Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada Martin Hagn

Just saw on another forum . One of the greatest gunsmiths Martin Hagn has passed . RIP

For those who are unaware of his work.

https://www.hagnriflesandactions.com/?lightbox=dataItem-kgzp3tw21

Sad to hear that. I have had the opportunity to handle some of his rifles and shoot one. They are impressive works of craftsmanship and art!

He was a friend I failed to visit recently, when I knew he was failing. He was an exceedingly skilled gunmaker and a complex personality. I liked him. GD

greydog;
Good evening to you sir, I trust you're all doing well out east.

From looking at the work he did, as well as hearing from folks who knew him as you did, your assessment of him being a skilled gun maker and a complex personality seems spot on.

May he rest in peace.

All the best to you all tonight sir.

Dwayne

The thing that always struck me was, Martin had to know how good he was but he was very matter-of fact when it came to discussing the things he did. He was very free with information and explained things to me just as if I would be able to easily do the same thing. He would ask my opinion on some aspect of gun building, just as if my opinion actually mattered! When I speculated about some process, he would usually be able to say, "I used to do that when I was learning". When he asked me to do something for him, I got the impression he was just trying to make me feel useful. We disagreed on some political matters, but he was OK with that.
I may have already told how I dropped by one day and he decided to show me how he made his checkering tools and his technique for checkering. He picked up a piece of drill rod, made a 20 LPI cutter, put a handle on it, and checkered the grip of a stock he was finishing up; all of this took a little less than an hour. To do the same checkering pattern would take me a day, and it would still need some touching up.
One time he had fitted a forearm and it ended up below the centerline on the barrel. Not by a lot but enough to notice. He asked if I thought it looked OK. I said it looked OK if I had done it but a client would expect more from him. His response was "Hmmph!" He then threw it away and started on another. Twice he made new actions to fit stocks which were finished. Once when it was warped by the heat treatment and once when it was lost in the mail. He accepted these setbacks with remarkable calm; at leat he was calm in my presence. GD

What a loss. I always hoped to meet him…. My condolences to the family.

This is very sad to hear. The custom rifle world has lost another giant.

I briefly met Mr Hagn in the early 1990's while he was visting Montana on some gun business. . A mutual friend knew I liked single shots quite s bit and one day asked me if I would like to meet Martin. I said "Hell YES!"

He was doing some pre purchase inspection of some high end pre- war German rifles that were to be re-patriated back to Germany for one of his clients. He was a very nice fellow.

I knew well of his history before the meeting.John Amber's articles in the "Gun Digest" educated me as to his talents. In my mind's eye I can still see that grainy Black and White photo in Amber's article showing Mr Hagn posing with an Alaskan Grizzy he had shot with one of his falling blocks in 300 Win mag . The stuff of a young hunter's dreams..:)

Never met him or knew anything about him, except that when I saw any of his work in magazines or online, it was exquisite.

Nothing I’d ever hope to afford, never even held one of his rifles, but could appreciate nonetheless.

RIP Mr. Hagn. I’ve enjoyed looking at your work.

Looks like stuff put together in an junior high metal shop.

Never heard of him before, but knowing what a beautiful rifle looks like and looking at the pictures, he certainly was a Master Gunmaker.

Canada has some great gunsmiths, that's for sure!

His work with Ralf Martini is legendary. Martini & Hagn Gunmakers Ltd made some of the finest Farquharson action and bolt action rifles. A real shame, one hopes he passed along some of his technical and artistic abilities to someone worthy of his gifts.

Another gunsmith once told me that Jerry Fisher had told him that he (Fisher) didn't feel worthy to carry Martin's lunchbox. An exaggeration, of course, but a hint of how Martin Hagn was regarded by others in the trade. He truly was in a different category.
Before Ralf Martini went to work with Martin, he stopped in and asked me if I thought it was a good idea. I told him it might be difficult but it would certainly pay off, and it did. Ralf also produces some exceptional work.
The thing is, Martin was not only an artistic gunmaker but a good technician as well. His depth and breadth of knowledge was often surprising to me. He never built specialized target rifles but easily could have. He showed an interest in those I made and toyed with the idea of trying his hand; he just didn't have the time. It is my loss that I didn't spend more time with him.
When many friends and contemporaries are leaving us, it reminds me of my own mortality and that friends are to be treasured. GD

greydog;
Good afternoon my friend, I hope you're all getting the mild weather we are a few valleys west of you and that you're all well.

In the early '90's, the Penticton Gun Show was held in the Sandman instead of the Curling Club. That's what I'm remembering anyways greydog, as I'd been bitten by the drop block single shot bug watching Quigley Down Under and didn't feel like waiting 5 years for a Shiloh Sharps.

There was a table there which had 3 or 4 sizes of the Hagn actions in the white on them. I remember chatting with a polite fellow with a German accent, but whether that would have been Ralf by then or Martin himself, I'm not sure.

The person let me handle and examine the actions and I'd have to say that they stand out for their precision and well perfection, even after spending a bunch of my working life on setting up and repairing CNC controlled overhead routers.

The action had to be felt and listened to in order to appreciate how well it was designed and then built.

Somehow other life projects always got in the way of the budget and their prices kept rising too, so a Ruger No. 1 was how I managed to scratch that rifle itch, but for sure it wasn't a Hagn.

Thanks again for some insight into Martin's life and work.

All the best to you all this Christmas Season.

Dwayne

I am very sorry to hear that. Martin finished a beautiful little .17 Hornady Hornet for me on his second to the smallest single-shot action about a year ago. I feel privileged to own it. Such a gentleman. Martin sent me photos of himself splitting firewood about a year ago. Well into his 80s.

Edit: I just visited Martin's website. He was 80 and died on the 25th of November. I hope somehow, someone can continue the production of his wonderful single-shot actions.

Very cool Tarquin, can you post a photo or 2?

Yes. Can you give me a day or two please? I'll have to figure out how to do it and set up some lighting and such, but I'll try to post by tomorrow evening. The wood is not super fancy and I could not afford engraving and gold inlay, but it's a beautiful rifle still the same (to me at least).

To me, the beauty in Martin's rifles is in the work he did, and he did his best, always. All the fitting and finishing of each part in that action was done by him. When he checkered that stock, he did it by hand with tools he made. His rifle were never just an assembly, they were a complete rifle, a total package. On top of that, he was a serious hunter who knew what a rifle had to do. I don't think it is possible to overstate his ability or his knowledge. Engraving and inlays were contracted, but the rest is Martin's handiwork and worth owning. GD

When I got my rifle from Martin, I called him on the phone and asked whether I should buy any spare parts like a firing pin and such. He laughed and said "you could shoot dat rifle ever day for a hunert years and it would still not wear out!" I believe him.

LOL

Can't wait to see your beautiful rifle, it already reminds me of my M1917