Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats 16g X 9.3x72r Kettner Cape gun

Here they are.

Lt.

Good photo, thanks! I would say the proof date is the "541" for May, 1941. Both barrel's are proofed for nitro powder, that's the "N". Your shot barrel was originally 65mm(or 2-1/2"); otherwise, there would have been a "70" stamp, for 70mm.

Perhaps it's just the photo, but judging from the condition of the various marks, this gun may be older than '41, and was re-proofed. Notice that the "9.3x72", "Suhl", "541", etc look "more fresh" than the marks further forward, such as the "U", "G", etc???

Also, the "118/35" was a somewhat common way of expressing bore diameter as a gauge(like a shotgun), as opposed to the actual diameter. In this case, a 118.35 ga bore would be roughly .340". I'd be sure to slug the bore, and get an accurate bore dimension.

Anyhow, hope this helps a little. If I can dig anything more out of my proofmark book, I'll post it. The book by the way, "The Standard Directory of Proof Marks" by Gerhard Wirnsberger, is invaluable, it you get into old Euro guns. It's out of print, but can be found on the used book circuit.

Regards,

Jeff

Lt,

To expand on my previous post. The "J" with the eagle on top, is a repair proof mark, which would explain why it looks newer than the others. The "N" with eagle on top, was probably done at the same time. I wouldn't be surprised if the 9.3x72R marking is also new. I'd definitely slug the bore. If the 118/35 stamp is correct, and the bore diameter is around .340 or so, then the groove diameter is probably closer to 9mm(.358") than to 9.3mm(.366"). In which case, you could use cheaper, and easier to get, .358" bullets. Not at all a bad thing!

Jeff