Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Combination Guns and Drillings My Last Drilling

I just received what will probably be my last drilling. I've had many through the years and sold and traded them along the way. I lost a few in burglaries, also.

This last one is about perfect for where and what I'll ever hunt again. It's a Sauer 3000 in 16ga 2 3/4" and 7X65R with a 22 Mag insert and a Hertel & Reuss 2-7 in claw mounts. It's the standard model with moderate scroll engraving. The stock is a very nice dark streaked walnut. The gun is completely unmolested. It's the usual good sound gun from Dale Nygaard.

The rifle shoots dead nuts on to my 165gr handloads, and the insert is zeroed perfectly at 65 yards with CCI ammo, using the scope.

It's a keeper.

Congratulations! That's very similar to my Kreighoff, after trying three drillings I also settled on 16 ga, w/.22 mag insert, but mine has a 7x57R barrel, with 3-9x scope in claw mounts. Very very versatile and not too big to carry. I just used mine a couple days ago, hunting for deer/wolf/grouse/beaver etc. etc. Used the .22 magnum to collect a grouse for supper. I hope you get to use yours for many years to come.

7x65R is about perfect for big stuff far away: "rimmed .280".

Sounds like a great one, Bruce!

But I have a hard time believing it's your last drilling. Just basing that on, uh, past experience. Have known many TRL's (True Rifle Loonies) who swear they are done "churning" in the search for the One Perfect Gun. But also haven't known one to keep the pledge for more than a year or two....

Excellent!!! I should invest in one of these sometime..

Really??

That long, huh??

I'm happy for you! However, there is always one more just lurking out there...

Nice snag, Bruce! My 12x12/7x65R Simson, would be one of the last guns I'd consider parting with. Would be nice to have a lighter trimmer 16 such as yours, but I don't mind the extra weight at the moment. Throw up some photo's of that baby!

Jeff

Bruce,

Am trying to remember, but might be wrong about somebody holding out for two years. A year would be closer to average, and those would be examples of sterling self-control.

Well...you know me too well.

I almost got a Fortuna Dale had in 16 2 3/4" and 7X57R, but I am getting a griffon female pup instead. She was whelped Nov 4 and will mean a drive to Pagosa Springs CO just before Christmas.



akjeff,

Here are some photos of the new horse in the stables.

Instead of a drilling...

Wow, nice drilling Bruce! Thanks for the photo's. Love the dog photo as well.

Congrats on the new pup, JB!

Jeff

Best reason ever not to acquire another gun. Have fun with your pup!

Nice gun! But I have doubts it will be your last drilling.. I've heard that before.. from my customers, who wait for every shipment and usually grab a new one out of it .

Be careful with the plastic trigger guards. They don't take the beating the horn ones do.

Congrats on a nice gun. The Germans call that the all around caliber. Though I'm still a 7x57 man, I get quite a few 7x65 drillings as people like that caliber.

Thanks

It's a better caliber than the 7X57, which I also like, for our western hunting. It actually doesn't gain a lot of velocity over a 7X57, but it has an edge.

That gun looks like a keeper to me. Congrats.

You can get a little hotter loads in the 65, for sure, but I prefer to keep the pressures down in the break open guns. The 57 is just a very balanced (case to bore capacity) and well designed cartridge that's very efficient & inherently accurate. I load the 120 TTSX bullets in mine for several combis & drillings that are very flat shooting, but keeping the pressures down below 45K. That said, I sold a 7x65 drilling to a guy in AK that he hunts moose & caribou with, as well as geese, and he loves it. Says it outshoots the bolt action guys at the range :o). His wife kept borrowing it, while he was at work, so he bought her a luxus Sauer in 16/6.5X57, so she'd leave his alone...

Greg
Karamojo Bell reportedly killed a thousand or so elephants with the old 7 mauser. Many of them standing on the shoulders of his gun bearer in tall grass. He must have had cajones the size of grapefruit

I had a Fortuna in 16 & 7X57R that shot tiny little bugger hole groups with about anything I fed it. I also shot well with it on quail and chuckar, so I sold it.

No flies in the X57 for sure

I have a few of those too. Spur of the moment and later you ask yourself why you did that. Along those lines, the guns i have regrets for mostly are the ones I didn't buy .
But we all have some we wish we hadn't sold...

I doubt that is your last drilling. What if I offered to trade my coyote gun for one of those pups?