doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion German & Austrian Sporting Guns @ doublegunshop.com Vereinsbüchsenmacher Franz Denk Wein-Prater

Any Franz Denk in Wien fans?? I know there are 2 or 3 threads around here where he retailed longarms made in Auustria & Suhl, Germany. It may take me some time to tell his tale, but indeed it is an interesting one and he even rented weapons for you to shoot @ the kaiserlich-königlich(k.k.) Garnisonsschiessstätte im Prater Scheibengattungen. Now I am not positive on exactly where he was driving the bus of the Vienna Rifle Club(Öesterreichischen Omnibus Gesellschaft) to which shooting grounds but it was either the Prater Amusement Park on the West side of the Danube or the Schießplatz Kagran / „k. k. Garnisonsschießplatz“ Kagran(Militär-Schießstätte)on the East side of the Danube about 18 km from Ecke der Nordbahnstrasse or the corner of Nordbahn Street / Praterstern, which I assume was a Rail Stop. He would get you back to the same spot by dinnertime. The Kagran shooting grounds was originally just for the Military in 1871 but at some point the Vienna Shooting Club rented a portion of it & that where they had the „Berlin“, „Frankfurt“ & „Heimat“ stands. Also there were several target pistol ranges where the distances were of course in paces. Always remember in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the distances are paces not metres.

Franz Denk bürgerlichen Büchsenmacher in Wien advertised as Vereinsbüchsenmacher Franz Denk des Wiener Schützenvereines - k k Garnisonsschiessstätte im Prater Scheibengattungen(or some variant thereof) or Club Gunsmith of the of the Viennese Shooters Club where he offered his services to the Premisso Titulo Shooters and Guest his well regulated shotguns, target rifles or breech-loading pistols, which all could be purchased or rented. He was a specialist in scatterguns and very accurate breech-loading target pistols to 200, 300 paces.... Whatever was there. He had a very interesting business modell which I hope to fully comprehend.

Vereinsbüchsenmacher Franz Denk was too an accomplished shooter in his own right with awards of trophies & coins? Not sure of when he was born or died, but he appears in the mid 1880s and then fades into the sunset by the mid 1930s where he was awarded the Austrian Title of Kommerzialrar or deserving entrepreneurs. As I understand it, an Austrian really did fancy a title, much like the Brits. But one title that he acquired was one of the very last, if not the last Büchsenmachers to have been dubbed k.u.k.(kaiserlich-königlich) Hofbüchsenmacher as Franz Denk bürgerlichen Büchsenmacher in Wien received his in January 1918 and the Austro-Hungarian Empire fell apart in November 1918.

He seemed to have a close working relationship with Kalezky, Springer and possibly another or 2 Gunsmiths in Vienna. He may have had the same arrangement as Kalezky & Springer had in that each didn't siphon off adept mechanics from the other. Although I am not sure how many, if any, that bürgerlichen Büchsenmacher Franz Denk. With driving the shooting grounds bus he had to have some help???

If anyone has an offering by Vereinsbüchsenmacher Franz Denk, I for one would very much like to see it. Of course there is always more to the story...


Oh, oh, oh bürgerlichen Büchsenmacher Franz Denk, much like Charles Daly, did donate items for prizes for the top shooters. So this modell may have been typical for the time or one got the idea from the other??

Serbus,

Raimey
rse

https://www.doublegunshop.com/forum...mp;Words=denk&Search=true#Post207406


https://www.doublegunshop.com/forum...mp;Words=denk&Search=true#Post232324


https://www.doublegunshop.com/forum...mp;Words=denk&Search=true#Post457860

A few Franz Denk in Wien offerings.....

Serbus,

Raimey
rse

>>Sonntag ,den 20. und Sonntag den 27. December 1896, aufder k.k. Garnisonsschiessstätte im Prater veranstaltet.

