Volkssturmgewehr VG 1
- Category
- Rifle
- Barrel
- 589 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.77 kg
- Introduced
- 1945
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Volkssturmgewehr VG 1 is a German bolt-action rifle developed by the Walther company as a 'last ditch' weapon during the final months of World War II in early 1945. Built quickly and cheaply from stamped steel and a coarsely machined beech stock, it used a simple rotating bolt locked by two frontal lugs and fed from the 10-round detachable box magazine of the Gewehr 43. Chambered in the standard 7.92x57mm Mauser cartridge, it was issued to hastily raised Volkssturm militia units and is notable for its crude, expedient construction and minimal fit and finish.
Faced with crippling shortages of standard arms, Nazi Germany ordered a family of crude 'people's rifles' (Volkssturmgewehre) to equip the Volkssturm, a militia of men and boys aged 16 to 60 conscripted in October 1944. The VG 1 epitomized this desperation: stamped, welded and screwed together with minimal machining so it could be churned out by non-specialist workshops in the war's final weeks.
One of several Volkssturm rifle designs produced in 1945; the related Gustloff VG 1-5 was instead a semi-automatic gas-delayed blowback rifle chambered in 7.92x33mm Kurz. Surviving VG 1 rifles were made of inferior materials and may be unsafe to fire today.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Carl Walther GmbH
- Category
- Rifle
- Country
- Germany
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1945 to 1945
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 589 mm
- Overall length
- 1092 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.77 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Bolt action
- Firing mechanism
- Striker fired
- Trigger
- Single action
- Capacity
- 10
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Phosphate
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 760 m/s
- Effective range
- 300 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Stamped steel construction
Rotating bolt two lugs
Uses g43 magazine
Fixed rear sight
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 36 7.92x57mm Mauser rifles | 3.77 kg | 4.00 kg | Lighter than about 90% |
| Overall lengthAmong 35 7.92x57mm Mauser rifles | 1092 mm | 1105 mm | Shorter than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 35 7.92x57mm Mauser rifles | 589 mm | 600 mm | Shorter than about 90% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 36 7.92x57mm Mauser rifles | 10 | 5 | Among the largest capacities |
Its place in the rankings
Answers
Questions about the Volkssturmgewehr VG 1
How much does the Volkssturmgewehr VG 1 weigh?
The Volkssturmgewehr VG 1 weighs 3.77 kg (8.31 lb) empty. It is the 2nd lightest of 36 7.92x57mm Mauser rifles in the catalogue.
What caliber is the Volkssturmgewehr VG 1?
The Volkssturmgewehr VG 1 is chambered in 7.92x57mm Mauser.
How many rounds does the Volkssturmgewehr VG 1 hold?
The Volkssturmgewehr VG 1 holds 10 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
How long is the Volkssturmgewehr VG 1?
The Volkssturmgewehr VG 1 is 1092 mm (43.0 in) long overall, with a 589 mm (23.2 in) barrel.
Who makes the Volkssturmgewehr VG 1?
The Volkssturmgewehr VG 1 is made by Carl Walther GmbH (Germany). It was designed by Walther.
When was the Volkssturmgewehr VG 1 introduced?
The Volkssturmgewehr VG 1 was introduced in 1945 and discontinued in 1945.
How does the Volkssturmgewehr VG 1 operate?
The Volkssturmgewehr VG 1 uses a bolt action, and its firing mechanism is striker fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Volkssturm
- 1945
- Wehrmacht
- 1945
Provenance
Confidence in this record
72%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/vg-1' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "vg-1", "name": "Volkssturmgewehr VG 1", "manufacturer": { "id": "walther", "name": "Carl Walther GmbH", "countryCode": "DE", "foundedYear": 1886, "website": "https://www.carl-walther.de", "logoUrl": null, "description": "German manufacturer of sporting, competition, and defense firearms. Founded in 1886, Carl Walther is known for precision weapons technology.", "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:40", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:40:48", "version": "d65d37557d49efec8a72ef6019ef9e5cab9430c505d88b909eaad72b3bf3cfb3" }, "category": { "id": "rifle", "name": "Rifle", "description": "Long-barreled firearms designed for accurate shooting" }, "country_of_origin": "DE", "year_introduced": 1945, "barrel_length_mm": 589, "weight_empty_g": 3770, "action_type": "bolt_action"}