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" .... Item Description: AUSTRIAN JOHANN PETERLONGO 11mm CAL RIFLE | Austrian Johann Peterlongo 11mm caliber bolt action rifle. 23" full rib barrel stamped "Johann Peterlongo Jnnsbruch Tirol". Austrian proofs. ...."

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The firm was known to make rifles in 11.2 x 72 Schuler as well as a few proprietary calibres. The 11.2x72 Schuler used a rebated case head to suit the 98 action. Allegedly a popular African big game cartridge in the German protectorates of the time. Bertram make brass for it.

Cartridge dimensions at
https://loaddata.com/Cartridge/112x72-Schuler/3060

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.439 calibre, 400 gr 2100 fps to 2400 fps.

Similar to a .404 Jeffery in power?

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per kuduae ....."Just a terrible suspicion came to my mind: Perhaps the barrel is still in 8x57I, but the muzzle is backbored to about 11 mm.
Doing this was a common practice to salvage a barrel with a worn out muzzle, but preserving the original front sight base.
The seller of the rifle may have looked at the muzzle only and guessed at "about 11 mm".

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Hello All,
Thanks for the reply.

If the rifle turns out to be an ordinary 8x57I with an altered muzzle as mentioned above by kuduae, I am really going to be pissed.

I paid a BIG premium for a prewar 11mm Big Game rifle. I collect Big Game rifles, not 8x57 sporters.

Also, I assumed the caliber was going to be 11.2x72 Schuler as that is the only 11mm I found commonly associated with Johann Peterlongo.
I spent over $500 to buy dies and 100 pcs of brass to load the 11.2x72 Schuler cartridge, which may turn out to be for a caliber I don't have.

Fortunately I didn't have to buy bullets because I already swage custom .439 dia. bullets for my 11.15x58R Austrian Werndl rifles.

Although I will do a chamber cast if its an 11mm, a simple "look" at the chamber and the muzzle will reveal if its an ordinary 8x57I caliber.

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The CROWN - crown/N proofmarks were the standard German smokeless proofs for a proofload using the "4000 atm special proof powder". As this proof was used for many chamberings pre-WW1, it tells nothing about caliber.

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The top down view of the receiver and barrel shank looks too small IMO, the 11.2 rifles’ barrel shank is barely smaller than the nominal diameter of a large ring 98.

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Well Buck, that is a “revolting development” to say the least…….

As an aside; looking at your chamber cast, what do you suppose the deal is with the leade/throat? Looks like at least 1” of freebore or even case neck outside diameter ahead of the case mouth.
- Mike

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That's a bummer, is the rifle worth keeping and having it bored and chambered for something else, is there enough meat in the barrel for 11.2mm?

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That 8x57I rifle is a collecto’s item in it’s own right. It’s an early Suhl made Mauser, built on a Mauser, Oberndorf commercial action. The Mauser serial number 11927 dates the action to 1905. It was originally proofed in Suhl. As the German proofs were not accepted in Austria then, R.Mahrholdt, owner of the Peterlongo shop, had it reproofed by the Ferlach proofhouse in 1906. So the rifle is as old as Jim Corbett’s famous Rigby Mauser. The long leade in the barrel was a common feature of 8x57I barrels to accommodate the long, cylindrical 227 gr bulles. Even today the CIP prescribes a 42 mm = 1.65” long freebore from case mouth to rifling for 8x57I chambers.
"You never pay too much for something, you only buy it too early. Buying something unseen and unknown may get really expensive.”

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I am reminded of a section in African Rifles & Cartridges where one of Taylor's hunting companions loved the 8x57 Mauser and the .450-400 and invariably carried one cartridge of each in his pocket. No doubt the 8x57 was with the 227 grain bullet.

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The 8x57 with 227 grain bullet is a big game rifle in my view, but of course not a big bore rifle.

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Looking forward to your new thread. Btw please report back what this rifle sells for as a 8x57. Out of interest.

Please leave the images up. I'll copy them to the NE server when I can. It's a good example of the sort of rifle it should have been correctly labelled as.

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Sorry to hear that you got 'stung' Buckstix!
The rifle certainly looked quite nice in my eyes & rare as kuduae explained; but if its not what the auctioneer said it was then you certainly have a case to send it back.
Lets hope your next foray nets something far closer to the mark for you!

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I will not be bidding on it because of the poor bore condition.

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