Engineering:4 mm Flobert Long

From HandWiki
Short description: Rimfire cartridge
4 mm Randz Long
4mm Randz Long version used for traditional Zimmerstutzen, in which 4mm Randz Long or 4mm Randz Court cases are used with projectiles of varying diameters (from 4.0 to 5.0 mm).[1]
Place of origin Germany
Production history
DesignerRWS GmbH
ManufacturerRWS GmbH
Specifications
Case typerimfire
Bullet diameter4.5 mm (0.18 in)
Base diameter4.6 mm (0.18 in)
Rim diameter5.9 mm (0.23 in)
Rim thickness1 mm (0.039 in)
Case length8.2 mm (0.32 in)
Overall length10.8 mm (0.43 in)
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy
7.7 gr (0.49895 g) RWS lead BB 300 m/s (984.3 ft/s) 21 J (15 ft⋅lbf)
Test barrel length: 100 mm[2]

The 4mm Randz Long, Randz Lang, Flobert Long Case or Flobert Largo, is a rimfire cartridge developed by RWS based on the 4 mm Flobert Short cartridge.[3]

Overview

The Randz Long cartridge uses a 7.7-grain spherical BB bullet, the same one used in the 4mm Flobert Short. It is not exactly 4mm caliber, it is 4.5mm caliber. It has the same dimensions as the Randz Court, except for the case length, and logically, the overall length. It produces more velocity than the Randz Court, and having the same bullet, it produces more impact energy.[2][3]

It is only produced in Europe and among the gun models that use the 4mm Flobert cartridge (in its short and long versions) are the Alfa series revolvers produced by AlfaProj (Models 420, 440/441 and 461) and the Safari Sport rifle-revolver produced by LATEK[2][4][5]

Use in Zimmerstutsen

Its origins date back to the 1840s, when Karl Fedor Horrmann decided to use percussion caps to propel small-caliber projectiles. It was not until the late 1800s and early 1900s that gunsmiths Fischer, Lorenz Dieter, and Carl Stiegele—working independently of one another—each created their own systems for firing round projectiles powered by percussion caps. Since metal machining techniques of that era lacked precision, Carl Stiegele devised a sizing chart in 1903 ranging from number 1 to number 24, with number 1 corresponding to a 4.04 mm shot and number 24 to a 5.45 mm caliber. Based on this chart, Carl Stiegele manufactured his barrels, subsequently stamping each with the corresponding shot number. The chart was adopted by other manufacturers in 1910, and the current standard was modified in 1912, wherein #1 represents 4.00 mm and #24 represents 5.15 mm.[6][7][8]

Currently, Zimmerstutzen remains a traditional competitive discipline in which the use of standard 4mm Randz Kurz and 4mm Randz Lang ammunition—featuring their respective 7.7-grain projectiles (formerly #7, now #9)—is permitted. Alternatively—given that vintage rifles are still utilized in this discipline—one may opt to use a projectile-less version of the aforementioned cartridges and separately insert a shot pellet of up to 4.75 mm (formerly #12, now #16); this practice is similar to the munisalva rounds, popular in Mexico.[6][7][9][10][11][12][13][14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gaylord, Tom (2025-03-24). "Zimmerstutzen". Pyramyd Air. https://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2025/03/zimmerstutzen/. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "RWS-Flobertpatronen" (in German). https://web.archive.org/web/20131023060536/http://www.alljagd.de/shop/oxid.php/shp/1/cl/details/anid/VER4500662/RWS-Flobertpatronen/. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "4 mm Flobert Long case" (in Spanish). https://municion.org/producto/4-mm-flobert-long-case/. 
  4. ↑ "4 mm Randz long ALFA" (in Czech). https://www.alfaproj.cz/alfa/4-mm-randz-long-alfa/. 
  5. ↑ Мосин (Mosin), Васлий (Vasliy) (2018-10-03). "ООО «ЛАТЭК» представляет револьверную винтовку Safari Sport под патрон Флобера" (in Russian). https://www.all4shooters.com/ru/strelba/ruzhya/ooo-latek-safari-sport-revolvernaya-vintovka/. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Hölscher, Brigitte G. (2009-06-30). "Eine kleine Geschichte des Zimmerstutzens" (in German). http://www.feuerbixler.de/history31.html. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Gaylord, Tom (2025-03-24). "Zimmerstutzen". PyramidAir. https://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2025/03/zimmerstutzen/. 
  8. ↑ Gaylord, Tom (2026-01-14). "Diving into CB caps: Part One". PyramidAir. https://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2026/01/diving-into-cb-caps-part-one/. 
  9. ↑ "WAFFENRECHT Runderlass" (in German). Bundesministerium für Inneres "BMI". 2006-10-31. pp. 107-109. https://web.archive.org/web/20151228171756/http://iwoe.at/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Runderlass_VA1900_0147_Oktober_2006.pdf. 
  10. ↑ "Regelwerke "bayerische Disziplinen" (Liste B des DSB)" (in German). Bayerischer Sportschützenbund e.V.(Bavarian Sports Shooting Federation). 2025-07-08. pp. 40-41. https://www.bssb.de/fileadmin/Service/Regelwerke/Bayerische_Disziplinen/B17_Trad_Zimmerstutzen.pdf. 
  11. ↑ "RWS 4 mm Flobert Randzünder lang ohne Kugel" (in German). https://www.frankonia.at/p/rws/4-mm-flobert-randz%C3%BCnder-lang-ohne-kugel/69026. 
  12. ↑ "RWS Randzünder 4mm kurz ohne Kugel" (in German). https://www.rb-shooting.com/zimmerstutzen/3984-rws-randzuender-4mm-lang-ohne-kugel.html. 
  13. ↑ Shideler, Dan (2008-09-23). "From Mexico, With Love". Gun Digest. https://gundigest.com/more/classic-guns/mexicolove. 
  14. ↑ "Salvas y diábolos 2000 Express" (in Spanish). 2018. http://www.productosmendoza.com/web/productos/Salvas_y_Dia%CC%81bolos_2000_Express-32A. 



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