Drilling advice

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magyars
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Drilling advice

Post by magyars »

Any of you Gentlemen have any expertise in the realm of Drillings?
Been on my wish list for decades.
I have finally got the wherewithal to purchase one, and only one.
Trying to understand all the pros and cons.
Not looking for exotic calibers or hard to find shells.
Just a basic no frills drilling.
TIA
JB
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Re: Drilling advice

Post by JB »

I've owned a few over the years. They're not really my thing for hunting, but there is a pride in ownership of having a well built drilling. I can see them being more practical in European countries where the number of firearms you can have are limited. Unless you get into the more expensive guns, some of the more modest drillings may not have the barrels regulated wel. It's pretty frustrating pay several thousand dollars for a gun to find that one or more shotgun barrels pattern a foot or more to the left after you zero the rifle barrel.
4t5
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Re: Drilling advice

Post by 4t5 »

How about a s x s shotgun with a couple of these..http://www.mcaceak.com/shotgun-inserts.html
may be a cheaper route.
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magyars
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Re: Drilling advice

Post by magyars »

4t5, thanks for the link... interesting possibility...but doesn't scratch my itch.
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Old No7
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Re: Drilling advice

Post by Old No7 »

magyars wrote: Tue Dec 29, 2020 4:09 pm Any of you Gentlemen have any expertise in the realm of Drillings?
Been on my wish list for decades.
I have finally got the wherewithal to purchase one, and only one.
I'm no expert, but finally took the plunge and got one (16 x 16 x 8x57JR) 1.5 years ago. When I need the help or assistance of experts, I call on those at the GGCA -- German Gun Collector's Association -- which I have joined. Great info is on their website forum -- http://www.germanguns.com/vb5/ -- or you can also check the German/Austrian forum over on Doublegun.shop (https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ub ... p?ubb=cfrm).

magyars wrote: Tue Dec 29, 2020 4:09 pm Trying to understand all the pros and cons.
Not looking for exotic calibers or hard to find shells.
Just a basic no frills drilling.
Well, first thing I'd suggest is do much more research on what's available and the prices they're asking -- not necessarily SELLING at; check on GunBroker, Guns International, or Simpson's Ltd for sure.

Top priority for me was NO damascus/twist barrels, and being sure to get Nitro-proofed barrels (which quite often is NOT mentioned in the online auctions) and you may need to ask for more pictures to see the proof marks.

You said "Not looking for exotic calibers or hard to find shells", which from what I've seen, quickly eliminates any Drillings under $2.5k and easily puts you in the $3k to $5k range for a nice Sauer in 12 x 12 over 222 Remington (that's the one I WANT -- but cannot afford). Depending on the use you want it for, you may find one with 12 ga over the rimmed version of 7x57 Mauser (7x57R) which uses the same dies as 7x57, but you just need to get the rimmed brass.

You might also consider a combination gun; a Cape Gun (shotgun next to rifle) or a Bochbuschflinte (shotgun over rifle) to get started in combo guns, as I did before I got the German Drilling. There are numerous 12 ga over 222 combo guns available from Zoli, Marrochi, Valmet or Tikka/Ithaca; or you can get lower-end Savages in 20 over 22, or 410 over 22, etc.

For sure, I'd personally avoid any with a horn trigger guard, as they're prone to crack and very difficult to repair.

I can answer other questions later, but need to run now -- but I would strongly suggest you get to handle the gun in advance of the purchase to confirm the Nitro status (look up German and Austrian proof marks), or get a guaranteed "3 days non-firing inspection" allowed on the purchase. Also plan to spend some hours on the various websites above to see what's available and for how much. Those aren't the most popular firearms being sold today, so maybe you can drive a good deal if you do find one you like. There are more Drillings on the market than there are buyers, so don't let a seller snowball you.

Viel Glueck! (Good luck.)

Old No7
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marlinman93
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Re: Drilling advice

Post by marlinman93 »

Drillings are neat, but double rifles are more what I like. Both are expensive these days, and very desirable. If you can afford a cased drilling it adds huge premiums to it's value, as long as the case is period to the firearm.
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JB
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Re: Drilling advice

Post by JB »

Old No7 wrote: Wed Dec 30, 2020 10:29 am You said "Not looking for exotic calibers or hard to find shells", which from what I've seen, quickly eliminates any Drillings under $2.5k and easily puts you in the $3k to $5k range for a nice Sauer in 12 x 12 over 222 Remington (that's the one I WANT -- but cannot afford). Depending on the use you want it for, you may find one with 12 ga over the rimmed version of 7x57 Mauser (7x57R) which uses the same dies as 7x57, but you just need to get the rimmed brass.
I agree with that. You can find used affordable drillings, but they'll be 16 gauge and often some odd ball and sometimes obsolete European rifle caliber. I owned one on the Colt Sauer guns with 12 gauge barrels over a 30-06. The barrels were well regulated, but it sure wasn't cheap.
magyars
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Re: Drilling advice

