful custom made rifle you will not be
disappointed.
You can also visit the Prechtl website to learn more.
You can also visit the Prechtl website to learn more.
