Has anybody ever seen or know of the existence of a bolt action in 9.3x72R? Today, while exploring a shop known for rare and high end arms, I reached up on the rack and picked up a rather bizarre old German bolt gun. It was a unusual action, nothing like the familiar Mauser actions, almost like a bolt action shotgun type action. That's not an accurate description but is the best comparison I can come up with at the moment.
Looked like an early bolt action design and the rear of the receiver top was open to allow the bolt to travel to the rearmost position. The bolt handle was spoonbilled, the barrel was rather long, was half round/half octagon and featured a beautifully crafted integral matted rib with 2 folding leaves. It also featured a fold down tang sight. The top of the receiver, which was color cased, was finished in a super fine "stippling" and it had stippled panels on both sides of the receiver. The stock had the flat panels on both sides of the receiver that was so popular on older German rifles. It featured double set triggers. The blueing was in excellent condition and the receiver's case colors were very vibrant. The case colors on the floorplate and buttplate were fading. Aside from some markings on the barrel that meant nothing to me, the only inscription I could make out read "Gussstahl Krupp Essen". I assumed "Gussstahl" was the maker and evidently the store thought the same thing because the tag read "Gussstahl 9.3x72R". I know what Krupp and Essen signified. Once I got home, the internet showed that Gussstahl, like Krupp, refered to the type of steel.
The gun was in almost immaculate condition for the age that I presume it is. The bore looked pristine and the metal finish, aside from the wear on floorplate and buttplate, was excellent. It had one hairline crack at the tang that needed to be repaired and a small crack at the buttplate. Otherwise, it looked like it had hardly been used. What throws me is the caliber. Has anybody ever seen or heard of a bolt gun in 9.3x72R? The action appeared long enough and the bolt face looked about right. It certainly wouldn't make sense to see a Mauser in this chambering but this bizarre, rather primitive looking, action might handle it. I wish I'd had my camera with me, I wish I had wrote down more details, and I wish I had asked the owner some questions but I didn't. I can find no reference to a bolt gun in this caliber on the net and have not found a photo of another gun on this action. I did find a photo of a later JP Sauer on a Mauser action that had the same type half round/half octagon barrel with the same matted rib so I'm thinking this might have been an early Sauer. I didn't want to take a chance on it until I found some info on it, most importantly if the caliber was correct. I've found nothing but I'm captivated by it. It's 3 hours away so I may have to go back. Asking price was $1295. This gun was SOOO clean, except for the cracks, that it's condition belies it's obvious age. I would think it would have to be pre WWI based on the action, styling and alleged caliber. ANY ideas at all?

Thanx