This Swiss Schmidt-Rubin rifle began life as a Model 1896/11 in 1906. The 96/11’s were conversions of the prior Model 1889/96 to fit into the Model 1911 Infantry pattern and caliber. After service the soldier would be able to take the rifle home and this one was privatized to the soldier in 1952.
At some point after that, most likely late 1950’s early 1960’s, it was refurbished by Lienhard and converted into a .22LR caliber. Lienhard was a Swiss company founded by Olympic champion shooter Walter Lienhard and was most well known for their line of conversion kits. This rifle, however, is not a conversion kit insert but a fully refurbished rifle with a dedicated .22LR barrel. Lienhard would often do small batch runs of acquired 96/11, 1911, K11, and K31 rifles converting them for target/match grade shooting.
As part of this rifle’s conversion it has been shortened from the original 96/11. The wood patches from the old sling mounts and barrel bands are smooth and seamless. The barrel is now .22LR. The rear sight has been moved back to just in front of the receiver and modified with a Lienhard elevation adjuster. The rear sight slide adjustment is fixed at the back of the sight to 25. The magazine has been modified so the follower floats on the spring. Removal of the magazine will allow the follower and spring to fall out. This is a single shot rifle.
This rifle has matching numbers from its original 96/11 configuration and its later refurbishment. The only numbers that don’t match are the stock and butt plate. The barrel is 23 1/8 inches long. Overall length is 44 ½ inches.
This Schmidt Rubin 96/11 .22LR single shot rifle is in excellent condition. The finish on the stock and hand guard shows only minor wear and a few small dings and scratches. The various patches to the wood are smooth and seamless. This was most likely refinished at least twice, once arsenal and once refurbishment. There is no cracking or splitting evident.
The metal shows minimal wear and was most likely arsenal refinished at some point. There are no signs of rust or pitting. The receiver is very clean in the chamber. The bolt shows some minor staining and bolt face has some minor grime that should clean easily. The bakelite charging handle knobs are not cracked, split, or broken and are a very nice brownish red. The butt plate shows wear at top and bottom.
The action is a little stiff but functions normally. The bore is excellent, very clean, crisp rifling, and only minor wear. There is no visible rust, pitting, or fouling in the bore. This rifle comes with a K31 pattern leather sling and a brass muzzle cap.
This Schmidt Rubin 96/11 Lienhard .22LR Conversion single shot rifle would make for a fantastic target shooter.
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