Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Combination Guns and Drillings Why a Combination/Drilling?

I've never owned a drilling but have had several combination guns. The Savage 24 .22WRM/.410 I have is the best long gun I've ever found for small game of all sorts in the woods.

The Savage/Valmet 12/.222 Rem I still have is the best coyote calling gun I've ever had mainly because at dusk in the brush the darlings tend to sneak up too close for a sure rifle shot. A 12 short mag with 4s handles that creepy situation just fine. Drawing a handgun would spook Mr. C (and I'm not that confident a quick draw artist anyway!). I recently shot one with the shotgun barrel that was about 14 coyote steps from my left butt cheek! (What WAS he thinking???).

And for piggies, the 12/.308 I traded to Bruce killed 'em at all ranges and it was nice to have that second barrel loaded with a 12 guage slug when I walked up to see if the critter was REALLY dead!

I have multiple combos--all savage/valmet.In southwest and central Florida where I hunt we hunt from buggies.I like have a combo (either 308/12 or 22savageHP/12)because if the bucks jumps up next to the buggy I can hit him with the 12 ga but if he jumps up at 150 + yards I use the rifle--while the other guys are switching guns.I have a 24V in 20/357max that is my hog "knocker"--I pair it up with my Dan Wesson super mag.If I have to go into the heavy cover on foot these 2 weapons make me feel confident that I can get the hog before he can get me!
If I'm in my stand I have an extra set of barrels--usually my 12/12--I've plunked several ducks when sitting near a pond.

It sounds like your hunting is made for combo guns...or visa-versa.

Here in BC, these guns make a lot of sense. One can hunt big game, upland birds, varmints and waterfowl at the same time and a good combo will do it all.

I had a Finnish Valmet, .308-12 for years and have a Browning 7500 .308-12 since 1989 as well as a Merkel drillinge in 9.3/74R-12 since the late '90s.

I would like an O/U 7/65R-20 but, they are few and far between and I have far too many hunting guns now.

For, we who hunt where mixed seasons exist, these are sound investments and well worth carrying.

Read a story a few years back by a hunter who took a drilling to Alaska to hunt big game and birds - caribou IIRC. Some days they saw caribou and stalked them, some days they saw no caribou and shot birds. He never knew when he left camp which it would be. So, when the others in his party were saying "Rifle or shotgun today?" he just said "Yes."

I don't have one, but I want one. It is on my bucket list along with a 357 Coonan. I'm picky, I'd like 16's over a 6.5 or 7mm, but will settle for 20's or 12's. I don't want a 22 cal rifle and nothing bigger than 8mm. 12's and a 9.3, I would think, would be to heavy to use (for me anyway).

A 16/9.3x72R is a sweet, sweet bitch.

Agreed. Mine is extremely easy to carry and shoot. Handles like a featherweight 20gauge double.

My wife has a 9.3x72R/16 gauge combo gun, a no-name from early in the 20th century. She likes light hunting guns, and it's one of her favorites because it weighs 7 pounds on the nose with a 1.5-5x Leupold in custom claw mounts, and 6-1 without the scope. Plus, it's got some of the nicest deep-relief game scenes I've seen on a combo gun.

Best of all, after she bought it I found out the rifle bore was actually very close to .35 caliber, which made handloading a lot easier!

J.P,Sauer & Sohn Capegun. 12x9,3x72R Love it.

OK, twist my arm, I'll consider the 9.3 also.
Now I just need the $$ and the right deal.

Flaunting Bastid!

If I were looking for another drilling it would be in 16 gauge over 6.5x57R, 7x57R or 7x65R with an emphasis on the 7x65R. These are mainstream cartridges that brass and bullets are easy to come by, are relatively flat shooting for most hunting situations.

I hunt coyotes with a 16x16/6.5x58R, an ideal gun for the work, power wise close to a 25-35 Win and flat enough with light bullets out to 200 yards but not enough power for larger game than coyotes IMO. Brass and Bullets are a challenge as the groove dia. is .260.

My 16x16/7x57R is an ideal big game rig with factory loads to 173gr for larger game and quite accurate. Loaded with a pair of Brennekes there isn't much on this continent I would feel undergunned with. It handles nice enough that it would double as a bird gun.

My 9.3x72R is on par with a 38-55 Win and is nice for hunting whitetails in forested country with a slug in the left and 6's in the right for some grouse for the pot. It is a better handling shotgun and I shoot it well for birds.

It took me 30 years to find the right deal. Life is to short not to own a quality drilling.

This my only current drilling. A Franz Jaeger 16x16x222 Rimmed. It was an 8x57 Rimmed originally but was relined at sometime. A fun gun.

I dont own a combination gun of any kind, but wanted one for years. What I really want is a 30-30 over a 12 ga (full choke).

The reason... Lots of my hunting is in the swampy areas. I may go deer hunting and be covered up with ducks or duck hunting and a deer strolls by. These scenarios happen more often than you would think.

With a combination gun, I would have an opportunity to change what I'm hunting, at a moments notice. Many times I carry 2 guns (rifle and shotgun, but I leave one in the pirogue) because I never know what I'll end up hunting that day.

I realize that unless you have a drilling or vierling, you give up the opportunity for multiple shots, but this can be a good thing.

Savage used to make that very gun. You can probably find one for sale on GB or somewhere.

THAT rates a Two-Cool!