Anybody know about KLEINGUENTHER rifles?

Doug

Doug

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Well I am now the proud owner of a Kleinguenther rifle, chambered in .300 Weatherby. I have read enough on Google searches to know that the rifle was made by Voere in Germany, which is NOT the same as Voere in Austria (the things I learn....:cool:) and a gun-builder called Bob Kleingunther of Texas made some pretty fancy after-market bits and pieces for these rifles.

It appears that I have a model K-15, and furthermore that the number stands for Bob's 15th project. It has very interesting design features that I have never seen on any other rifle, like the way the entire trigger guard/etc drops out with the mag floorplate, and the removable mag inside (kind of like the Browning system), the design of the bolt head, and such.

From what I have read, these are supposedly exceptionally accurate rifles, and apparently had the fastest lock time of any bolt gun ever, as if my poor old reflexes would know. :rolleyes: And it also seems that they fetched a pretty penny when Bob was making them back in the 70s.

Anybody know from first-hand experience anything about these guns?

Doug
 
The rifles are actually made in Germany or Austria by a European gun company by the name of Voere (Veery). Depending on the year of manufacture would be in Austria or Vohrenvach, Germany. These were brought into the U.S. by Kleinguenther in the form of barreled actions or complete rifles. I don't know the exact years 1971-1975 maybe and some more in late seventys or early eightys. The claim to fame of the rifles is their wonderfully accurate barrels. Voere makes some of the very best barrels in the world. Kleinguenther is a gunsmith who builds (did build) target (sniper) rifles of supreme accuracy. He founded the company KDF which is still in biz, I think in San Antonio. I believe Voere is the company in Germany which made or played a part in the manufacture of the Weatherby rifles when they were made in Germany. I am not sure about that but I guess it doesn't mattter. Kleinguenther rifles are very fancy wood and metal highest quality of manufacture, veeeery accurate. I have owned a couple and fired a dozen or so, 7mm Rem, 243 Win, 30-06, 300 Win, 7.5x55 Swiss (yeah, really) and maybe another caliber or two. There is a K-14 and K-15, long and short actions. A little too shiny for my taste, too pretty to hunt with, expensive, and very European. Nothing wrong with the design but it doesn't appeal to me. (I'm a Mauser, Pre-64, Sako kind of guy) If you like the rifle and want the caliber you have found or have, you have a great rifle. A down side might be the availability of scope mounts, I think all I could find was Conetrol for the rifles I had, good mounts, just order from the manufacturer. The stock shape reflects the times with it's high comb and skipline checkering. It is a blend of old World craftsmanship and American market trends. I think the rifles were doctored after they came to the U.S. by Kleinguenther to enhance the accuracy and reliability, in the form of bedding and such. I would say they are a rare winning combination. That's about all I know about the Kleinguenther rifles, that and how to spell it. Hope this helps. Good shootin'.
 
back to Win/64, yes I saw that article thanks. The fellow who wrote it has some important "facts" wrong. :rolleyes:

Do you have any personal knowledge of these?

Doug
 
Hell Doug, all I know about the Kleinguenther K-15 rifles is that they used to sell them through S.I.R. mail order and they were on par with the vaulted Weatherby MkV rifles that we could only dream about waaay back in those days...
 
back to BC Bigbore............that seems to be the consensus of several dozen things I have been reading on the net. I had never heard of them, nor seen one either, and I thought the lad was just trading me a Voere (like I had before, from Austria). He did say that the gun was worth a couple thousand bucks, and the rings a couple hundred, and maybe he was right! :eek:

By all accounts, this should be an incredibly accurate gun. But of course I swapped away my .300 Wby dies and brass with the last one I had..........so here we go again! :rolleyes:

Anybody got any .300 Wby dies and brass? :p

Doug
 
Hell Doug, all I know about the Kleinguenther K-15 rifles is that they used to sell them through S.I.R. mail order and they were on par with the vaulted Weatherby MkV rifles that we could only dream about waaay back in those days...
Click to expand...

Having handled and fired a K-15,many years ago,it is my opinion that they are far superior to the Mark V,which I don't consider to be anything special for the price.
 
My Dad has one in .300 Win. mag with a 26" barrel and no iron sights. It is a superb rifle and the craftsmanship is way above the standard line up of commercially available rifles. You have a jewel of a rifle. Accuracy is quite good, but the barrels are rather thin and not made for repetitive fire. Let it cool down after three shots as the barrel can get very hot. The trigger is very crisp and as you've noticed the lock time is very fast. The only drawback, if you can call it that, is the rifle is rather heavy and best suited from shooting from stands or fixed spots.
 
I've had 3 of them in 7mm rem mag,308 norma mag and 300 wby, All of them shot excellent, They were supposed to be gaurenteed to shoot 1/2" groups at 100yds.I still have the artical out of a magazine from when they were new.
 
I have owned a few over the years, a good rifle, it would appear that they have went down in value over the years not up, not sure why but that has been my observation.
 
In response to Voere making Weatherby's back in the day, your thinking of Sauer. As for the Kleinguenther, nice grap, very nice rifles, but as some said, too pretty to hunt with. Have fun with the setup.
 
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