Elegant Execution

There is a near-sensual elegance to the lines of Georg’s masterpiece. The rake of the butt places the line of recoil in proper orientation with the shooter’s arm and the uniquely Teutonic ambience hearkens back to the days of greasy U-boats and cloth-covered biplanes. That the reality of its use involved frozen French mud and veritable oceans of blood is a sobering reminder of what happens when industrialized nations go to war.

On the range recoil is a bit on the sharp side and the single action trigger is not as crisp as it could be. However, I own a beautiful 1972 Mach I Mustang that my son and I resurrected from a nearly unrecognizable pile of rust. It is hot in the summer, cold in the winter and as loud as the World War II fighter plane for which it was named. Manhood does not orbit around classic machines because they are comfortable, reasonable, or efficient. My muscle car gets 11 miles per gallon on a good day. We admire, work on and collect such things because they are artifacts of a better, simpler time.

Magazines need a little help, hence the finger dimples in the base, but tactical reloads are still fairly expedient. The bolt locks open on the last round so the shooter need only give the toggle a snap to close it on a fresh magazine. The sights are tiny and precise, as was the custom of the day, so they are not of any great tactical use.