Hans Schultz

Hans Christian Schultz was two-time Olympian (1908, 1912) who was closest to a medal in 1908, placing fourth in the team event with the Free Rifle, Three Positions, 300 metres. He was a turner by profession and served 1884/85 in the Danish army as a specialist in guns and ammunition. The military service and his membership in a shooting club paved the way for his further career. From early on, Schultz experimented with improving the sights on the rifles. In Otterup on the island of Funen, he started to manufacture sights in 1889. Five years later, the company focused on the production and repair of rifles and sights. In 1911, he additionally founded an ammunition company.

After World War I, German machines for weapon production were for sale for cheap money. Together with fellow Olympian Niels Larsen, a precision mechanic and his son in law, he founded the rifle factory Schultz & Larsen in 1919. In the early 1920s, the company started a joint venture with the German company Bergmann, which allowed them to produce parts for heavier weapons. Schultz & Larsen developed into the leading Danish arms manufacturers, building rifles for sport shooters in addition to developing submachine guns and armor piercing ammunition. Schultz died in 1937 shortly before World War II, but his company in Otterup existed until 1994.