Walther Olympia: Germany's Interwar Target Pistol
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The Colt Woodsman, introduced in 1915, was the premier - and really the only serious - option for the competitive target shooter into the 1920s when the Walther company decided to introduce a competitor. Walther needed a product to bring business, of course, and the Versailles treaty prohibited it from manufacturing military arms. So, with the flexibility and responsiveness that the company often exhibited, it decided to enter the competition pistol market in 1925 with the Olympia.
This was a semiautomatic, .22 Long Rifle caliber pistol with a 10-round magazine. It was a simple blowback action, with large precise sights and a quite nice feel to the grip. It was not quite the equal of the Woodsman in international competition, but still a strong second-place contender on the market.
Always looking to improve and respond to customer desires, Walther began to experiment with changes to the Olympia in the early 1930s, and in 1936 introduced a brand new version. This new Olympia offered, among other improvements, the option to add barrel weights, and it became an even more serious competitor for the Woodsman.
Today we will be looking at a large selection of Olympias, showing you all the different variations of both the 1925 and 1936 models as well as some transitional guns from Walther's experimental period.
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“Oh a German target pistol. Probably super complicated takedow- oh.”
"We need to provide a sight adjustment tool."
-"Maybe grind the magazine floor plate lip thin enough to fit the sight screw, its already pretty close?"
"Absolutely not, we must provide a proper tool. Build one into the magazine."
Honestly that's what I was expecting to see.
Screwdriver out.
+5 Damage while pistol-whipping.
uthertheking micro sized tactical needle
End them rightly with the magazine screwdriver!
But adds the Fragile weapon quality!
Screwdrivers out for Harambe
Always love Walters general approach to aesthetic, excellent video sir.
Good old Walter, lol.
As the proud owner of a 1926 Colt Woodsman that I inherited from my grandfather, I'm looking forward to your video on that! Keep it up, always great stuff
The 1925 model with that tiny sight adjustment screwdriver and slide lock feature is really cool. It was basically made for people who wanted to use (or could afford) just one good pistol for 25 mt standard pistol event (possibly 25 mt rapid fire competitions as well had the pistol come with a second 22 Short caliber barrel as well !!) and 50 mt free pistol event which made use of single shot, non-blowback pistols mandatory. All three events were popular in Europe and USA. I have handled two of these beauties, including one made in 22 Short cal with barrel weights. Wish we could see one of these in this video as well. Thanks for sharing Ian.
That is actually a tinny Spike bayonet in the magizine🤣
It's was just a joke my dude
Can it be adapted for our dear little Kolibri pistol?
And it was dipped in Currara
"during the time of the early 1930s, they experimented with a couple of bunch of ideas..." oh boy how right you are
I have a 1936 Olympia my father liberated from the Walther factory in WWII when his infantry unit was sweeping through Germany in 1945. Superb craftsmanship !
Liberated is the fanciest word I've ever heard for stealing.
Meaning he wanted it for free ..
A nice reward for your father risking his life for his country.
@@happycamper7514 Germany never attacked USA. You can turn it many times, plundering is still stealing, no matter what weird excuses you might find.
@@steffwo Yeah Hermann Goring was a great collector.
"The Colt Woodsman, introduced in 1915, was the premier - and really the only serious - option for the competitive target shooter into the 1920s...". I find this statement kinda weird, since most olympic free pistol events up until the 20s were won by Büchel pistols, either Tell or Luna...
I assume Ian is referring to within the US market, as most veiws are heavily US biased (for obvious reasons)
The complement of barrel weights fascinates me.
They work too I use a weighted muzzle break and it stops flip completely
You know that fireplace you sit in front is a glorious piece of work and your house is just really pretty.
The walthers are really cool as well.
Are these pistols a bit like the Rheinmetall tractors from the 20s and 30s practise for making proper war gear?
Holy shit that screwdriver is awesomely ridiculous.
ShadowBanAlternateAccount 0 literally dont understand.
Alistair Shaw that is not his house, he is likely a guest at someone else's home to view the collection of pistols.
Jordan K it appears in a hell of a lot of videos. But even if it isnt _his_ house its still a pretty fireplace.
keith moore Rheinmetall were serious arms manufacturers as well but because of treaty restriction alot of them made civilian purpose equipment, in rheinmetalls case thats tractors, that was the basis of war equpiment to keep their eye in during the 20s and 30s.
