Walther Olympia: Germany's Interwar Target Pistol
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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What’s with the Germans and putting fucking spikes on everything. This is why everyone thinks you’re gonna try to take over the world
15:01 Imagine mounting a small shoulder stock to that receiver extension
“Oh a German target pistol. Probably super complicated takedow- oh.”
1:41 was it this moment that Vince Gilligan decided he wanted one in his final shootout
There is no "th" in Walther. It is pronounced Walter, or more correcly for english speakers "Vall-ter". Love the channel though. Pure porn.
One of the most well researched and informative pieces I have watched.
The Chinese Norinco company made a fairly decent copy of the 1936 Olympia Pistole.
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.
I believe with some modifications this gun would look pretty good as a star wars blaster or pistol
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.
does any Bluetooth exsist in guns ? lol since there is a screwdriver in the Magazine xD
Walther Olympia –> Walther P38(P-1)
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.
You and hickok45 are the reason YouTube exists.
Would like to send you some pic´s of my olympia. Seems to be a m36 but with round barrel and no "o" after serial number. Would like your opinion about it.
as an avid target shooter and a lover of german guns these two make my belly tingly lol whoever bought these theres an englishman sat here boiling with utter jelousy ..na seriously enjoy them and please look after them
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!
Good night, I have a Walter olympia number 1943 I think it’s the 1938, is the one with the longest barrel and is without the striker, is it possible to get a new striker?
TANK YOU. My name is José Maria and i live in Presidente Prudente S.P. Brasil
7:18 me wonders how many of this variant also got the barrel threaded…
Why did they not just dovetail the foresight for windage and have the rear sight for elevation then it would not have needed that moronic long ass beavertail
ug, rim fire.
I’m german, and it hurts my ears to hear Walther spelled with "th". It is called "Walter" with just a "t".
I know i’m not the only one who mentioned it. 😉
Are there any link between W Olympia and Hämmerli 208?
Much smarter design than the Woodsman. And seems like an inspiration for the S&W 41
James Bond air PISTOL /LP53
Never mind I made that comment t before I saw the final mk
I googled the Colt Woodsman, and yup, it’s a Browning design
Beautiful looking weapons
Especially those gorgeous wooden grips.
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.
fun to watch walther olympia, i have used Hämmerli 208s for many years and there are many similarities
The ‘36 is gorgeous! 😍😍😍
Voony af
if one uses automotive oil with metallic anti-friction additive in it to rub down your guns, they can turn reddish over time.
"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…
Does anyone ever compliment ian for his great pronounciation? Cause its incredible
”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 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.
Those are cool, I’d like to see the jaeger with the barrel weights .
That’s all well and good, but does it run Glock magazines?
I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist.
I bet they’re a pleasure to shoot, they look comfortable
Good looking guns
I imagine the "fancy" ’32 Walther Olympia with the extra sight dovetail on the rear end, could also be fitted with a shoulder stock that carries an optic with it. 🤔
I have one of the Norinco Olympia clones. Fun little plinker, although REALLY rough compared to the Teutonic originals.
Ian – any plans to cover the Hammerli-Walther Olympias and their Hammerli successors (208, 211, 212, 215 models)?
How to take apart the latest two pistols you were showing? The ones with the magazine release and safety moved
I love how he lets me know how to spot a fake reproduction even though I will never encounter this gun in my life
These are fucking beautiful id love one with cci stingers you know you got a solid af tack driver oh i havent lusted after a pistol like this in a while yea if you havent guessed im a walther fanboy 😍😍😍😍
The Olympia heavily influenced both the Hammerli 208/215 and the S&W Model 41.
Meanwhile I’m just gonna sit here telling my poor Hi-Standard M100 with the 4inch barrel that its still a good gun its just not the Woodsman, Ruger Mark1 or a Olympia.
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.