SCHULTZ LARSEN M62 RIFLE The Great Dane.

Schultz & Larsen is a Danish rifle manufacturing company that was founded in 1919 in Otterup. . Denmark

The factory was an expansion of a gunsmith workshop. Schultz founded the workshop in 1904 and hired Niels Larsen in 1910. Following the Treaty of Versailles plenty of German machinery was sold abroad for scrap. Schultz and Larsen acquired a suitable set for manufacturing rifles and started producing small calibre target rifles. Later in the 1920s–30s the company also acted as an important subcontractor to Theodor Bergmann's German company, among other things they produced the MP35 submachine gun and the gun barrels to the MG 15 machine gun. Schultz & Larsen were relatively inactive during World War II, with the Nazi Germany controlling the factory and closing it in 1943. In those years the factory mostly repaired small arms and produced RPLT 42 carbines for the Danish coast guard; much of those weapons were stolen from the factory by the Danish resistance movement.

After the war the production focused on hunting rifles, and a range of target rifles based on the Mauser M 98, initially using components from Kar 98k rifles left behind in Denmark by German occupying forces. Schultz & Larsen also made target rifle conversions of captured Kar 98ks. Early versions, the M52 and M58, were made for service-style target shooting, and used shortened, polished and refurbished Kar 98k stocks combined with new heavy target-weight .30-06 or 6.5×55mm barrels as required. Later versions had new target stocks fitted and were available in .30-06, 6.5×55mm and 7.62×51mm NATO, and generally resemble the Norwegian Kongsberg Mauser M59, except there was no upper handguard or cleaning rod.

The Model 62 reportedly there were only less than 500 of them made. It is purpose built; for the 300 Meter International Free Style Match; prone, kneeling, and standing. Our rifle is a single shot chambered in .308 Winchester a relatively new cartridge at the time of the 1956 Olympics.

The rife we have here in our collection is by no way a new rifle, as we know it was personally used in the Olympic Game in Melbourne in 1956 by Uffe, as he was a keen competitor. Even with its age and travelling around the world a time or two, it is still in great condition, a testament to the quality of workmanship and materials, not often experienced today.

Take it for what it is, I think, I shall not look on its like again

Uffe Schultz Larsen (2 June 1921 – 29 November 2005) was a Danish sport shooter who won a silver medal in the 50 m rifle prone position at the 1952 World Championships. He competed in various events at the 1948, 1952, 1956 and 1960 Summer Olympics with the best result of 13th place. His father Niels Larsen and grandfather Hans Schultz were also Olympic rifle shooters.

Uffe also competed in the 50 meter rimfire event at Melbourne, we also have the rifle he used for that competition, so keep an eye open for that article.