More that the first pattern was made in 1925 is more of the tip off that no Walther was not making these guns out of practise purposes.
keith moore Yeah so thats exactly what rheinmetall were doing they were getting practise making tanks using tractors and the like. I was being a little cynical.
Tiny screwdriver in the magazine. Now that's Germanly efficient. Hehehe...
Browning level smarts. Impressively so
Little Jenny Americans won't stand a chance to the German might.
@Patrick Rapan Cry more.
I have the 1936, with the weights and in the original box, that my father brought back from WWII when his unit overran a Walther factory. Shoots incredibly well, light trigger pull.
The Model 36 also apparently changed the take down mechanism; the take down bar is gone and appears to have been replaced with the trigger guard take down the PP series used.
I think the frame is pretty much a PP frame.?. It surely looks like that anyway. The last time a handled a Olympia was before my experience with Walther PP.
Love the look of those. So gentlemanly and classic.
Good informative video.
It remembered me, back in the 90s a member of my shooting club was still useing his Walther Olympia he had purchased before ww2.
bet it still put good scores in aswell
Does anyone ever compliment ian for his great pronounciation? Cause its incredible
If you're a serious scholar of firearms history you're going to acquire fluency in at least German and probably French. It's an occupational hazard.
Fun fact, Norinco still makes copies of the '36 gun. I have one, its a cool little .22
Very interesting. My brother used to shoot competitively with air, .22 and .222 rifles so I grew up in an environment with a number of weapons around me. I didn't pick up his shooting enthusiasm after he quit and sold his rifles, but all sporting guns have a special place in my heart.
. . .
i think i've found my new favorite pistol
For those wanting a similar (well, a clone) Norinco made a version of the Olympia that while not as nicely finished, works and shoots quite well.
Love your videos. You should do a video on how one would adjust sights for windage, elevation, etc. For beginning shooters.
21:12 That looks an awful lot like the party leader PPK grip plastic, it's the same company and the time frame fits, as both party leaders and olympias were manufactured pre WW2 by Walther, so I believe they just used plastic instead of wood because they had the molding set up for the party leader pistols.
I can hear the radio commercial now, with a smooth yet spirited voice encouraging all listeners to remember Fluckiger for their next firearms purchase.
Spanish company Star manufactured a simplified version of this gun concept called Star FR, Star FR Sport and Star FR target. All with external hammer and plastic grips. I own the two last mentined models, still in good shooting condition, bought them in 1976. Only fault was the very brittle firing pin. After several pin breaks, I let a gunsmith make his own version. No more problem, same pins still in 2020. Weekly still in use.
You and hickok45 are the reason TH-cam exists.
Aah! German guns are always favourite
Shiladitya Talukder saaame
Aliyah Deering germans first, then russians as second favourite. Damn their guns are so good
Shiladitya Talukder same
The Woodsman is no slouch, especially the Match Target. S&W started work on the Model 41 just before the War, wonderful pistol. Post-war High Standards are very nice too, not to the same degree but nice. But the Germans were training their marksmen, they knew what was coming. That's why they had model airplane clubs and glider clubs.
my ruger 22/45 has that purplish look to the back of the bolt and i always wondered why. thanks for clearing that up for me!
I like that look sometimes.
Just brilliant, Ian. Keep up the good work!
I own a Haemmerli 208 which is the Swiss manufactured modern version of the Olympia pistol upon the recommendation of the editor of a well known German weekend newspaper. 'If you want to shoot something really nice...' Its fun to shoot and it does it with extreme precision exactly where you point it to. It had a test pattern from the bench attached when I bought it. 5 shots on a target 25 meters away into a single slightly enlarged hole.
This is the greatest olympian walthers of all time.
Edgar Jimenez thats a terrible pun
great video. more videos on 22 target pistols needed. HIGH STANDARD has a lot of models .
I have a M.A.S. version of this Pistol I bought with faded bluing like on the 1930 Colt 45 A-1 ACP . I bought it from a gun shop in Montreal for a good price because no one wanted the faded blue finish . It is very similar to these Walthers , but with a longer barrel (10") . It has the same guide rod (internal) and mag (10 shot) . I fired it at 25 meters and it is just as accurate as my Colt if not more accurate. It has exactly the same features as this Walther Olympia (1925 and '36 models)
''Oi mate, I got some screws to tighten here, could you lend me a hand?''
