George Luger is best known for his modification of the Borchardt pistol and its transformation into the world-famous pistol that now bears his name. Whilst there are many variations on this distinctive design, among the rarist of which is the .45 Luger, no other rifle of this type, actually bearing George Luger's name, is known to exist. The patent specification reproduced above, however, shows beyond doubt that George Luger was in the process of developing a military self-loading rifle; even more significantly, this patent specification, No. 4126 of 1906, applies (with minor differences) specifically to this rifle. It is in essence, the description of rifle No. 4.

George Luger was an innovative genius, but, as in so many other areas of life, it required the initial invention of another to provide the impetus for his future success. Hugo Borchardt essentially adapted the principles of recoil-operation and a toggle-link action to a pistol. Luger refined it. That they were known to each other is beyond doubt. That their relationship subsequently became strained as Luger achieved his successes is also beyond doubt. What is less well-known is that both Luger and Borchardt were working on independent designs for a self-loading rifle at the same time. Luger's patent is dated 1906 and Borchardt initiated a series of designs from 1908 to 1913. It is tempting to speculate that their subsequent lack of friendship stemmed from this competition and also, more importantly, from the fact that Die Gewehrprüfungstrommission (GPK) regarded the Borchardt version as inferior to Luger's.

It would appear that Luger's design was subsequently given secret status and that it underwent trials but it was not produced in any quantity. It is most likely that the cost of manufacturing such an expensively - and finely-finished rifle for military purposes was prohibitive

A full technical sheet for the rifle will be provided on the view