A Drilling, in the corn field?

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Pahoo

New member
Thought I'd a recent experience with Y'all. Went to a local gun auction and while going down the rows of tables full of guns, there in front of me, was a Drilling. We are talking about a small rural town in Iowa and most of the good old boys are into shotguns. when the auctioneer came to the drilling, he stated a starting price of $3,000 dollars and you could have heard a pin drop. Pretty soon and few turned to look at each other and I heard one guy say; what the heck is that? The auctioneer then stated that if no one was interested in the starting bid. Then the bidding was closed as the reserve price was much higher. No one said a word so back to the owner it goes. ... ;)

This is the third Drilling I have ever seen and it was a beauty. All engraved and external hammers and locks. the two top barrels reportedly were 16Ga. and the bottom barrel was never identifies. Looked like in the .250 or .270 range. I too had set a $3000 range or estimate and that was too rich for me as well as the other lads. ..... :eek:

Be Safe !!!
 
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mapsjanhere

New member
A lot of drillings got "liberated" after WWII. Asking prices in the US are crazy for some reason, they are selling much cheaper in Germany where people actually use them. The rifle barrel is typically some German rimmed cartridge, 7x65R for example. A lot of the prewar guns were chambered for 16/65, so they are not safe for modern 16/70 rounds, even if they fit. Another reason not to buy into the price frenzy.
 
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PetahW

New member
Don't worry, you didn't miss anything - That Drilling's owner was WAAAAY too proud of what he had there.

FWIW, hammer drillings usually had the shot barrels short chambered (2-9/16" ILO 2-3/4") and the rifle barrel was most likely a pre-WWI unobtanium metric number.

That was a $1900 gun, IMHO - IF it was made by a noted maker (Sauer, Simpson, etc), the ribs were tight & shot barrels unbulged.

.
 
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Shotgun693

New member
Yep, before you buy one you need to know IF you can get shotgun shells to fit, they are out there but you need to be a reloader to afford to use'm much, and the caliber/round the rifle barrel uses. Some drilings are 12 ga over .38-55 and are very desirable. I've seen one in 16 ga over 7mm Mauser that was a shooter.
If you can get ammo they are nice guns to have.
 
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oneounceload

Moderator
There are drillings on the market today that make 3K look like the down payment as well

Most likely metric rifle cartridge - maybe 7X57, 8X57mm JRS, or something else

just about every cartridge is still readily available

Weight can become a factor with some of these guns. There are a lot of them from the 20's and 30's here - and prices are all over the map - depending on WHO made it, not just its condition

Here's one with 2 different rifle cartridges and a 20 gauge, a mere 90K:
http://www.gunsinternational.com/PE...ation-of-8mm-6mm-and-410.cfm?gun_id=100206531

while here is a no name for a decent price of 1600:
http://www.gunsinternational.com/German-Drilling-16-Gauge-over-9x72mm-Rimmed.cfm?gun_id=100199606

They can be awesome to use if you like a touch of nostalgia
 
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