''Sure mate, let me just get my Walther Olympia mag.''
I have one of the Norinco Olympia clones. Fun little plinker, although REALLY rough compared to the Teutonic originals.
fun to watch walther olympia, i have used Hämmerli 208s for many years and there are many similarities
This was really enjoyable. I've seen a few olympias in different configurations and never understood what they represented. I learned something today. Thanks very much.
I have an old Olympia. It's a ten inch barrel ed model. I use it for hunting squirells and rabbits. I think I gave $50 for it.
I recall Norinco making a copy of these back in the late 1980's. I wonder how close they were to the originals.
I have never handled a walther but bug comparing my Norinco to these walthers i would say they are very close.....the wooden grips are a little more crude....but and maybe inside there are more machine marks.....but the outside is about the same.....mine shoot surprisingly well exept newer pistols have evolved so much more on the sights......
Amazing stuff! Walther content is ALWAYS appreciated. Any more planned?
I have one in 22 short supposedly only made 700 were made in 1936 for the Olympics for Rapid Fire competition
I would like to talk to you Ian about this 22 short Walter I have seems pretty rare I'm surprised you didn't have one you can talk contact me
One of the most well researched and informative pieces I have watched.
I notice that the pistol with the retailer's name is also the on with wrapround checkering on the grip.
So perhaps the grip was exclusive to that retailer.
Beautiful looking weapons
Especially those gorgeous wooden grips.
The ‘36 is gorgeous! 😍😍😍
You always do a really fine explaination Gun Jeebus, thanks for all the kool ,obscure gun videos, MIKE.
Never had the opportunity to grab an original, but I have the Norinco knock-off. The Norinco is a roughly machined version, but it's a little tack driver. I can only imagine how nice a real Walther would be.
Thank you for your efforts to bring us such interesting history of firearms and such detail. I appreciate I and have begun supporting you through Patreon. Keep up the great work.
The 70s Walther Lp53 and Lp3 air pistols were both based on these pistols
Great video! I appreciate the effort that went into researching and then filming all of this.
This is a very impressive collection!
7:18 me wonders how many of this variant also got the barrel threaded...
If you like the design but can't afford the price, the Norinco TT-Olympia is pretty much a direct copy of the later 1936 model with a 5" barrel. Also, at least with my Norinco, S&W 41/422 magazines work in the TT-Olympia with a slight modification to the mag catch cut, giving you 10 or 12 rounds (factory magazines are 8-shot).
They regularly go for less than $400, and they came from the factory with two mags and a weight.
erkwit thing is though where do you live? Because I feel ever since the import ban, Norinco stuff is probably kinda hard to find in the US
There is a really nice Colt Woodsman for sale in a pawn shop in Katy Tx right now for $499, I,saw it yesterday.
Like the shape it gets with the barrel weights, always enjoyed handguns with a bit more bulk up front.
The socom pistol with its front attachment or the fictional 10mm gun of the Fallout games for example.
The Fallout 10 is modelled after Deckard's pistol from Blade Runner; i wonder if the maker of that particular prop has ever gone on record with where he drew his inspiration from.
I googled the Colt Woodsman, and yup, it's a Browning design
That one with the crazy weights looks super sick
William Price mentioned a NORINCO copy. I handled one (a copy of the 'Improved' pistol, IIRC) back in the '90s, and it seemed like a nice pistol, though the wood felt cheap. I passed on it, not being comfortable with a Chinese clone. If you (Ian) can find anything, that would be a nice follow-on video
Not to digress overly much, but that's lovely brickwork in the fireplace behind you. The mantle may be an impressive facade. (I suppose the fireplace may be also.)
I'll be fine if I never sling another drop of brick mortar, but I seem to be remarkably nostalgic for simple times and quality craftsmanship after seeing you perched in such a setting.
Those pistols are gorgeous!
Yet another firearm that would be awesome if it was still made today. I'd like to see Walther update this design.
15:01 Imagine mounting a small shoulder stock to that receiver extension
My thoughts precisely. Shoulder stock with optic that dovetails on
I really enjoyed this Ian! Thanks for sharing!
