Herbert Schmidt Ostheim

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Herbert Schmidt Ostheim was a German gunmaking company, also known as HS - Herbert Schmidt Waffentechnik, based in Ostheim (Rhön).

Early days

It was founded in 1919 by the two Brothers Franz and Herbert Schmidt in Zella - Mehlis. They started in their own living room using a foot driven drilling machine, a mobile forge and some smaller tools. Four persons manufactured shotguns in 12, 16 and 20 gauge as well as in .410 caliber. They also produced some screwdriving tools.

Slowly they developed a small factory but in 1928 a fire destroyed almost the whole production unit, which had been rebuilt quickly.

International and domestic markets

At the same time the company began producing rifles in 6 mm and 9 mm rimfire caliber as well as buckshot carbines in .410 caliber and air pistols. About 90 per cent of their production was destined for export, mainly to the US and South America, especially Brazil. Before WW II the company provided Sweden with repeating carbines in 6.5x55 and 8x57 IS calibers. During WW II the Schmidts serviced, maintained and repaired the K 98 rifles of the German Wehrmacht as well as maintaining spare parts of different weapons of all categories.

In 1945 the company was evacuated to Baden Württhemberg (West Germany) where they began producing axles and pedals for bicycles. They made ovens and table lamps, too.

Herbert Schmidt moved part of the company to Ostheim (Rhön), close to Frankfurt on Main.

Pistols and revolvers

In 1950 H. Schmidt got the license to produce starting pistols and blank-firers, which were made in a rented location. Their first model was a single-shot alarm gun (for yachting purposes). In 1951 the production hall had been finished and the model range had been increased, including a double-action revolver in .22 caliber. Production of his own cartridges began at the same time. In 1959 a single-action revolver in the Western style, the 120, 121, 121 a and the 121 S were born and were first made in .22 magnum.

Many different versions of this revolver followed and appeared in .22lr, .22magnum and 357 magnum as well as 6mm blank and 9mm blank. As Herbert Schmidt died in 1974, the factory had been run by his wife Christa and his son Wolfgang. Many different sorts of guns were in production at this time. In 1977 Schmidt began to produce swords, knives and bayonets as well as survival knives. In the year 1994 the company introduced a single-action revolver, the "Texas Scout", convertible from .45 long Colt into .22lr. A switchable firing pin, interchangeable cylinder and an inlet barrel made this possible. The gun was available in 3" and 4" version. Some more interesting guns had been made and the "Texas Scout" had been available in .45 blank, too. Schmidt also made a double-action revolver, the "Buffalo Combo", a .38 - .22lr convertible. Some time in the late 1990s the company disappeared. It is estimated that rentability was no longer guaranteed, because of the immense costs that occurred by meeting the demands of the constantly changing German gun law as well as restrictions in gun exports.

German quality

Herbert Schmidt had been providing many manufacturers and gun exporters with parts and guns, so that it is difficult to list all of them or research the whole production range. It seems that Schmidt had produced single-action revolvers since the early 1920s and exported them to the United States. All parts of the guns were handmade and out of steel, except for the frames, which were out of a zinc-aluminium alloy. They were sold in the US as low-priced revolvers, but were overproof, which is typically German. Their quality is astonishingly good and these revolvers lasted for a long time, even when using them a lot. Very specific on Schmidt's single-action revolvers is the integrated firing pin and the cutaway hammer that allows dry firing without any gun damage. This construction later led to the modern gun lock safety system, but this was first been made by Arminius and not by Schmidt.

Nowadays Schmidt guns are rare, spare parts almost don't exist and their low price makes them uninteresting for collectors. In Europe collectors pay increasingly high sums for Schmidt single-actions, especially for the blank-firing versions.

Sources

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