Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Combination Guns and Drillings pre-WWI dreiling

My Dad sent this dreiling home from Germany in 1945. I understand that "drillings" were often used by gamekeepers in old Imperial Germany on large estates. The men could carry a fowling piece and a rifle in the same firearm. I'm not sure how my dad came to have this drilling, but I've always assumed it was "looted", or liberated as a spoil of war. It really does look like an honest, working gun without many frills. Apparently, it once had a sling attached as well. That's something I'd like to restore. I believe that this one pre-dates World War One. I have read that these guns were sometimes used as a "graduation project" for apprentice gunsmiths. They had to build one to demonstrate their prowess.

My Dad worked for ALCOA and we were transferred to Geelong, Victoria, Australia for 14 months in 1966-67. Dad took the drilling along and sure enough, in a dusty old antique shop in Geelong, he came across 18 or 19 loose rifle rounds that the owner produced from an old desk drawer. My father worked with a former WII German merchant sailor and the two of them took it to the beach in Geelong to test fire it, flipping a coin to see who would do the deed. My Dad won the toss, and held it from around the bumper of our car to shoot...just to be sure it didn't kaboom for some reason. Up to our arrival in Australia, he didn't even know the rifle's caliber.

Later, he took it on a kangaroo hunt with some Aussie mates from work and shot three with the 9.3x72, including one 6-footer shot from 100 yards. Not bad with those sights I'd say. That was the only time he ever shot the rifle. Dad used the two 16 gauge barrels to kill many a dove, quail and squirrel with the drilling here in central Texas and when he passed in 1979, it became mine. I found the ammunition shown in the pics in an old gun shop in Temple, Texas not long after he died. Some might be interested to know that the barrels are all 28" in length.

I posted about this gun a few years ago, but the pics were not that good. I recently posed it for a few new ones and they turned out better. I gave her a good wipe-down with Ballistol and remembered my son pointing out before that that had probably been done before, long ago in another place.

That is a Grand Old Gun.

Wow !
Wonderful Arm
Wonderful cartridge !
Wonderful history and legacy,....

Be VERY attentive to the condition of the wood in the wrist / lock mortise area. Do NOT let any incipient splitting progress.

Greg

Thanks so much!

Thanks! I really appreciate it. You know, I had not noticed the small crack on the right side until I looked at these pics. It's funny how the photos really help one find things like that. Thanks for the head's up, I will be very careful with that area, and really haven't any plans to shoot the gun again.
Gary

It would be a shame not to shoot it. It has brace of quail and a whitetail in the same morning written all over it.

Awesome.. As Mart says shoot it and enjoy!!!

It's just the nature of the beast,...Years of care, regardless of HOW reverent see that area (rather fragile to begin with) perhaps soaked with a bit of oil, and an attendant weakening in consequence. There are MANY qualified shops across our great land that can reinforce / restore those weakened areas. Never before in history have there been so many really fine products available to the dedicated student of restorative maintenance of dry rotted or otherwise weakened wood.

Opinions will vary wildly as to just what and how the best end results are achieved,...and some of the past discussions of the subject here on this site are a fascinating and oftimes amusing read. To my knowledge there have been no death threats emminating from these spirited debates among talented and seasoned craftspeople, rather advanced tutorials on the "art and science" of the deal.
That said ,....CAUTION:
There are unfortunately probably a larger population of wannabe HACKS out there, more than willing to screw up your fine old piece with cheap hardware store "Gorilla Chidt", cheap epoxy, or some other nonsense. Avoid them and their ilk,....
DO find a qualified shop and let them do an inspection and whatever little restorative repair's required around the lock mortises and the upper and lower tangs,...get that beauty ready for its NEXT Century of reliable hard service.

If it sounds like I've fallen in love with that piece, it's cuz' I HAVE.

SHOOT IT dittos.

GTC

Thanks so much for the great advice! I think I will see if I can get a little restorative repair done on the old girl. I'm planning to retire from my teaching job after this year, and seeing to this gun sounds like a worthwhile project to start. I'm just tickled that so many folks have enjoyed seeing her, and offered good advice too. I'd love to see one of my grandsons take a deer on our place with their great-grandfather's "bring back"! That would be so cool.

GTC [/quote]

I'd love to see one of my grandsons take a deer on our place with their great-grandfather's "bring back"! That would be so cool. [/quote]

+1

With all the grief, we got some very good things out of WWII (like NOT living UNDER some seriously evil people--we bitch about our rulers a lot, but ask anyone who lived in occupied Poland, France, or the Philippines!).

Your drilling is a lovely reminder of that.

Thanks Mike. Sorry for the delayed reply; your response somehow slipped under the radar!
Gary

Have someone who knows these guns well glass the action to the butt stock (with release compound of course), then use the heck out of that Classic beauty.

You'll feel a certain thrill out of having a shotgun that's a rifle, also. It also works the other way.