Johnny - My information is sketchy at best, but here goes. Frankonia is/was a rifle company in West Germany. They made two rifles, a single shot rifle based on the Heeron action (??) and also a bolt action based on the Mauser system. They made the following models: Favorit/Favorit deluxe/Favorit Liechtmodel/Safari/Stutzen. All rifles had set triggers and checkered stocks. No mention was made of levered trigger guards. And no estimate of value. Hope this has been of some help to you. good luck
Numrich Archiver
Joined: February 2010
Posted: January 10, 2004 03:22 PM
Johnny - My information is sketchy at best, but here goes. Frankonia is/was a rifle company in West Germany. They made two rifles, a single shot rifle based on the Heeron action (??) and also a bolt action based on the Mauser system. They made the following models: Favorit/Favorit deluxe/Favorit Liechtmodel/Safari/Stutzen. All rifles had set triggers and checkered stocks. No mention was made of levered trigger guards. And no estimate of value. Hope this has been of some help to you. good luck
Johnny - In the last message, I mentioned the Heeran single shot rifle with question marks. The Heeran single shot falling block action was patented in 1881 and used by custom rifle makers in Europe. A very high quality action, I would assume that any company that used it also used the same care and quality with their other products.
Numrich Archiver
Joined: February 2010
Posted: January 10, 2004 03:47 PM
Johnny - In the last message, I mentioned the Heeran single shot rifle with question marks. The Heeran single shot falling block action was patented in 1881 and used by custom rifle makers in Europe. A very high quality action, I would assume that any company that used it also used the same care and quality with their other products.
I have one of these in .300 Win. Mag. From the dealer I bought mine from, Waffen Frankonia is a West German name brand, but their rifles are made by various manufacturers. It would be analagous to having a Wards Western Field rifle made by Mossberg or Stevens. Mine is a very well made rifle, 98 Mauser action with standard trigger (not a set trigger). I paid $300 for mine. I saw one of the older German-made Weatherby's about 6 months ago, and it was IDENTICAL (except for the bolt) in appearance to my W-F rifle.
Numrich Archiver
Joined: February 2010
Posted: January 12, 2004 08:57 AM
Johnny,
I have one of these in .300 Win. Mag. From the dealer I bought mine from, Waffen Frankonia is a West German name brand, but their rifles are made by various manufacturers. It would be analagous to having a Wards Western Field rifle made by Mossberg or Stevens. Mine is a very well made rifle, 98 Mauser action with standard trigger (not a set trigger). I paid $300 for mine. I saw one of the older German-made Weatherby's about 6 months ago, and it was IDENTICAL (except for the bolt) in appearance to my W-F rifle.
This is the parent company that your rifle came from. They may be able to help you to further identify what you have. If you want to go into Germany - use Google - play with the words Waffen-Franconia, Wuerzburg, gun makers, sporting good, etc. Have fun.
Numrich Archiver
Joined: February 2010
Posted: January 12, 2004 01:31 PM
Franconia Jagd GmbH
Randersackerer Strate 3-5
97064 Wuerzburg Germany
Phone (49) (9302) 200
Contact Sebastian Hoffman
This is the parent company that your rifle came from. They may be able to help you to further identify what you have. If you want to go into Germany - use Google - play with the words Waffen-Franconia, Wuerzburg, gun makers, sporting good, etc. Have fun.
Waffen Frankonia is one of the two biggest retailers for hunting supplies in Germany. It has several shops all over continental western Europe. Headquarters are in Wuerzburg/Germany/Bavaria/Lower Franconia. They issue every year a colourful thick catalogue, which would be worth having it. This company is the prime example what you can legally buy in Germany as a hunter or sports shooter. What you do not see in their program is not legal in Germany. They have their own gunsmiths. They are retailers of all well known brands from all over the world. But they also sell bolt action rifles and break open guns under their company name.
The gun you are describing is a hunting bolt action rifle based on the Mauser 98 system. They are the econo-line of that company, yet sometimes better shooters than some fancy guns. Without scope the price tag on them is approx. 450 USD. The double set trigger is the traditional standard for a hunting bolt action rifle in Germany ( Most of the hunting is done from permanent hunting stands and you got ample time to set your trigger and squeeze of a precise shot ). The guns sold under the company's made up ( phantasy )name Favorit have been imported/built for the company since decades from Yugoslavia and styled by Frankonia to the traditional looks ( double trigger, dark walnut stock, open sights, bent hunting bolt, sling swivels, door at the bottom of the magazine box )of a standard German hunting bolt action rifle. The .30-06 is in Germany primarily used for elk and wild boar hunting.
Since the rifle comes from Yugoslavia it resembles the Mark X, it is just a little bit more old fashioned styled ( for german, West European Hunters who like the traditional German looks ).
The rifle can be bought of course in a variety of popular calibers, with single stage triggers , another type of safety device, canjar trigger. It is sold with or without scope mounted. One can choose between different scope brands and mounting systems.
And Kettner ,the other big retailer in Germany/Western continental Europe is offering a similar rifle.
If you have a contact in Germany they might be able to get you a catalogue or you might try to contact Waffen ( means: Firearms )Frankonia ( means: the traditional name of the region since the middle ages where the headquarters are based ) via the internet.
