Holek Automat
Semiauto Rifles
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10m
The Holek Automat was a semiautomatic sporting rifle designed by Emmanuel Holek. Emmanuel was also the designer of the ZH-29 rifle, and brother of Vaclav and Franticek Holek, who developed the ZB-26 and ZB-53 machine guns. Emmanuel left the Brno factory to run his own gun shop, where he offered (among other things) the Holek Automat.
Mostly in 8mm Mauser and 7mm Mauser, the Automat did not prove to be much of a commercial success, although this is certainly due in part to it being manufactured during WWII, when the market for expensive sporting rifles would have been understandably thin. However, the gun is very cleverly designed, and extremely simple to disassemble.
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