old German .22 rifle

Question
A friend has just placed in front of me the smallest single shot .22 I've ever seen. The words "Deutsche Werke"  tell me it's German-made.  It looks very old. It is break-action, which you do by pulling back the bolt at the end of the firing column. Just behind the rear sight is an S and a 1 surrounded by a circle. Just behind it are some letters starting with M and another 1. It looks like at one time a large S in a circle was burned into both sides of the butt. Any idea what this little thing is??

Answer
Ray,

I literally just answered a question of this type a few days ago.  Here is the answer I gave that questioner.  You would appear to have the same type of rifle.  I think if you look carefully, you'll see the letters on the sides of the stock might be a stylized "D", not an "S".

Sounds like what you have is a German Youth Rifle, .22 LR caliber, manufactured by Deutsche Werke, Werk Erfurt, Germany.  These were made between 1919 and 1939. If I am correct, this is a single-shot with a tip-up breech for loading and ejecting shells with a bolt pull for cocking and safety.

The Deutsche Werke logo - a stylized "D" being formed by what is referred to as a "dormant lion" with the tail forming the "belly" of the D can usually be found inside a circle on breech-block and left side of stock. The left barrel reads "CAL .22 LONG RIFLE". The right hing plate should be stamped "D.R.P./Germany" for Deutsche Reichspatent (Patented in Germany).

Overall length is usually around 37"; barrel length should be 20".

Deutsche Werke AG was originally a factory that made torpedoes and later submarines for the German Kriegsmarine; they also produced motorcycles and diesel engines. The former Royal Prussian rifle factory at Spandau was once a part of Deutsche Werke (German Works).

As far as value, I would have no idea.  These are not considered to be collectable and there is not really any listing for them in any of the books that I use for appraisals.  Additionally, since I have no idea of the condition, any value I would provide would be a guess at best.  I have seen a similar rifle offered for $450 on Guns America, but no one purchased it.  The price sounded very high to me for what it was...

I hope this helps you out.

Regards,

Doug Little