Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Flaig's barrels????

Just came home from a shoot to this shiit.

Read into it what you want. Then kiss my Yankee azz.

Addition: More than a few friends were there from South of the Mason Dixon line and fine company they were.

Originally Posted By: gunsmith
Flaigs made some of the finest guns in the world bar non. They also handled guns from Austria, and Germany. They had 2 stock makers, a machinest, and several beginning gunsmiths putting actions on barrels,cleaning the floor,ect.
While I was there, I heard a story of John Unertyl coming into the shop. They had just finished mounting a Unertyl scope on a custom rifle, and had to dissemble the scope so the rings could be soldered on. Well the scope fogged, and the owner came back to Unertyl frothing at the mouth about the junk he was selling. He promptly explained what had happened, and went to Flaig. He told Flaig and I Quote. "I don't mess with your f-----g rifles, so don't mess with my f-----g scopes" Then he stormed out.
I heard this while I was apprenticing at Flaigs right before they closed.
I own one Flaig rifle. A 25-06 that was in a fire. The springs were all collapsed and the finish was burned off. But the rifling was nice, and the chamber was clean. So it was off to the test bench, to fire some proof loads in it. After 10 oiled cartridges, no change in heasdspace, no problems what so ever. So a stock was put on it, and a scope was mounted. 5 shots in a half inch. I gave it to my son, after it was refinished, and blued a brilliant blue. It is sitting in the room with me as I type this.



I worked at Flaigs in the store for a short time in the early '80's. At that time they had one stockmaker ( Nelson ), one barrel fitter/metal ( Kenny ) one guy that did the blueing ( Raymond ) and one guy the came in to pick up stocks to be checkered at his own shop ( Gene). At that time the Ferlach guns were long gone from the shop. Bill had a personal collection of the guns that the old man had given him throughout the years as Christmas gifts, bonuses, etc. One day he ( Bill ) had a collector friend come in and sold the lot of them for what at the time I thought was giving them away. At that time there were no Ferlachs hiding in the back room that I was aware of, but I do rememeber the guns from being in the store almost every Saturday buying stock blanks, barrels and what not over the years before I worked there. It's pretty easy to tell the Douglas barrels from the Bohler ones because of contour differences. They did have quite an assortment of old goodies hiding in the basement when I worked there. If any Ferlach guns went at auction when they closed they may have been personal guns from the family. I believe Bill passesd away some years ago.

Gene Temple.

Flaig's built a beautiful FN 98 in 7mm Rem Mag for my dad, and Gene carved a beautiful stock for it.

I remember going with my dad to Gene's house in Lawrenceville, watching him work.

Sure wish I could relive those days....

I live about an hour north of Pittsburgh and at a small local gun show two weeks ago, I came across a Flaig's 7 X 57 that a guy had for sale. I didn't necessarily go with the idea of buying something, but it was in great condition and I had been looking for a 7 X 57. I have to admit that I was smitten.

I brought it home, changed the scope and have been shooting it off the bench. I would like to find a 120 grain bullet that it will shoot well.

I didn't take anything apart and the only visible markings on the barrel are "Flaig's 7 X 57. It is a VZ33 Mauser action.

Can anyone tell me how I can tell the brand of the barrel?

Thanks. donsm70

don, just a guess, but that barrel was probably made before the super long bullets became popular and thus the twist might not be as tight as many prefer today... I am just guessing but try some of the shorter bullets...

'99,

Thanks for the info. I plan to get some Nosler 120 Accubonds and Hornady 120s and see what happens.

I have a 280 Rem that shoots 140 gr TTSX's about as well as I can. (Or better)

Thanks again. Don

Spoken like a true fan of the War of Northern Aggression.

That was so weak I'm surprised you posted it. Then again your imagination is definitely fertile.

Anyway:

What you want to make out of my original post is a figment of that imagination.

If Charley Flaig had memories, personal experience, family or friends who had fought for Germany means little to me. I understand his attachment to his homeland. It's the person he was at the time that had importance. He did not hide his feelings. If the Government had anything on him he would have been gone. Especially in the 60's and 70's.

The same with any who have attachment to the Southern Cause of the Civil War. It is all understandable, and any who think it should or can be erased is living in a world of dreams.

