doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Hauck Falling Block Rifle

I recently came across a beautiful falling block rifle, made by Wilber J. Hauck of W. Arlington, VT. The caliber is .17 Ackley Hornet, has dbl set triggers, a 2" Unertl 12X Ultra Varmit Scope & a very unusual engraving I refer to as relief. It has gold layering on much of the engraving. There appears to be an engraver's signature in the upper left corner of the receiver with the initials HP enclosed within the design. I do have pics available on gunbroker.com. Any help in identifying the engraver will be greatly appreciated.

Well, beauty is said to be in the eye of the beholder, and as far as this beholder is concerned, that's a high quality hand built rifle action, made by a very respected gunsmith, that has been completely spoilt by inconsiderate stocking and ornamentation both in wood inlay and engraving. The engraving style is germanic and I don't recognise the artist from that work.

I'm also trying to work out just what it was built for; it's chambered for a varmint cartridge, it has a Scheutzen semi 'Perch belly' stock but without the correct style of buttplate, it has a laminated benchrest style forearm which is incorrectly matched to the style of stock, or vice versa.

I presume Sir, you are the seller, so perhaps you can explain.

To others wanting to view this rifle it can be found here:-

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=188855263

I for one will not be bidding.

Harry

I'm with Harry on this one. The very best part of this auction is the scope and the next-best is the cartridge box.

I've seen a number of Haucks and curiously every single one of them has been equipped with a Unertl 2" scope, usually an Ultra Varmint as is this one. IMO some Europhile obtained the original rifle and then had it restocked and engraved.

Worth a lot less than the reserve but who knows? I guess we'll see.
Regards, Joe

Not necessarily RESTOCKED- the Hauck was available as an "action only". It obviously wasn't stocked by Wilbur himself!

Good shooting.

I was much more intrigued with Hauck's rifles before I saw a few. They are much more interesting for what they could have been than for what the are.

Clunky oversize action, when you open and close it you can hear the racket from far away. Don't recall ever seeing one with a safety. Very strong according to the reviewers in the 50s. Some were made for belted magnums. Most are stocked much too fat. Russell Gilmore has or had a .30, I think a .308, maybe a .30-40, stocked by Creighton Audette that was fairly handy, I was tempted but the lack of a safety catch put me off.

I still want a Hauck, but not that one. Yuk!

I'm not sure who that engraver is however the HP is Hauck Proof. And not to put anyone's gun down... just being honest. That is not Wilburs stock work.

Good Lord!! I think that is some of the worst executed engraving I have ever seen.The deer looks like it was done by a 10 year old.I'm sure the engraver would not want to be known if he is still engraving as he has got to have progressed way beyond the work done here. I can never understand why some engravers bite off more than they can chew,so to speak, when they are first learning how to engrave. I have seen a number of high quality guns turned into junk by being the beginning projects of student engravers. They need to practice on copper practice plates and belt buckle or whatever before working on a good gun.

Gentlemen One and All,
I came to this site in hopes of getting honest and true opinions on this, what turns out to be, something of a cross between an abortion and a FUBAR'ed, but apparently a decent quality weapon at one time. Please understand that I am a very ignorant man when it comes to what a real Quality firearm actually consists. I was sincerely struck with what I thought I was holding in my hands the day I received the Hauck. I too felt the stock was wrong for the rifle, but didn't actually know what it should have been. There was a story with the rifle as follows; Mr. Hauck was approached to make 4 rifles of similar caliber to be used for shooting [here I am guessing somewhat] prairie dogs or such; with two of the rifles going to a Tx. Judge, one to a Tx. Federal Law-Man with the fourth going to ????. This rifle is the fourth, and was acquired through a gun show purchase some 30+ years ago. It was purchased by a friend of mine over 25 years ago after the owner [a friend of his] died. It has been setting in a garage ever since, prior to my receiving it last April.

The HP standing for Hauck Proof makes sense to me as there are no marks on the bbl. I agree the action is far over made for the caliber, it is huge. I suspect the original owner had the crappie stock and fore end installed for shooting off bags?

Now that I have accepted the bad news on Mr. Hauck's rifle; is there any good news, value wise, to speak about. What should I expect to receive as a reasonable offer for the whole shebang; or should I part it out; scope, box & gun???

Hauck Rifle,

Sir,

Someone once wrote that the African Hyena looked like an animal designed by a Government Committee. I'm afraid that, in my opinion, your rifle falls into falls into the same category.

It's a compilation of designs and ornamentation covering at least three centuries.

J.D.Steele may very well be right when he suggests the best parts are the Scope sight and the cartridge box. You may get a better price if the parts are split.

