My father is looking at buying a Ferlach double by Luwig Borovnik. This rifle is a .37HH with sidplates and extractors. It also has the no 62 after the name which we assume is either a model or manufacture date. The barrels are ported and the gun is engraved with gamescenes and deep scroll. We have had a hard time finding much info on them including the value. If anyone has any info or an estimated value please let me know. Thanks in advance.

quote:

Originally posted by thornell:
My father is looking at buying a Ferlach double by Luwig Borovnik. This rifle is a .37HH with sidplates and extractors. It also has the no 62 after the name which we assume is either a model or manufacture date. The barrels are ported and the gun is engraved with gamescenes and deep scroll. We have had a hard time finding much info on them including the value. If anyone has any info or an estimated value please let me know. Thanks in advance.

Thornhill I've been around double rifles for most of my life, and have owned, and shot just about every name double you can think of, and I have never seen a double rifle with the barrels ported! I doubt this porting was done by the maker, and I'm afraid this is an experiment by someone who didn't know any better, and most likely has destroyed the regulation of this rifle! I would not even consider buying this rifle without shooting it to check the regulation. If it has been advercely effectived, the only fix is to shorten the barrels, and re-regulate the rifle. Not a cheap fix, and depending on how much the barrels would have to be shortened, could effect the ballance as well! Sorry sir but I fear this may be a pig in a poke!

Pray the bbls are 29 inches or longer,
[so they can be cut]!!!

Even if this rifle regulated well, the value of it has diminished greatly with ported barrels.

Borovnik is respected and made some very nice rifles. Not English style, but very desirable nonetheless. However, in view of the porting, you should be getting a steal on this gun (may I venture $3500?). If it were not ported and is as nice as I imagine, market might be 12K or even 15K. Replacement would probably exceed 30K.

Here's a Borovnik just for general reference:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=107887885

There's usually a bunch of Austrian guns here, which may give you some sort of feel for what they are usually like:

http://www.bobjonesguns.com/inventory.asp#RIFLES

There is a Merkel sort of like you describe at www.hallowellco.com for $17K, and they had a nice .470 Waffen d'Schulnigg (Ferlach) a couple of years ago for $18K or so.

I fear that you will find that ported rifle quite difficult to sell if you ever decide to part with it, so your purchase price should be low enough that there is little or no risk to you.

Thanks for the help guys. My father has decided to let this one go due to the porting.

Any of you guys remember 10 years ago Kreighoff had a .470 That Had 16inch barrels and ported flash hiders. Norbert I think said they rebarreled the rifle and were sent back to germ. It was a fire breather I was half considering buying the barrels but that was many crowns ago and not worth the 4K at the time.

Here is Borovnik's home site:

http://en.precision-rifle.com/

And here is one of his doubles - not ported this time - asking 37.5 K:

http://www.rbsiii.com/collection/rifles/borovnik_375/borovnik_375.htm