Numrich Archiver
Joined: February 2010
Posted: January 13, 2004 07:11 AM
Waffen Frankonia is one of the two biggest retailers for hunting supplies in Germany. It has several shops all over continental western Europe. Headquarters are in Wuerzburg/Germany/Bavaria/Lower Franconia. They issue every year a colourful thick catalogue, which would be worth having it. This company is the prime example what you can legally buy in Germany as a hunter or sports shooter. What you do not see in their program is not legal in Germany. They have their own gunsmiths. They are retailers of all well known brands from all over the world. But they also sell bolt action rifles and break open guns under their company name.
The gun you are describing is a hunting bolt action rifle based on the Mauser 98 system. They are the econo-line of that company, yet sometimes better shooters than some fancy guns. Without scope the price tag on them is approx. 450 USD. The double set trigger is the traditional standard for a hunting bolt action rifle in Germany ( Most of the hunting is done from permanent hunting stands and you got ample time to set your trigger and squeeze of a precise shot ). The guns sold under the company's made up ( phantasy )name Favorit have been imported/built for the company since decades from Yugoslavia and styled by Frankonia to the traditional looks ( double trigger, dark walnut stock, open sights, bent hunting bolt, sling swivels, door at the bottom of the magazine box )of a standard German hunting bolt action rifle. The .30-06 is in Germany primarily used for elk and wild boar hunting.
Since the rifle comes from Yugoslavia it resembles the Mark X, it is just a little bit more old fashioned styled ( for german, West European Hunters who like the traditional German looks ).
The rifle can be bought of course in a variety of popular calibers, with single stage triggers , another type of safety device, canjar trigger. It is sold with or without scope mounted. One can choose between different scope brands and mounting systems.
And Kettner ,the other big retailer in Germany/Western continental Europe is offering a similar rifle.
If you have a contact in Germany they might be able to get you a catalogue or you might try to contact Waffen ( means: Firearms )Frankonia ( means: the traditional name of the region since the middle ages where the headquarters are based ) via the internet.
Favorit ( German word derived from the latin word favor, -ris ) means the favorite. Since the region of nowadays Germany and Great Britain had been ruled long time by the Romans, we have the same word in both languages.
A few words about european double set triggers:
They normally are adjustible: there is a little screw between the two triggers. But do not overdo it: if the pull weight for the releasing forward trigger is to light, the firing pin could be released by the slightest vibration or even by the pull on the rear set trigger.
Of course their is an audible click when you set the trigger.
To not spook game close by, you can do the following:
Bolt is cocked, safety is on, squeeze both triggers at the same time with two fingers. Once the rear trigger is set, release the forward shoot trigger. The trigger is set now but there was no audible click.
Safety issue:
The following accident happened in Germany:
Hunter had the bolt cocked, safety was on, the rear trigger had been squeezed backward and the forward trigger therefore been set.
Hunter got bored and played with the triggers. He squeezed then the
rear trigger forward towards the front trigger. Boom. A nearby hunter got hit.
Even with the safety on, the gun fired.
I tried it on a lot of German bolt action double set triggers sold before the 1970's and found the same effect.
Numrich Archiver
Joined: February 2010
Posted: January 13, 2004 08:38 AM
I forgot:
Favorit ( German word derived from the latin word favor, -ris ) means the favorite. Since the region of nowadays Germany and Great Britain had been ruled long time by the Romans, we have the same word in both languages.
A few words about european double set triggers:
They normally are adjustible: there is a little screw between the two triggers. But do not overdo it: if the pull weight for the releasing forward trigger is to light, the firing pin could be released by the slightest vibration or even by the pull on the rear set trigger.
Of course their is an audible click when you set the trigger.
To not spook game close by, you can do the following:
Bolt is cocked, safety is on, squeeze both triggers at the same time with two fingers. Once the rear trigger is set, release the forward shoot trigger. The trigger is set now but there was no audible click.
Safety issue:
The following accident happened in Germany:
Hunter had the bolt cocked, safety was on, the rear trigger had been squeezed backward and the forward trigger therefore been set.
Hunter got bored and played with the triggers. He squeezed then the
rear trigger forward towards the front trigger. Boom. A nearby hunter got hit.
Even with the safety on, the gun fired.
I tried it on a lot of German bolt action double set triggers sold before the 1970's and found the same effect.
Johnny, I have one made by custom order for a relative in the later part of WWII or just after, inherited to me. It is in a 30.06 and has three leaf fold down open sights, and a detaching claw mount scope also marked waffenfrankonia, and the barrel has the words Waffenfrankonia Wurzburg and Bohler Spezial....Perhaps someone out there could PLEASE tell me more about it? I have not clue as to it's value, but intend to keep it, but have no idea what it should be insured for. It is beautiful, a wonderful shooter and has a smoooooth action. I did try the fire with safety on discussed earlier, and the safety works apparently no matter what I do to"fool" it. It has the double triggers and is set light for the set trigger.
Numrich Archiver
Joined: February 2010
Posted: January 18, 2005 10:08 AM
Johnny, I have one made by custom order for a relative in the later part of WWII or just after, inherited to me. It is in a 30.06 and has three leaf fold down open sights, and a detaching claw mount scope also marked waffenfrankonia, and the barrel has the words Waffenfrankonia Wurzburg and Bohler Spezial....Perhaps someone out there could PLEASE tell me more about it? I have not clue as to it's value, but intend to keep it, but have no idea what it should be insured for. It is beautiful, a wonderful shooter and has a smoooooth action. I did try the fire with safety on discussed earlier, and the safety works apparently no matter what I do to"fool" it. It has the double triggers and is set light for the set trigger.
