FERLACH
For lovers of fine hunting weapons, the small town of Ferlach should be the first choice when visiting Austria. Guns have been made here for centuries. The first craft seal of the Ferlach gunsmith guild dates back to 1620. Initially, weapons of war were produced here. It was not until the second half of the 19th century that the focus shifted to the production of hunting weapons. In the course of time, entire gunsmith dynasties were formed, some of which continue to manufacture exclusive hunting rifles to this day. A special highlight was the awarding of the Ferlach gunsmith’s craft as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2010.
WILFRIED GLANZNIG
Wilfrid Glanznig is considered by many to be one of the best gunsmiths in Austria.
Born in 1943, Glanznig began his career as an apprentice in Ferlach with Josef Just. He stayed there for about 14 years. In 1976, he then went into business for himself as a master gunsmith and set-up his own workshop (where he remains to this day) and initially set-about building simple kipplauf and combination rifles with boxlock actions. Two years later he applied himself to the relative complexities of the sidelock, and built a single-trigger ejector drilling. Since 1982 he has built only ‘best’ sidelock guns. Glanznig considers the year 2000 to be his zenith when he completed a series of, as he describes, “grand complications” in the form of drillings and vierlings, all with single-triggers and full ejectors.
Glanznig only builds so-called “Best” Guns, one-offs in which the special wishes of the customer are taken into account. In total, the master is said to have built not much more than 140 rifles so far. All Glanzig weapons are highly exclusive pieces of outstanding quality. Meanwhile, the master is retired, which does not mean that he is idle. It is conceivable that he still builds one of his fantastic weapons, if only he would be asked nicely and insistently enough.
In this article I would like to present the above pictured break-open single shot rifle = Kipplaufbüchse, proofed in 1992.
DESCRIPTION
Sidelock with sear, ejector, Suhler single-hook mount, octagonal barrel, slide safety on top tang, very best and finest wood with nicely figured wood, the very finest Bulino engraving, on the left side Diana, with on the right side Hubertus with stag, engraving by J. Deflorian, Ebony tip nicely caps off the forend, which closely mimics the stock, with both being finished to a perfectly smooth surface. Very rich engraving e.g. on the barrel muzzle, top rib, on the entire barrel length, as well as on the cartridge trap and on the sidelock, skeleton toplever, as well as on the trigger guard, etc. A weapon only for the ultimate aficionado.
JOACHIM DEFLORIAN
The triggerplate is signed ‘J. Deflorian’, engraver of this piece of art.
Joachim Deflorian was born in Bolzano. He showed his artistic talent early on as a painter of fine landscapes. Deflorian enrolled in the Ferlach School for Handguns in 1959 where he learnt the skills of a gunmaker. Once his military service was at an end he returned to Ferlach and worked as a gunmaker for Josef Hambrusch. He spent a deal of time with Hambrusch observing his brother-in-law, who was the firm’s engraver, and decided that this was the path he wished to follow. In order to do this he returned to the gunmaking school for training but remained ‘at the bench’ for Hambrusch in the afternoon. He was taken under the wing of master engraver, Johann Singer, and once qualified was offered commissions by many of Ferlach’s top makers. However, he considered it an honour to be asked to work for Glanznig.
CONCLUSION
The unique pieces of Wilfried Glanznig stand for the maximum feasible in the field of handcrafted hunting weapons. He has also developed his own unmistakable style in the aesthetic and finish of the rifles, thus setting standards.
His life’s work consists of exactly 125 “Best” Guns. Technically outstanding are his multi-barreled rifles with single trigger and ejectors. His masterpieces include three “KUGEL-DRILLINGE” (3 Barrel Rifle) and two “KUGEL-VIERLINGE” (4 Barrel Rifle), each with single trigger and corresponding ejectors. These designs border on the Edge of being technically feasible and are rightly so called “Grande Complication”.
