The gunmakers of Ferlach, Austria, have forged a reputation for quality and creativity. Among the more famous of these gunmakers was Josef Just, and this combination rifle/shotgun set that includes three barrel sets is a beautiful example.
Fast Facts
- Josef Just was one of the most famous of the gunmakers of Ferlach, Austria.
- The Ferlach gunmakers produced many fine firearms especially traditional types such as over-under and side by side guns and rifles, drillings, and vierlings.
- A combination rifle and shotgun set by Josef Just is coming up for sale by Rock Island Auction on May 10th, 2026.
The 1960’s and 1970’s were a rather special time in gunmaking. Sporting rifles and shotguns were still traditional in design, commonly stocked in walnut, and created to exhibit excellence in handling, and aesthetics.
Britain and Europe were creators of some of the most desirable sporting arms that could be had: and one nation that stood out for creative design and technical refinement was Austria, with the gunmaking town of Ferlach being famous for some of the best of the best.
The Ferlach gunsmiths produced side by side and over-under guns and rifles, three barreled drillings, and even four barrel vierlings.
One of the most famous of the Ferlach gunmakers was Josef Just, who has now retired.
A prime example of the workmanship of Josef Just is this over-under set which comprises a double rifle chambered in 9.3x74R, with additional barrels; a combination barrel in 12 gauge and 7x65R, and a double shotgun barrel.
This is a well thought out set. The 9.3x74R is a big game cartridge and so a double rifle in 9.3x74R is a potent arm to use on large game in Europe and elsewhere. That being said the cartridge is suitable for use on all deer species and wild boar. So the double rifle with the 9.3x74R barrels fitted would be fast handling and of sufficient power for driven wild boar hunts in Europe.
In this Josef Just combination set the 9.3x74R double rifle barrels are fitted both with open sights and also with an original steel tube Kahles Helia-Super 1.5-4.5x riflescope in quick detachable mounts, an ideal optical sight choice that offers a wide field of view for woods hunting and sufficient magnification for longer shots out to about 200 meters.
The 9.3x74R is not a long range cartridge, but a woods cartridge with a well established reputation. But the multi-barrel set provides a long range cartridge choice in the form of a barrel chambered in 7x65R, in combination with 12 gauge (2¾” chamber) shotgun barrel.
The 7x65R is the rimmed version of the popular 7×64 Brenneke cartridge which offers superb performance at longer ranges for mountain hunting, and environments where longer shots are necessitated.
The 7x65R and 12 gauge barrel is fitted with a Zeiss 1.5-6x Diavari-D riflescope in quick detachable mounts. The 1.5-6x power range was regarded as a standard when this rifle was made and it remains a perfect choice for a hunting rifle. The lower power setting enables fast target acquisition with its large field of view, while the higher settings are useful if the range is longer, or the hunter needs to look into the foliage to find a semi-concealed quarry.
The third barrel in the set is an over-under 12 gauge (2¾” chamber) shotgun barrel: making this an excellent bird shooting gun or rabbit/hare gun.
The barrels provide automatic ejectors and the action provides dual gold single set triggers, and ribbed cocking indicators.
So this set provides the hunter with great flexibility all in a conveniently compact case.
But this set provides rather more than the practical capabilities it has. It is a work of art both in form, and also in the delightful engraving that adorns it.
The engraving includes wedges of scroll engraving at either side of the breech and on the barrel wings. The coin finished sidelock action displays tasteful scroll engraving surrounding deep relief carved floral scroll on the bolsters, a gold inlaid three letter monogram on the underside, and three relief silver inlaid game scenes depicting a roe buck, doe, and two fawns in a forest scene on the left, a setter flushing a trio of pheasant cocks on the right, and a fox with a caught mallard on the trigger guard.
The toplever is pierced in the form of a capercaillie, and the tang mounted automatic safety features a gold inlaid “S” indicator. The rifle is fitted with a beautifully figured, fancy checkered, and floral scroll carved three-piece forend with engraved coin finished iron and release, and a pistol grip stock with engraved and coin finished grip cap showing a gold inlaid bust of a bear, a Bavarian cheekpiece, coin finished and engraved cartridge trap with two silver inlaid mallard and the rear sling swivel, and a checkered buttplate.
This set is conveniently packaged in a leather flat case that houses the set and some photographs of the gun. Length of pull is 14¼”, Weight is 9 lbs. 14 oz. with scope.
This combination set is coming up for auction by Rock Island Auction on May 10th, 2026. It was originally a part of the collection of Jim Box.
You can find the sale page for this set if you click here.
Rock Island Auction describe the condition of this set as follows:-
“Excellent, retaining 98% plus original blue, coin, silver, and gold finishes with minor handling evidence and some dried grease, particularly on the upper tang. The wood is very fine with a small repair at the rear right of the forend and sharp checkering and carving. Mechanically excellent. The scope optics are clear. The extra barrel sets are excellent and the Zeiss scope has clear optics but magnification adjustment is stuck. The case is very good.“
Picture Credits: All pictures courtesy Rock Island Auction.
Jon Branch is the founder and senior editor of Revivaler and has written a significant number of articles for various publications including official Buying Guides for eBay, classic car articles for Hagerty, magazine articles for both the Australian Shooters Journal and the Australian Shooter, and he’s a long time contributor to Silodrome.
Jon has done radio, television, magazine and newspaper interviews on various issues, and has traveled extensively, having lived in Britain, Australia, China and Hong Kong. His travels have taken him to Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan and a number of other countries. He has studied the Japanese sword arts and has a long history of involvement in the shooting sports, which has included authoring submissions to government on various firearms related issues and assisting in the design and establishment of shooting ranges.
