I was doing some research on the Walther Sportmodell I inherited from my grandfather and I wanted to share what I have and maybe find out some more info.

My grandfather served in Germany during WWII and he brought home this .22 Sportmodell. It is a great rifle to shoot and admire. I can only dream about the stories it holds. The only thing I know about it from what my grandfather told my father is that the Germans were using these Sportmodells as sniper rifles, but this is commonly heard and considered one of those war myths. They were originally used as training rifles.

The most interesting thing I see is the badge on the stock. You'll see in the pictures it is small, round, about the size of a penny, and it shows the patron hunting saint of Germany in the middle (Made famous by the Jagermesiter alcohol logo) and around it, it says J.E. Wanderer - U Reichenau. If anyone can tell me anything about that it would be great.

The only thing I've come up with is that Reichenau is the name of an island in southern Germany.

I am missing a screw from the rear of the trigger guard and a it looks like a screw is missing from the end of the stock. If anyone has any of these parts let me know.

Some pictures...









The emblem...





Missing screws...






From another forum...

College Sheepdog, I'm certainly no expert on the Walther rifles, but have read most of what I have been able to find since acquiring one about a year ago...I even contacted the Walther Factory and they didn't keep information on the SportModel series of rifles...

Mine is the SportModel V and from the spelling, I think you have a SportModel I that was configured as a Military Training Rifle and was also used by the Hitler Youth Groups. I did notice that your receiver appears to be grooved for the 11mm scope mounts, as is mine..

Mine has a small hole just to the right of the bolt handle knob in the picture below that allows adjustment of the set trigger and if yours doesn't have it, it's probably due to the military usage as a 'trainer' as opposed to a 'sniper' potential....Mine also has a more 'civilian' type sporter stock on it..For what it's worth, it is probably one of the more accurate .22 rifles I've ever had the pleasure to shoot...It's certainly better than the old Winchester we used to use on the ROTC rifle team, 50 years ago...