The Römer Convertible Pistol-Rifle
from Römerwerk Aktiengesellschaft in .22 LR

By Dr. Stefan Klein
Edited for English language publication by Ed Buffaloe

Preliminary note : Drop-in stock systems for modern service pistols are enjoying great popularity, as they allow one to quickly acquire the handling of a short self-loading rifle. There are also replacement barrels, for example, for the Walther GSP, that turn the pistol into a semi-automatic long gun: from one to two.

The Römer Pistol

The idea, however, is not new. As early as 1925, the Römerwerk company launched a versatile weapon in .22 LR caliber under the name "Römer Pistolenbüchse." It followed the motto: From one to three. Using interchangeable barrels and a drop-in stock, the owner could switch between pocket pistol, target pistol, and repeating rifle. The stock was available in a sporting and a hunting version. This design is currently celebrating its 100th anniversary. It's worth taking a closer look at this principle, which was revolutionary for its time.

The Römer Target Pistol

Literature on the Römerwerk pistol-rifle is scarce. In the Deutsches Waffenjournal for June 1997, Ralph Wilhelm provided a technical description of the Römer pistol-rifle in his article "Universalgenie," without providing further historical details. Contemporary sources, such as the magazine Der Waffenschmied, contain advertisements and reports from around 1925 on the introduction of the pistol-rifle and on the Römerwerk company. This article is based on research in other contemporary sources, the oritinal patents, and the examination of actual examples.

Background on the Römerwerk Company
and Albin Gerstenberger

The Römerwerk Stock Company was founded about 1923 in Suhl from Römerwerk, Waffenfabrik, GmbH. The company name was therefore not new, as Jacob Römer had already founded a factory under the name Römerwerk on 1 June 1888. The Römerwerk company primarily produced weapon parts, such as rifle actions and bolts, as reported by Der Waffenschmied on May 8, 1924. In addition to pure parts production, Römerwerk also manufactured entire weapons, as evidenced by an advertisement from 1925 advertising the production of hunting weapons and various shotgun models. The Römer pistol-rifle was released in the same year.

The design is based on a patent (German patent № 436426) by Albin Gerstenberger. Gerstenberger was born on 23 April 1887, in Göppersdorf near Chemnitz and is primarily known for his patents on blank-firing weapons. Around 1922, he and Ernst Moritz founded a company in Zella-Mehlis that manufactured air guns, alarm, blank-firing, and starting guns, as well as hunting accessories. From 1927 onward, this company operated under the trademark EM-GE.

Advertisement in Der Waffenschmied from 1925.

Gerstenberger thus had all the prerequisites to implement his patent himself. Nevertheless, he passed the license on to Römerwerk, which had experience with hunting weapons though not with the manufacture of self-loading pistols.

Advertisement from Der Waffenschmied from June 10, 1925. The pistol-rifle is distributed by CG Dornheim AG and was available from the end of May 1925.

He further reports that the pistol-rifle is offered as a sporting and hunting model. Both models feature a light trigger pull and an easy to operate safety. The sporting model features a sporting sight and a sporting stock with grooves on the fore-end, while the hunting model has a fixed sight for three distances and a hunting stock with a cheekpiece. The Römer pistol-rifle is a truly successful innovation that will be very well received. GC Dornheim A.-G. has assumed general distribution.

Römerwerk launched the pistol-rifle project during the heyday of pocket pistols and in a largely saturated market. Many companies dabbled in pocket pistols, but few enjoyed resounding success. The idea of ​​a pocket pistol in .22 LR caliber was not yet ripe; the market leaders, the 6.35 mm Browning and 7.65 mm Browning, dominated the market. And so the inevitable happened: on April 14, 1929, Der Waffenschmied reported that "bankruptcy proceedings were initiated against the assets of Römerwerk, Aktiengesellschaft, Suhl, on March 27, 1929."

The idea of ​​the pistol-rifle disappeared with the Römerwerk company.

Patent and Technology

Drawing from German patent № 436426. Clearly visible is the pistol resting in the rifle stock and the two-part chamber that houses the pistol's bolt. The chamber head and bolt handle are attached to the chamber cover with a sturdy connecting screw. The rotation of the bolt handle during locking and unlocking thus follows the thread of the screw.

The versatility of the Römer pistol-rifle means that the

A T-shaped rail on the underside of the barrel slides into a channel in the grip, connecting barrel and grip.

weapon is available in three different versions: as a repeating rifle with interchangeable barrels, as a self-loading rifle with interchangeable barrels, or as a self-loading pistol with interchangeable barrels.