The one major difference is that Charley Flaig had firsthand experience. He lived it. Those of the South today don't have the same connection. They only get what is passed down word of mouth or written history. Major point, but it doesn't change the fact that I understand and acknowledge living history and how it becomes a part of an individual�s life.

What you missed is that I was referring to individuals, which included the right for those of the South who take pride in the Confederate flag: To display it in a respectful manner. Not a cause or making any reference to equating Naziism with the Civil War and those who still find pride in the Confederate flag.

You wanting to wave the Confederate flag for some imagined offense means little to me, because there was none: Either explicit or implied.

The 7x57s have always pretty much had the same twist rates for the last 100 years-all made to stabilize the military 173d RN slugs. Hard to get a bullet much longer than that.

Your own words impeach your latter posts.

Try living in the real world. You're spinning and bold lettering will not slow you down. It's not even funny.

Notice the words: "The man may have had deep roots in the past" Now don't conveniently overlook the word may.

Notice the words: "The majority of us don't criticize them" Us meaning, including me. Do I have to rub you forehead and to make sure you understand that.

Notice the words: "We all have a past and its not always good."

Well at least I realize mine isn't. So I screwed up there for including others.

Addition: Keep pissing up that rope you are hanging on to. I'm done.

Why did you even bring the confederate flag into a discussion that was centered around a man that MAY have been a faithful Nazi Party member when he was in the fatherland? The bust of Hitler pushed it past MAY have been to WAS for me.

Precisely; what about displaying or waiving the confederate flag do you feel would warrant recriminations from others? It doesn�t matter that you don�t criticize people that display or waive the confederate flag; just by publishing that, you infer there�s something there to criticize. Do I need to rub THAT into your forehead?

Headache on the way!!!

The Confederates ran a concentration camp called Andersonville (read the book) that killed many POWs The German prison camps had a much lower death (Deaths per 1000 among those who signed the Geneva Conventions) rate than the Confederates at Andersonville or our current buddies the Japs.
We hung The Confederate commander, lots of Japs and a few Germans.

As one German historian said: "Had Hitler dropped dead in 1938, he would be considered one of the major successful leaders of the 20th Century."
He pulled his country out of the depression w/o firing a shot. FDR needed WW II to get us out.

War is Hell and a civil war is the worst of wars.

The north ran one near the Chicago stock yards that specialized in inhumane conditions and wholesale deaths of Confederate POWs.

Hitler exterminated 6,000,000+ non-combatant Jews. His clearly stated goal was to kill every last Jew on the planet.

Where�s the parallel?

That so?

From where?

OK, one more time:

First: You want to intermingle the usage of may and was, I can't do anything about it. I don't: They mean two different things.

Second: I don't think others should criticize those who respectfully display the Confederate flag. How my not criticizing doing so-or in your words-"It doesn�t matter that you don�t criticize people that display or waive the confederate flag; just by publishing that, you infer there�s something there to criticize."-doesn't infer anything other than I believe that those with a strong Southern foundation, have the right to honor their heroes who sacrificed so much in a countryside destroyed and lives lost. Again I can't do all that much with regards to how others think on such a controversial topic, except try to give them an understanding of roots, for lack of a better term. You either have it or you don't.

I had ancestors who fought for the Union. I often think of what they did and saw. My Grandmother told the story that was passed down to her of one of them who survived Gettysburg. Supposedly a letter finally reached home months after the battle. It contained two words: "Still alive." True or not, I don't know.

I have the utmost respect for those who are willing to keep the Southern tradition of the time remembered. I wish I would see more of that here in the North. When the mood strikes-or I'm close and have time I visit a Civil War battlefield that I can get to. I normally find a place and just sit and listen. They still have much to tell us. I don't think about who kicked whose butt that day. I do think of the men, women and children on both sides of the line.

I also refuse to have others twist the meaning of my words on that particular subject.

jim62,

Do you happen to know what that twist rate is?

Thanks, Don

Well, it should be either 1-9" or 1-10" My guess would be 1-9". Even 1-10" still will stabilize 120g-150g grain slugs just fine. Whether the barrel groups light bullets better, all bets are off. Twist rate is no hard predictor of that.

You darn sure won't have any 120g-150g slugs keyholing, that's for sure.

One other thing to mention that is a bit of a "wildcard" with 7x57s is the throating. Some commercial rifles have the longer throats made for those 173g Military style slugs. They can be a challenge to get the shorter bullets out near the lands.