Tally marks on rifle
 

I am a genealogist and a client has asked me to determine the meanings of the markings on the butt of this rifle (a 1909 Oesterr Waffenfabr Ges. Steyr) I don't know who the original owner was, but assume Germany or Austria is the general region that the rifle was used.

I have attached the photos he sent me.

I believe that this shows his tallies of various animals he hunted. The abbreviations are:
H
Th.u.K
Db
G.u.K
Rb
G
S
U

with the TH.u.K and S being the most plentiful and the U the rarity.

I am hoping that someone with both hunting and German proficiency can offer some suggestions of what game each abbreviation might indicate. By using a German-English dictionary I have come up with some ideas, but I would love to hear from actual hunters!

Thank you.

That rifle could have been used anywhere, Africa, India and or Europe. What action is the rifle? You should post a picture of the gun and the caliber would be helpful. Those letters could also be people's initials who used the gun as opposed to representing the name of animals taken.

Sadly, the photos I posted are the only ones the client sent to me. I have asked for additional photos and information, but for now, that is all I have. (the difficulties of my job - partial information provided but full history expected!)

Interesting subject, but not many folks that post here speak German or have hunted in those regions. This is generally a good site for North America hunting. I would suggest posting this on a site with more European hunters such as http://forums.accuratereloading.com/.../frm/f/3221043

When you find the answers please post them on this site. That is a rifle with a long history.

Thanks BigUncle - I will repost there and let you all know if I learn anything new!

That is really cool. Wish I could help you out. I'm also interested in hearing what you find out. Neat to see that though. Good luck.
-Jake

Steyr is an Austrian manufacturer (named after the city where the company is located). As Oldtimr mentioned though, the rifle could have been used anywhere. If the markings do represent animals that have been taken (and the rifle was used by an Austrian or German), the H would stand for Hirsch = Red Stag. The G would represent Gams = Chamoise. RB I assume is Rehbok = roe deer buck. S might be Steinbock = Ibex. I am not sure what the other initials could be. I am going to think about it a little more and try and figure it out. just thought this might help.

Thanks Soldier. If you could figure out that "U" which the hunter only shot one of, that would be great!

Unicorn.:biggrin:

He got one! Lol