They look like the pistols in James Bond movie art posters.
I screwed up and heard the date wrong and was typing S&W 41, Supermatic. Hahahahaha. So happy I listened again.
I have a Norrinco TT Olympia w/ 5" barrel. Beautiful pistole. Bought it at a gun show years ago but the seller didn't have the weights. Wish I could source them. Would make a nice set. Beautiful trigger. Short & crisp. Ian...how about a comparison video of the Walther and the Norrinco?
That rear sight steel attachment to the grip looks also like you may be able to have a gunsmith make a simple stock for maybe quicker target acquisition
I Love my granddad's Colt woodsman! cool to see a competitor.
The 22 Walter I have has a aluminum receiver aluminum cocking piece
I love the 1925 models. My .22 is a High Standard, and a really good gun. I never liked the Ruger because of the take down lever in the back of the grip frame. When did bull barrels become popular for .22 target pistols, and who offered them besides Ruger?
Norinco made a credible version of the later Olympia with a short barrel. It has a good trigger and is pretty accurate, but not imported now. They used to sell for under $300.
Ian - any plans to cover the Hammerli-Walther Olympias and their Hammerli successors (208, 211, 212, 215 models)?
Beautiful guns. Thanks for the video!
That funky bluing reminds me of my Baikal Makarov air pistols.
Love these overviews of entire lines of guns or the machine gun terminology . Basically I enjoy the longer format videos which cover a huge amount of information. I like the individual gun videos as well; but this is nice on occasion to get a good overview.
Quality manufacturing
Please do a deepdive on the Walther GSP to interesting story how that one was made, the whole story about Tore Eldh is worth telling.
Those are cool, I'd like to see the jaeger with the barrel weights .
They look like the 22 star bonifacio echaveria pistol. Beautiful guns.
The full complement of weights make it look like a prop from a sci-fi TV show. Kinda nifty.
1:41 was it this moment that Vince Gilligan decided he wanted one in his final shootout
I have a Colt Woodsman. I like it a lot.
You see, the swiss Hammerli 208/215 are nearly exact clones of the model 36, with some improvements!
I was wondering when someone would bring that up. Hammerli made a whole series of models based on the Olympia, and I would love for Ian to explore that transition. They included not just the well-known 208 and its downmarket version the 215, but also the fixed grip 211 and 212 models. In fact, the 212, with its fixed ambidextrous grip and slide mounted rear sight, is the closest of the later models to the original Olympia configurations. The series also continues as the SIG/Hammerli Trailside and X-Esse models.
Wanlace Yates My pleasure! In fact I own a 215S and know how good they are.
I clicked this because the channel is great, but also because I hoped he would touch on the Hammerli pistols descended from the Olympia. I own a 215 as well and the 208/215 series is still hugely popular in Bullseye pistol competition today, even though they have been out of production for a while.
In general, the barrel-length you ordered would be dictated by the particular discipline you intended to shoot.
The models that feature the barrel weight would be perfect Hitman pistols in a movie
Hey Ian, the odds of you seeing this are rather low; but I wondering if you knew of any good, in-depth, reference guides to K98 k's relative to their production, proofs and those proofs mean.
Kind of surprised you didn’t mention and show how the ‘36 models changed to a trigger guard take down and that the venerable S&W Models 41&46 are an American reimagining (or rip off depending on your stance) of the Olympias.
I believe with some modifications this gun would look pretty good as a star wars blaster or pistol
For reference, how does these compare to 2018 model 22LR target pistols? Has there been any significant progress in the field or are these as good as modern stuff if you disregard that these might be collectible and worn.
Great job, and thank you.
Great Video! Why was the frame shortened in the 1936 model? Was this to facilitate the use of the Walther PP frame for the Olympia model?
i would love to see some mateba pistols
Although most people aren't as engaging as ian, there is another youtuber with a collection of matebas that presents them very well. Something potato or something like that.
Great video thank you very informative.
Damn. I would _really_ like one of these.
wonderful guns!
Good looking guns
Beautiful pistols.
A Walther pistol? And a target one? Count me in!
The slide lock would be a good idea if you could put a silencer on the weapon.
The olympia woodsman hybrid is beautiful