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20×102mm Vulcan
This German invention is used in 95% of rifles in biathlon
The world championship in biathlon—a combination of cross-country skiing and rifle shooting—ends this weekend. Germany, with its long biathlon tradition, has had a poor showing with just a lone silver medal. But there’s one area where a German is winning big.
Peter Fortner, a gunsmith from Rohrdorf, manufacturers so-called repeater devices, which allows athletes to shoot faster by reducing the loading time of their rifles. He says 95% of all professional biathletes use his invention.
The idea came about in the early 1980s. Fortner, a traditional gunsmith, met Peter Angerer, who had won a gold medal in the Olympic Winter Games in Sarajevo. Casually, Angerer told Fortner that West Germany’s biathlon team would need “proper” rifles. Back then, better rifles built in the GDR (former East Germany) at that time were only available on the Soviet and GDR market, Fortner told Quartz. He agreed to rebuild an old biathlon rifle and developed a new repeating device that improves an athlete’s speed. Previous versions had a lateral cocking mechanism. To operate it, shooters needed to take their hands from the pistol grip, so they needed extra time to readjust the rifle. Fortner’s device can be operated by the athlete’s index finger and thumb, without changing the hand position.
“The repeating device alone is about two seconds faster each shot,” Fortner said. He said because the rifle also remains relatively stable, athletes gain a few seconds more they else would use to readjust the rifle.
This German invention is used in 95% of rifles in biathlon
Here’s a video that shows how the repeating device works:
The world championship in biathlon—a combination of cross-country skiing and rifle shooting—ends this weekend. Germany, with its long biathlon tradition, has had a poor showing with just a lone silver medal. But there’s one area where a German is winning big.
Peter Fortner, a gunsmith from Rohrdorf, manufacturers so-called repeater devices, which allows athletes to shoot faster by reducing the loading time of their rifles. He says 95% of all professional biathletes use his invention.
The idea came about in the early 1980s. Fortner, a traditional gunsmith, met Peter Angerer, who had won a gold medal in the Olympic Winter Games in Sarajevo. Casually, Angerer told Fortner that West Germany’s biathlon team would need “proper” rifles. Back then, better rifles built in the GDR (former East Germany) at that time were only available on the Soviet and GDR market, Fortner told Quartz. He agreed to rebuild an old biathlon rifle and developed a new repeating device that improves an athlete’s speed. Previous versions had a lateral cocking mechanism. To operate it, shooters needed to take their hands from the pistol grip, so they needed extra time to readjust the rifle. Fortner’s device can be operated by the athlete’s index finger and thumb, without changing the hand position.
“The repeating device alone is about two seconds faster each shot,” Fortner said. He said because the rifle also remains relatively stable, athletes gain a few seconds more they else would use to readjust the rifle.
This German invention is used in 95% of rifles in biathlon
Here’s a video that shows how the repeating device works:
