Kettner Luger Mini

The History of Kettner

Eduard Kettner GmbH is a gun trading company founded in 1884, specializing in hunting and sporting rifles. Initially registered in Cologne, Kettner opened its first hunting shop at the start of the 20th century. Later, it acquired factories in Suhl and Porz, which were renowned manufacturers and exporters of firearms at the time. The Bühring family purchased Kettner in 1925, leading to an expansion of the headquarters in Cologne. Despite the devastation of the Second World War threatening the company's existence, Helmut Bühring re-established Kettner, setting up a repair workshop in the ruins. By 1969, the company headquarters moved from downtown Cologne to Cologne-Ossendorf.

Kettner experienced a period of economic decline leading up to its first bankruptcy in 2003. The Bühring family had sold the company to the investment firm Deutsche Investors Capital (DIC) in 2001 in an attempt to salvage the company. Despite substantial investments, DIC failed to halt the company's sinking business performance. Following the bankruptcy, insolvency administrator Hans-Gerd Jauch sold most subsidiaries to Kettner Deutschland GmbH, controlled by Michael Lüke and Thomas Ortmeier. Nevertheless, the company struggled to achieve profitability.

The second bankruptcy of Kettner happened in 2008 under the control of Kettner International GmbH and other investors who suffered significant personal financial losses, leading to the second insolvency proceedings against Kettner International. Hans-Gerd Jauch once again took up the role of bankruptcy administrator.

Post-bankruptcy, the company saw a significant overhaul under Schmid Industrie Holding, which acquired it in 2009. They also managed to take over Kettner Austria, merging the two entities. Despite these efforts, the company had to close all its branches in Germany by mid-2012 due to insufficient sales.

Today, Kettner GmbH operates from Austria with 15 branches, an online shop, and two additional branches in Croatia. Grube KG held the rights to the Kettner brand name in Germany until August 2022. The company now also trades in hunting accessories and clothing. Since September 2022, all trademark rights are held by Eduard Kettner GmbH, based in Pöttelsdorf. Despite the ups and downs, Kettner continues to be a part of the hunting and sporting rifles industry.

Kettner Luger Mini Rifle Review

Kettner Luger Mini in .22 Hornet

Figure 1: Kettner Luger Mini in .22 Hornet (Source: Kettner)

Our first instinct when we hear the name Luger is to think of the pistol that was made famous by countless World War II movies, series, and documentaries. Kettner’s Luger Bolt Action .22 Hornet rifle, dubbed “Luger Mini”, goes against that instinct.

Kettner Luger Mini is essentially a miniaturized bolt action Mauser M98 system packed in a .22 Hornet body. Kettner sold it until sometime in the late 2000s, and it used to be quite a deal. It doesn’t have any significant visual appeal, it’s not outstandingly accurate, and there really isn’t anything about this rifle that could be characterized as “otherworldly”, but it serves its purpose and it gets the job done.

It has a finely adjustable direct trigger and a lateral sliding safety at the right of the receiver, behind the bolt handle. Just like all the other Kettner Luger models, this one, too, has a 5-round magazine. The stock is made of walnut and has a classic hunting feel to it with checkering on the forend and a comfortable pistol grip. The butt plate is plastic, but there’s only so much recoil a .22 Hornet rifle could produce, so there’s really no need for a better plate.

Luger Mini’s barrel is 560 mm long, which is slightly shorter than the barrel of Luger L99 and Luger L04 models, and it’s made of steel and has an adjustable rear sight and a fixed front sight.

The receiver is drilled and tapped for scope mounting. A popular choice of a scope for this rifle was an early 2000s Bushnell 3-9x40 riflescope which could be supplied with the rifle at surcharge.

Kettner Luger Mini Calibers

Kettner Luger Mini can be chambered for .22 Hornet.

Kettner Luger Mini Variants

We aren’t aware of any additional variants of this rifle. If you have any information that could help us expand our database, please contact us at info@optics-trade.eu.

Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Kettner Luger Mini

Rifles That Have One-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Kettner Luger Mini

The necessary condition for rifles to have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable is that the mounting surfaces of these rifles match in every dimension.

Because we lack the dimensions between scope-mounting holes on the Kether Luger Mini’s receiver, we don’t have the necessary information to know if any other rifles would have scope mounts interchangeable with it.

If you own the Ketner Luger Mini and would be willing to help us out, please contact us at info@optics-trade.eu.

Rifles That Have Two-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Kettner Luger Mini

For two-piece scope mounts to be interchangeable, the mounting surfaces of the rifles must match in every dimension except the action length which can vary. This is because the distance between the two pieces of the mount is not fixed.

As written above, we don’t have the necessary information to know if any rifles would have scope mounts interchangeable with the Kettner Luger Mini.

Best Scope Mounts for Kettner Luger Mini

Detachable Repeatable Scope Mounts for Kettner Luger Mini

We recommend you browse our offer of EAW mounts for the Kettner Luger Mini to find the right scope mount for you.

Our recommendation would be this detachable repeatable 30 mm EAW pivot mount:

Help Us Build Our Riflescope Mounts Database

If you happen to own this or any other rifle, we would appreciate it if you could help us expand our database by sending us some photos of the rifle receiver (the bare mounting surface of the rifle without the scope mounts installed). For your help, our company offers a fair return in terms of practical rewards.

Please send us an email for more information. You can contact us here: info@optics-trade.eu