Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Info on Flaig's rifles

All,

I just picked up a nice 7x57 Mauser rifle stamped FLAIG'S on the barrel. would like to know more about Flaig's gunshop in PA, and their rifles.

My rifle is on a commercial FN large ring action with a Timney trigger and figured walnut stock. The only visible marking is "7mm" on the barrel just in front of the action. The Flaig's stamp is on the underside of the barrel shank, where there is also stamped "D 55" which I assume means a Douglas barrel made in 1955. The bottom metal is one-piece machined steel. The rifle is very well-fitted to the stock and the whole package appears to be top quality. The bolt and rails and boltface show no wear so I wonder if it has ever been fired since it left the shop.

Thanks for replies. Here's a couple pics of my rifle:

While I don't have a Flaig's marked gun I am interested as well in them. They have a very good reputation as much as I know.



Here is a link to some Flaig's history: Flaig's link.

Somehow I am trying to link the gunsmith Dietrich Apel to Flaig's? Not sure?

BR,

There are a couple of guys here on the 'fire that have been to Flaigs when he was still alive. I remember a thread about Flaigs a few years ago. IIRC, Don Buckbee was one of them. But you know how memory goes.... You might try the search function... (If you have better luck at it than I do...)

GH

Thanks for the tip GH. I got a couple interesting hits.

This rifle consists of all top notch parts. I wonder what it would cost to buy these parts today and then pay a good smith to fit them together in quality fashion? Bet you couldn't get it done for 2 large.

Flag's was located up a hill across from Pittsburgh (PA) in Millville. I visited here in the late 1970's on business trips to Pittsburgh. I used to drool at the actions he had lined up for sale or barreling. I certainly wish I'd gotten a Flag's rifle at the time.

If possible, look also at some 1960's and 1970's American Rifleman magizines. Flaig's would advertise there every month.

I googled a Flaig's ad from a 1960 Guns magazine last night. I'll post it later. The best I could do at the time was a screenshot so quality is lacking, but it is at least partly legible. You'll flip when you see their price for a Douglas-barreled FN Mauser action.

I'm one of those guys.

I grew up not far from there, and it was close (a few miles) to my high school. Me and a couple buddies were even rumored to have skipped an afternoon or three of school and stopped by the shop on the hill.

I still have an FN 98 that my dad had built there.

Every time one of these threads pop up, I get nostalgic feeling and miss that place....

FWIW, I have seen Flaig's catalogs come up for auction on eBay from time to time and have thought that I needed to bid on some of them for my reference library.

Jeff

I grew up several miles from Flaig's. Don't think I ever met Charle but was there in awe many times!!!

Very sharp looking rifle

Lived a couple miles from Flaig's on the hill. Used to go and buy shotgun components from them. Cool old world style shop at the top of the hill with a beautiful location. Dark paneled glass gun cases and rifles, drillings and shotguns all over the place. Always seemed much darker inside than out. One of those places that when you went back outside the sun hurt your eyes.

Workshop off the side if memory is correct, and sometimes you could stand back and watch them work. Other times they would give you the get the hell out look. Unless they knew you, not the friendliest when it came to customer service, but they would let you room around and pick most things up and look at it. I essentially knew little regarding Mausers and most of the stuff they had, but always enjoyed going inside.

My old friend Dietrich, IIRC, is a nephew of Paul Jaeger. For some time, he ran the Paul Jaeger outfit in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. The last I heard from him, he was operating (somewhere in New Hampshire, I think) as New England Custom Guns (NECG) � importing some beautiful gunware from his brother or cousin in Germany and Schmidt & Bender scopes and doing his own exquisite rifle work. (Dietrich comes from a long line of classic German gun-makers. He was born into gun work, grew-up with it, and has made it his life's work. No Johann-come-lately, he!)

Flaig's wonderful shop was clear over in the other end of Pennsylvania � Millvale, near Pittsburgh.

It's been many, many years since I visited either of their shops or did business with 'em. I still have my very special engraved Jaeger rifle, but I don't remember what ever happened to the exquisite Circassian blanks that I bought from Flaig's.

You used to be able to tell how good a gunsmith was by how
grouchy he was.

Well thank you. I think so. Can't wait to shoot it. I peeled the Weaver bases off last night. They were all glued in place, including the screws, and a PITA to get apart. I'm glad I did though 'cause they weren't installed worth a blue poop. Gonna put something prettier than Weavers on there, maybe Redfields or even a Williams WGRS. A peep would be cool! Only problem is giving up the first and last half-hour of the hunting day (prime time!) because I can't see the dang sights. I also have one of those fold-down peeps that mounts on the rear scope base. Some QR rings and I could install/remove the scope at will. What a cool idea!

Used to buy from Flaigs in Millvale. They were really big on nice quality imported things. I remember well their adds for Boehler-Stahl ribbed barrels and their double set triggers. I lived right up the road in Etna and visited many times the store on the side of the hill in the pines. Picturesque site. At the time of their popularity there was also the Original Sight Exchange in Paoli,Pa which was another gunsmith supply site. That's really bringing back memories.

You done good. Flaigs built Rifles are top notch.I have had maybe 6 of them in my lifetime.Everyone not only looked good ,but shot good as well.Every once in a while I see one pop up at a Gunshow.

I owned a Flaig's 7x57 on a Brno action,it was a fine classic sporter that shot well and functioned perfectly.

I never visited the place put they were said to have lots of original nazi items.

Some people on this site have indicated that they may have been sympathetic to the nazi cause.

I don't know about any of that but they did make really nice custom sporters that were good working rifles intended to be used.

Because the barrel is stamped Flaigs you cannot assume they built the whole rifle.
My first "big bore" was a 270 WCF built on a VZ24 action (mine} , with a Flaigs barrel (bbl was stamped Flaigs), the highest grade Heter's American Walnut. The metal work was done by the old Turnbull Gunshop in Holcomb NY and the stock by Dick Collins (later the chief stockmaker for Turnbull Restorations and the ill fated Ithaca SxS rebirth in Victor NY. Dick is long retired)

Wish you could still get those 1903 trigger guards.