Auf die Distanz von 150 Schritten gelangen folgende Scheiben gattungen zur Aufstellung, und zwar: Hasen Punktscheibe, Elefanten scheibe und Meisterscheibe. Die Scheiben sind mit circa 200 Kronen Beste nebst Gläseranweisungen dotirt und können sich die Premisso Titulo Herren Schützen auch Hasen für den Weihnachts- und Neujahrstisch erschiessen. Die Pistolenscheibe, Distanz 50 Schritte, ist mit 56 Kronen Beste nebst Gläseranweisungen dotirt und ist es ausserdem den Premisso Titulo Herren Schützen möglich ge macht die in der Schiesshalle bereitliegende „Kronewurst“ zu stutzen.....<<

A shoot at the „k. k. Garnisonsschießplatz“ or Vienna Hunt Club @ Christmas 1896, where you have 3 target choices of Rabbit, Elephant & „Meisterscheibe“ at 150 steps(remember again in the Austro-Hungarian Empire the distances to targets & gun sights are in >>Schritten<< / steps and not metres) & the Best Shooter can be awarded around 200 Kroner. There's some type of instructions I do not comprehend(Gläseranweisungen). I would very much like to see the Elephant targets.....

The Premisso Titulo Gentlemen can have a go @ Rabbits for either the Christmas or New Years Dinner Table.

Pistol targets are @ 50 paces & the winning shooter can net around 56 Kroner.

Now those Premisso Titulo Kats get the Royal Treatment & get to carve on some „Kronewurst“ in the >>Schiesshalle<< and I assume that is some hanging Summer Sausage in the Festhall/Shooting Hall?

Serbus,

Raimey
rse

1897 Advert albeit a bit blurry/fuzzy. Now from the Mid to Late 1890s, bürgerlichen Büchsenmacher Franz Denk did some heavy advertising. He was among the likes of Alfred Fanzoi, Leopold Gasser, Gewehrfabrik v. H. Burgmüller, Markus Orgus, Johann Peterlongo, Carl Stiegele, Jr., Josef Winkler, etc.

Serbus,

Raimey
rse

One think I forgot to mention about the Vienna Military shooting Grounds( Schießplatz Kagran) was that the Klosterneuburg Abbey(Stift Klosterneuburg) gave up some property for the construction. The Vienna Shooting Club in 1872 originally leased a subset of the Military Range and competitions were on Sunday.

Serbus,

Raimey
rse

Can you actually believe in 1895 that the Vienna Animal Rights Group(der Wiener Thierschutzverein seine ) was giving Vereinsbüchsenmacher Franz Denk and his Bosniaks(Bosniaken) Buds static of Pigeon Shooting.....

Serbus,

Raimey
rse

Still holding with the Vienna Shooting Club Times(in say May 1895 they took over publication of the text), they inform young shooters how to address spent cases to extend their life. The very 1st & what they consider very important is to pull the primer immediately upon firing. Wouldn't you like to be in that band of merry fellas shooting Doves or Ducks and having to extract the primer on each spent hull????? Of course they are talking about metallic cartridges I think. But then let the spent case rest for 2 - 3 hours and then put it in a wood vessel or earthen vessel with Lukewarm water(one artikel noted to use Baking Soda I believe it was and for sure they didn't have >>Oxi Clean<< back then. Then take the wing feather of a Goose and clean the inside of the spent case. They warn that if the spent cases are not cleaned that you will only get 30-40 shots of use of the cases. Too, they were dead set against what they referred to as polishing in an earthen vessel. They give that cleaning & not polishing results in 100+ shot use. Interesting that between the two artikels that one says to use a wooden dowel to clean then inside and the other warns against such use and gives the Goose Feather is the key.

Serbus,

Raimey
rse

Raimey,
Back at the top, I don't think "Omnibus" has anything to do with driving a bus, the word means "over all", "universal", or "all knowing". Back at the bottom, even today blackpowder shooters put their cases in a cleaning solution right away, and they don't have to contend with brass destroying mercuric primers like they did in the old days. Different advice on cleaning is common even today (the more things change, the more they stay the same). "Schritten" does mean steps, but we would more than likely translate it to "paces". BTW, good show on your translations.
Mike

Yeah Ford, Öesterreichischen Omnibus Gesellschaft was or is the bus service but I was just rounding out the story of Vereinsbüchsenmacher Franz Denk and used an artistic license to stretch the truth just a bit as he didn't drive the Bus I do not think.

I did have some help on the Austrian German...

Serbus,

Raimey
rse

Paces Ford, Paces is the correct term...... Yes. I did read about a few shoots where say 200 or 230 Paces was 175 metres. I can dig those up, maybe....

Serbus,

Raimey
rse