Regarding the story regarding the manufacture of this group of four Hauck rifles, I'm afraid that without documentation or other 'proof' it's just an interesting story and not a provenance that would add to the value of the rifle.

I understand that an article on this particular rifle is to appear in a well known American Single Shot Journal in the near future. Whilst this tends to only be read by single shot rifle enthusiasts, it will draw attention of many towards this rifle.

If it doesn't sell in the current auction then I would suggest you wait until the article has appeared, then offer it for sale or auction again, perhaps with the scope and ammunition box sold as seperates.

I have no idea what you paid for the rifle, but given the 'Buy it Now' price, I am assuming it was in four figures, and slightly lower than the current asking price. You may be lucky and break even, you may even make a slight profit if you can find what is known in gun buying circles as 'A live one' i.e. someone who has to have an item at any price.

Good luck.

Harry

Take your time, you will find a buyer, the right person will come along.

I get a lot of folks who write or email me with pictures of rifles that I don't think much of. Responding to them without hurting their feeling is difficult.

There are a lot of rifles out there that are not to my taste (a very subjective term) look at all the rifles Roy Weatherby sold.

Kind of like me asking how they knew what side was up when they hung the Jackson Pollock painting ;-).

The owner of a used car business located next door to my favorite local gun shop had a motto, similar to some I've heard attributed to P.T.Barnum.

"There's an ass for every car seat!"

Not sure exactly how he meant that....
Regards, Joe

Michael
First off, I thank you for your words of kindness; they are greatly appreciated.
Mr. Eales;
Again I appreciate your honesty in calling a spade a spade while others call it a F**king shovel :}. Having no knowledge of the various subtleties of the single shot rifle; it's physical characteristics are lost on me other than the fact I did recognize the Weatherby touch of the 1950's in the stock; the Germanic? nature of the engraving and the uniqueness of the lever. Are these the 3 different centuries you were referring to? As far as value of the rifle; it can only be measured in the friendship built over 25 years when I owned & ran a small gun-shop where I offered assistance to my customers, in some cases, simply due to my wanting to gain experience with the toys at hand. In this case, the gentleman from whom I received the Hauck enjoyed big game hunting in Alaska & Africa but had neither the time desire to take the pounding of setting up his various .375 H&H mag's and preparing them to ship. His trips were successful on all scores; to whit he attributed my skills in the prep. His business' have prospered while mine died, due in great part to suffering serious health problems in the interim; but he has always kept me in his heart, helping me when possible to the point he called me one day to tell me of this old rifle he had setting in the corner of his garage which he felt I might be able to put to good use. It was a gift from a wonderful friend. I tried to show the Hauck on many different sites to gain some idea of value then guessed a figure & Voila' . I evidently guessed far off what she is worth.
I told the story of the 4 rifles in hopes that one of the other owners might recognize the gun & possibly have an interest. Other than that, I realize that without "proof" it is nothing more than a neat story! Again, thank you all for being so kind as to put up with this old dummy who discovered fool's gold rather than the real thing.

Hauck Rifle,
Sir,
There are plenty of old Dummies and Old Pharts around here myself included, I'm one of the original grumpy old men.

The three Centuries are:- The engraving style at least 17th.C possibly earlier, The basic falling block breech loading rifle design the mid. 19th.C and of course the (Modern Art)stock design from the mid 20th.C.

I did not mean any offence with my comments, and I hope none were take. I try to be as honest as I can, but personal opinions are not always shared by everyone. I wish you luck in your search for a buyer and I hope you get a satisfactory price.

Regards,

Harry Eales

Wonder what Wilber had for breakfast?

When I lived in Troy, New York (fairly near the Vermont line) you could get a Wilbur Hauck story out of any gun nut over the age of 60. Some of them may have even been true. Only saw one of his rifles in the flesh, tho.

Whatever you think of his rifles, he deserves a spot in the American Single Shot Rifle Hall of Fame (maybe for just being the guy who swam upstream the fastest against the greatest current....a guy who was ALWAYS 'way ahead of, or 'way behind, the wave of gun fashion!).

Jerry Fisher one time told me that he had a few stocks out there he would really like to buy back. LOL

About a decade back I was told of a Hauck Krag. Made a few inquiries, apparently it exists, but I could not track it.

One of my client had one built by Hauck way back when, as I remember a 12 lb.. .219. I later built him a Low Wall .22lr with the stipulation that it weigh under 6 lbs.

Gents,

I thought some of you might be interested to know that 60 years ago our idol,"Mister Rifleman", wrote regarding the Hauck "In addition to first rate design and workmanship throughout.....".

Good shooting!