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Anton Mulacz Paradox Bore Rifle

864 views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  DK PHILLIPS In Memoriam 
#1 ·
Decided to post this here too ... so while I'm into governmental guns and only have a handful "commercial" guns, I have even less hunting guns - just the handful that I need for hunting. Some time ago I however added another hunting gun to my collection, which I thought is both so good looking as well as interesting, that I would share it here.

To start with a short summary: this is an Anton Mulacz K.K. Hof-Büchsenmacher of Vienna manufactured single break barrel shotgun with Paradox-rifling in 12 bore, made prior to the proof which is from Vienna 1902. The British invented Paradox rifling allows shooting a single shot in shotgun caliber and was especially used for big game hunting. This rifle is both extremely light, as well as of excellent high quality made, plus it had survived two wars without being captured, destroyed or even damaged at all.

In some more detail:

Prior to the purchase I was not aware of the gunsmith who manufactured it, so when checking the name I found out that there are two Anton Mulacz which are father and son. While the father was active from 1860 to 1893, the son continued the business starting in 1893 at the same address (Alserstraße 38 in Vienna). Mulacz was a K.K. Hof-Büchsenmacher.

The first thing that kept me unsure of the item was the fact that while the rifle was a shotgun and smoothbored it nevertheless not only featured front- and rearsight, but in fact also a foldable peep sight with a dovetailed part that even could be changed. On top of this the rifle features double set trigger ("Deutscher Stecherabzug"), which is nothing you would expect on a shotgun. But when checking the barrel in detail for the caliber I noticed that there is very minor rifling at the muzzle which is barely (if at all) visible if you check it from the chamber. And I need to admit that this was the first time I've ever seen a Paradox rifling in person. This then explained why it has a rear sight at all, as well as the double set trigger.

The second thing to find out more was the firing proof. It can be deciphered by the 9573.02 as the firing proof number (9573), as well as the .02 being the year (1902) which also allows to date the rifle to the young Anton Mulacz. It only weights 2950 g (6 1/2 Pound) despite of 66,5 cm barrel length.

Generally the rifle is a truly amazing piece of art. Aside of the barrel all metal was color case hardened with a beautiful floral engraving. Even buttplate and screws usually hidden inside below the barrel are color case hardened, as well as engraved. An interesting fact is that "A. Mulacz" is twice engraved to the rifle - not only atop the barrel, but also on the right side plate behind the hammer. The serial number is hidden on bottom behind the side lever and only visible in open position. The best thing is that this rifle is unaltered since it was made, and this in an amazing condition. I really wonder how it could had survived two World Wars in such good condition. The only minor issue I could find was the stock on the left side becoming a bit lighter where the cheek would rest, to my guess due to the shooters sweat. But this isn't really an issue since it can be easily "repaired" by a bit of oil.
 

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#2 ·
Additional pictures.
 

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