Back in the 1930s a young man named Walter Gehmann was soon noticed on the range.
He was becoming a pain to his fellow competitors in small-bore and full-bore rifle, winning competitions all the way to national level. Seeking yet further improvements in his scores he explored the possibility of developing some of the shooting equipment of the day.
As early as 1936 he designed his first precision rear-sight assembly.
The following year he developed the first specialized shooting glasses with a swiveling lens holder.
In 1939, while minds were elsewhere he came up with Germany´s first target-shooting jacket, shooting sling, boots and specialized glove.
1949 saw the birth of a company still bearing Gehmann´s name. Although the first 40 years were steered by founder Walter it recently saw son Markus assist father for 10 years - then finally take over of the reins.
Back to the story of Walter Gehmann´s career: it went on to see him achieve a world championship, followed by the arrival of his first precision rear-sight iris in 1953 - with which he won no less than seven German championships. Arguably the type of work we all wish we could do! In 1956 along came his first foresight iris and two years later his first color filter unit for a rear-sight. A little known fact about its founder is his talent for assisting the design and development of other well known manufacturers in their early days. Interestingly, the company itself has never produced its own rifle or pistol - something wise men close to our present manufacturers may say was due to a shrewd business brain! This road of new ideas, designs leading to successfully marketed products, engineering with quality, excellent tools and equipment - just went on and on. Herr Gehmann sr. now has 100+ patents to his credit and still exercises his grey matter at the desk.
So, in conclusion, today Gehmann is recognized world-wide as a major target shooting equipment manufacturer.