Post by magyars »

Thanks for all the advice Gentlemen.
I've been scouring the web for everything Drilling...
I have read the 12/12/30-06 are heavy (ier) for a stalk...... and the 30-06 extraction has caused issues with the rimless case.
I'll check out the links.
hfcable
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Re: Drilling advice

Post by hfcable »

i have had a number of these and enjoy the versatility and uniqueness etc

i just sold a couple but still have 7 of them [ not for sale ]

the most usable are those chambered for things like the 30/06 [ have 2 of those ] and both have claw mounted scopes- these are never cheap

of the european rifle cartridges, the 9.3 x 72 R ammo is imported here [ made by sellier and bellot ] and reasonably priced and basically like a 35 remington or 38/55 - these can be more reasonably priced . I have and like this in a drilling

the 9.3 x 74 R rifle ammo is also imported and also loaded by hornady ... a very powerful cartridge , almost like the 375 H&H . drilling’s in this caliber are costly but i do have one and like it for here in alaska

i have a 16x16 over 22 LR, that makes a fun small game gun.

and one that i got this year is really sweet - made by Fred Adolph in Genoa NY [ a german immigrant gunsmith circa WWI ]
it is diminutive , weighing less than 6.5 lbs, 20 x20 ga [ 2 3/4” ] over the 25/35 winchester - beautiful,light weight wonderfully balanced little gem

these guys import german guns [ most are great condition] and often have bargains; they also import ammo. They have a nice website ;

http://german-gun-imports.com/

also many drillings turn up at auctions - here is a good site handling lots of auctions:

https://www.proxibid.com/Firearms-Milit ... etplace/10

use the search function , looking for german drilling:

https://www.proxibid.com/asp/SearchAdva ... e=&start=1

good luck !
cable
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GunnyMack
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Re: Drilling advice

Post by GunnyMack »

Just saw a drilling, gun broker or guns America... Think it was 20x20x .225- certainly not your normal drilling!
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Scrumbag
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Re: Drilling advice

Post by Scrumbag »

So, I used to live in Switzerland and shot a few drillings. My very limited advice would be:

1) 12g x 12g tends to be rather heavy and unwieldy
2) 16g x 16g is quite useful and not too difficult to feed
3) Get a rimmed rifle cartridge 7x57r, 7x65r, 8x57r are all good options. Again the 9.3s tend to be rather unwieldy.

Lots of manufacturers make ammo for the above:

Sako, Prvi, Sellier & Bellot, Norma, RWS, Brenneke to name a few.

Best wishes,

Scrummy
hfcable
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Re: Drilling advice

Post by hfcable »

agreed, and the 7x65R is an excellent cartridge

right now I am quite pleased with the 20x20x 25/35...light and handy.. good bird gun in fact.

the 20s are not so common though.
cable
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Re: Drilling advice

Post by Scrumbag »

hfcable wrote: Thu Dec 31, 2020 2:47 pm agreed, and the 7x65R is an excellent cartridge

right now I am quite pleased with the 20x20x 25/35...light and handy.. good bird gun in fact.

the 20s are not so common though.
Oh yes, I have a 7x64 and very useful it is too!

Scrummy
mickbr
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Re: Drilling advice

Post by mickbr »

in another life and level of health, when I was into big game rifles, some of the modern options discussed were Merkel, heym and blaser. Merkels could be had for a few thousand, common amongst the big game crowd were 12ga/12ga/9.3x74 of course. Blaser had the D99. Also one option you could choose calibres and barrel lay out, they may have even gone all the way to a vierling( 4 barrel combo)- check their website and see if this still holds. Heym were up a level in price. The other attractive layout was the double rifle drilling, cant remember the german name for it, but as inimated it was two rifle barrels over shot barrel. Weight is a consideration for drillings in big calibres, the big game crowd were used to heavy toys so it wasnt seen as a deal killer.



Edited to add websites

https://www.blaser.de/us/products/firea ... lling-d99/
They have dealers in the US if you search on locations by zip

https://www.merkel-die-jagd.de/en/produ ... drillings/
Steyr looks like the importer https://www.steyr-arms.com/us/firearms/merkel-products

https://www.heymusa.com/rifles/
hfcable
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Re: Drilling advice

Post by hfcable »

the double rifle drilling, doppelbuchse drilling, is uncommon but neat. i have bid on those and on the vierlings, but they have always been out of my price range.

the 12 ga drillings with 30/06 or 9.3x74 are fairly heavy [ there are exceptions, esp with the dural framed guns ] esp when the scope is on the gun. but then most of these were probably intended for use from a hunting stand, rather than walking around. of these type guns, the ones i have are amazingly accurate.

i really wanted a vierling, but no luck ...... have even seen a funfling -- a five barrel gun, but it was just in an online catalog and not for sale at the time.
cable
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