The Lorenz Jägerstutzen: A Sharpshooter's Rifle Reworked for American War

The Austrian Model 1854 Lorenz is a familiar name to Civil War arms collectors, but a video segment from American Rifleman digs into a rarer variant: the Jägerstutzen, a sharpshooter's rifle with its own quirks of design and import history.

Snapshot

American Rifleman's "I Have This Old Gun" segment traces the Lorenz rifle's 1854 adoption by the Austrian Empire and its massive import into the United States during the Civil War. The Jägerstutzen variant, built for sharpshooters, gets particular attention for its shortened barrel, refined sights and the modifications made for export models sold to American buyers.

Key points

• Standard-issue roots: The Model 1854 Lorenz was a .54-caliber percussion rifle with a 37.5-inch barrel and beechwood stock, first issued to Austrian infantry in 1855, according to contributor Kenneth L. Smith-Christmas.
• Heavy Civil War use: Executive Editor Evan Brune notes the Lorenz was the third most common long arm of the war, with the Union importing roughly 226,000 and the Confederacy more than 100,000.
• Sharpshooter variant: Jägerstutzens had shorter barrels and improved sighting for longer-range work by designated marksmen within the Austrian army.
• Export changes: Field Editor Garry James explains that Austrian-issue Jägerstutzens carried no ramrod, while guns exported for American use were modified to include one, altering the stock shape.
• Inconsistent quality: Brune notes that wartime demand led dealers to sell rifles of varying quality, including some poorly bored out to the U.S. .58-caliber standard.

Quick take

For anyone interested in the field gear that accompanied Civil War soldiers, this segment is a useful reminder that imported arms weren't a uniform lot. The Jägerstutzen's sharpshooter pedigree and export-driven redesign make it a notable footnote for collectors tracing how European military rifles were adapted for American battlefields.

Read the full story: americanrifleman.org