German Drilling Rifle

[toro1]

This is a rifle my friend has had for years and was trying to find some info on. Some notes with it say it is a Drilling rifle chambered in 16G and 22 Hornet, but there are additional notes that also reference it being relined to accept 8.6mmX72R. I had never heard of a drilling rifle and had to look it up to learn about them. Can anyone offer any ideas on a manufacture date as well as a ballpark value? There is no manufacturer name on it that I could find but we were looking at it in a poorly lit area.









Is this the switch to change barrels?

[TRAP55]

Yes, barrel switch. Break it down and look on the bottom chamber area, and the frame directly under that for proofs and caliber/chamber markings. A close up pic would be better than you trying to describe them, you'll give us both a headache.
Like this:

[gun toting monkeyboy]

The barrels are Krupp fluid steel. You should be able to find a maker's mark on there somewhere. They didn't always stamp their names on the pieces, but if you google German gunsmith marks, you should be able to match something up. The date would likely be late 19th to early 20th century. Value depends a great deal on who made it, what calibers/gauges, what condition, and what features. It could be anywhere from $400-5000, depending. With that big of a range, it is worth tracking down the maker. Unless you want to get rid of it cheap, in which case, I'll give you $400 for it...

-Mb

[john myers]

drilling

5.6x35 22 hornet introduced in 1930
bore looks much larger than 22 cal
also check the butt plate for name or initials

[toro1]

Thank You Gentlemen. I will make an effort to get another look in better light (especially under the Chamber) and see what I can find. If I find anything new I'll get some clear pics.

Monkeyboy,
My friend is not looking to sell at this time, but if he does I'll offer him $401.

John Myers, I agree on the bottom barrel being bigger than a 22 and I wonder if the notes with the rifle on a relining to 8.6 X 72R refers to the lower barrel.

[john myers]

two upper barrels would be 16 ga smoothbore
lower barrel is rifled 8.6x72r
8.6 refers to the bore diameter actual ammo probably 9x72r
there were many different european drilling makers
have fun with your research

[condor]

Used to see Drillings on the rack all the time back in the 60's and passed on them. Been kicking myself in the @ss ever since.... :-(

[chuckdc]

Nice Dreiling! (the term "drilling" is a corruption of the German "dreiling" drei is 3, for the 3 barrels)

You really need to find someone to do a chamber cast for you on that to find out what caliber belongs in it, as there are numerous possibilities and they are generally not at all compatible with each other. It might actually have been sleeved to Hornet, but with a short sleeve, rather than full-length. Some of these guns also came with a chamber insert to convert them to a sub-caliber for extra versatility, and it would go in one of the shotgun tubes. The original rifle barrel could be anything from 7x57R (rimmed) to 9.3x72R with several cool calibers in between, but 8x57 and 9.3x72 were the most common chamberings in drillings. The shotgun tubes, unless modified, are typically choked Full and Ridiculously Full, but you can adjust patterns through using different loadings of 16ga.

That IS the switch that changes the trigger from firing one of the shotgun barrels to firing the rifle barrel. It should also cause the rear sight leaf to pop up into place for rifle shooting.

The scope mount is a "claw mount", which is a good design, but expensive and difficult to find.

Valuation wise, I'd guess somewhere north of a grand (sorry, but 400-500 would be for a truly ratty POS drilling with stuff missing and the like). Some calibers are worth more than others because they are easier to find ammo for. Simpson's Ltd is the place with the most drillings in stock, for comparison, that I know of. I occasionally see drillings around gun show here, and they are all more than 2500.

[sealocan]

So,


I'm guessing an offer of $402 is out of the question?

[Carcassonne]

Dreiling guns were supposedly used by Luftwaffe pilots as a survival rifle to get back to Germany if they were shot down. I think they were only used for a short time because they were to cumbersome and not very effective against enemy soldiers.


.

[chuckdc]

Dreiling guns were supposedly used by Luftwaffe pilots as a survival rifle to get back to Germany if they were shot down. I think they were only used for a short time because they were to cumbersome and not very effective against enemy soldiers.


.

There were some issued for that purpose, but they were more for foraging than combat. If you can find one of the Luftwaffe ones for sale, they command a REALLY high price these days

[TRAP55]

I see so many "bring backs" that had claw mount scopes, and no scopes. WTH happen to all those scopes?
NECG makes mounts, but they ain't cheap.

http://www.newenglandcustomgun.com/Gun_Services/German_Claw_Scope_Mounts.asp

[Madmox]

You also see them referred to, as Cape Guns because they were frequently used down Africa way (Cape of Good Hope) they were convenient to carry in the bush as they would give you versatility when hunting. A lot of them were German, Belgian, and Dutch guild guns so in a lot of situations identification can be tough. Husqvarna also made several models of Cape guns. One thing worth noting is that the vast majority of these rifles are not proofed for smokeless powder which means you need to get your reloading game on to make the black powder cartridges and sometimes they are in truly bizarre calibers. That being said I love them because they are so unique and frequently are absolute works of art.


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[toro1]

I have not had a chance to go back and get additional pics of any proof marks, but realized I had an another pic I had not posted. It is from just behind the breech and shows the initials SCH. Is that any help in identifying maker? The only thing I have found on line that is close is the V. C. Schilling Company, but I cannot find anything about them making drilling rifles.

[Madmox]

Schilling certainly made Cape guns and drilling rifles but I would imagine those are probably the initials of the, or one of the, gunsmiths that made it


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