Technical Details: The pocket and target pistol is a self-loading pistol with a mass-action bolt in .22 LR caliber. The interchangeable barrel of the pocket pistol is 77 mm long, while that of the target pistol is 180 mm (the rifle barrel is 660 mm). The barrels have six grooves and a right-hand twist. The barrel is attached to the grip via a T-shaped rail on the underside of the barrel. This fits into a corresponding counterbearing on the grip and is locked in place by a spring-loaded lever, the so-called barrel retainer. To disassemble, the barrel retainer is pushed in with the magazine base and the barrel is pulled forward.

Römer Breechblock (Bolt) and Receiver.

The spring-loaded firing pin is located in the left bore and is driven by an off-center striker located on the left. The firing pin also acts as an ejector. The inertial firing pin protrudes up to 4 mm into the breech as the bolt moves backward, effectively ejecting the cartridge case.

The safety, a rotary lever, is located at the rear left of the grip and acts on the trigger bar running along the left side. The magazine holds 8 cartridges, and the magazine catch is located on the underside of the grip. The black plastic grip panels bear the intertwined abbreviation "RW" (Römerwerke). There are also pistols with smooth wooden grip panels. I cannot say whether these are original. In advertisements, the pistol is always shown with plastic grip panels.

Target Pistol & Rifle Front Sights.

The pistol rests in the rifle stock with the grip in the magazine well. The magazine catch is accessible, allowing the magazine contained within the pistol to be removed through the well. The pistol trigger and safety, however, are concealed by the rifle stock. The rifle trigger is therefore equipped with a forward-running sear that surrounds the magazine well and engages the pistol trigger with a sear at the side. The so-called locking lever is located on the underside of the stock, in front of the magazine well. To release the action from the stock, the locking lever is swung 90° to the right. Inside the stock, the locking lever is connected to the rotating sear bearing. The sear bearing engages the barrel sleeve and connects the action to the stock. At the rear, the action

Safety Lever on Rifle Stock

sits in a base plate with the pin on the underside of the action sleeve. When the rifle barrel is locked by turning the locking lever in the stock, the sear is simultaneously swung in front of the pistol trigger. Only then can the pressure be transferred from the rifle trigger to the pistol trigger via the trigger bar.

The rotary lever safety in the rifle stock has a shaft that extends all the way to the inside, on which a U-shaped mount sits. When inserting the pistol, the pistol's safety lever must be pivoted downward by 90°. The rifle stock's safety lever is moved into a corresponding position. When the pistol is then inserted, the U-shaped mount engages the pistol's safety lever. When the rifle stock's safety lever is moved, it rotates the pistol's safety lever with it.

Variants and Inscriptions

As previously mentioned, the Römer pistol-rifle was available as a sporting and a hunting model. Both models feature a walnut stock. Sling swivels are located on the barrel and at the rear of the stock. The butt plate is made of steel.

The sport model is slightly lighter than the hunting model (5¾ pounds versus 7 pounds) and features a fluted fore-end. The barrel of the sport model features a tangent rear sight with an adjustment range of 30 to 200 meters. The hunting stock has checkering in the grip area and a cheekpiece. At the rear of the hunting barrel is a simple folding sight with three distance settings.

The Römer Rifle, Sport Model at top, Hunting Model at bottom - Courtesy Hermann Historica

The pistol bolt is labeled on the left as follows:

RÖMERWERK
A.G. SUHL

Caliber information is shown on the left side of the pistol barrels:

Kal. 22
Long rifle

However, there are also pistols without inscriptions on the side.

The proof marks are located on the right side of the weapon, as is the serial number. The corresponding barrels are marked with the same serial number on the underside. In the rifle barrel, the receiver and bolt carrier are also marked with the serial number.

On the side of the rifle barrel’s system sleeve there is a reference to the patent:

PATENT GERSTENBERGER - MORITZ

Interestingly, Ernst Moritz is also mentioned here, although the patent is only issued to Albin Gerstenberger.

Transversely on the barrel, between the cartridge chamber and the rear sight base, are found the caliber designation, the manufacturer "RÖMERWERK" and a trademark (RW in an oval).

I can't say much about the production numbers of the Römer pistol-rifle. The highest serial number I know of is around 1200. It's safe to assume that only a low four-digit number of pistol-rifles were produced. Accordingly, they are rare on the market—especially as a complete set with all three barrels. If you own a weapon with a higher serial number, I'd be happy to hear from you. There is no evidence they were ever exported.

The Römer Pocket Pistol disassembled.

Conclusion

From today's European perspective, the modular concept of the Römer pistol-rifle may have some justification due to limitations on the number of guns that may be owned by sport shooters and hunters in certain countries. In 1925 this was certainly not a decisive factor—the Weimar Republic did not establish a uniform weapons law until 1927. Ultimately, the Römer pistol-rifle was probably always a compromise solution. For collectors of pocket pistols, sporting pistols or hunting weapons, it is certainly a rare curiosity.

Copyright 2025 by Stefan Klein.  All rights reserved.

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