The HAGN System
Block breech rifles are basically very popular for mountain hunting and similar hunting ventures due to their short design, light weight and easy handling. In Take Down version, they are even handier and thus ideally suited for hunting trips.
Martin Hagn was born in Munich in 1943 and thus belongs to the generation of successful German post-war rifle makers. After elementary school, Hagn completed a five-year apprenticeship at the Ferlach Gunsmith School.
He then worked at Griffin & Howe in New York until 1966. He then went to Howard’s Gun Shop in Alaska for a year. Back in Germany, he worked for Kettner in Cologne, Krieghoff in Ulm and Oberhammer in Munich. Martin Hagn then went into business for himself, concentrating on the manufacture of rifles using the Hagn System he developed and named after himself. In addition, he also worked as a stocker for Hartmann & Weiss and for Olympic gold medal winner Konrad Wirnhier during this time.
In 1985, Hagn finally emigrated to Canada. Here, in addition to custom Mauser 98-based repeaters, he primarily builds his Hagn rifles in four different system sizes. Typical of this design is the relatively small number of gun parts. This ensures a high level of functional reliability, because the fewer the parts, the lower the risk of malfunction. It is not without reason that the Hagn block rifle is considered one of the most reliable solutions for extreme hunting conditions.
The .450/400 NE 3″
The rifle presented here was built by master gunsmith Thomas Heuberg for a foreign customer. (Portrait Thomas Heuberg click here)
It has the legendary caliber .450/400 Nitro Express 3-inch which is a medium bore, bottlenecked, Nitro Express cartridge designed by W.J. Jeffery & Co in 1902, intended for use in single shot and double rifles.
Summarizing the characteristics of this cartridge in one sentence, one could say: you can hunt any animal on earth with it.
Thomas Heuberg
Thomas Heuberg builds the Hagn system in modified form, that is, with changes to the safety, some internal parts, and the ejector. Heuberg manufactures the system in different sizes depending on the caliber. For the homemade barrels, the customer can choose between octagonal barrels, semi-octagonal barrels or round barrels with a quarter rail. In any case, he will choose a compact and elegant rifle that is unparalleled in terms of handling, robustness and shooting performance – the ideal rifle for purist enthusiasts.
The .450 was made by Heuberg as a “working rifle” at the customer’s request. The system is color case hardened with decent engraving made by Florian Güllert, the stock comes with good grain and matte finish. The rifle has no scope mount. And it does what it is supposed to do: Hit!
