A very interesting, well researched narrative on how the idea of sustainable use of wildlife resources was born on two different continents, Europe and the US, appeared in the Jan/Feb issue of SCI magazine. The realization that one needs to protect what one wanted to hunt, and along with it the mechanism most commonly associated with this spirit – the Kipplauf Single shot rifle.

Johann Fanzoj’s history is closely connected to the Kipplauf, which has undergone an impressive evolution within our company and presents itself today as a fascinating synthesis of technique and craftsmanship art.

A great thank you goes to Steve Comus and the SCI team for their continued support and appreciation of our visions of craftsmanship within the vast spectrum of hunting. Thru our work, we are preserving this ancient human skill set – a UNESCO cultural heritage, handed down from generation to generation – that poses a direct link to human civilization; a window, in fact, to our earliest beginnings.

Top: Modern Fanzoj Kipplauf rifles from steel and titanium
Bottom: historic Fanzoj Ischlerstutzen made in 1912 for emperor Franz Joseph I

The example of the Kipplauf shows how much HUNTING has always been subject to constant change thru the Ages, and the challenges this thrust on a small family firm like Johann Fanzoj over the centuries to re-establising a link between the past and present, and envisioning a viable future.

The article holds a comforting conclusion, in view of the challenges the world is facing at the moment. It proves not only that the human power to create and adapt has enabled generations before us to defy the storms of time – and prevail – but also that ”the hunt“ is eternal. It was, is and always will be.

What will have to change is the general conception, as a fundamental truth, that hunting is an integral part to the conservation of wildlife on this planet. As Steve Comus in the article puts it: When hunters appreciate the best and demand the most from themselves … all is well with the world.

Johann Fanzoj sen gives his prelude to the hunting season every year with his original Ischlerstutzen from 1912, cal. 8x50R, made by his great-grandfather for emperor Franz Joseph I