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My network has found me a great drilling for hunting in Griz country. I have held and shot the gun; it was years ago and has made a circuitous trip back toward me. It's a Merkel 96K in 16ga and 9,3X74R and will have a new Zeiss 6X in Rechnagel swing mounts.

I can't afford the gun right now, but at the asking price I can't turn it down either. I have no pics of it but will post some in late Sept or early Oct when it arrives.

Anyone have some pet loads for the 9,3X74R in a drilling, realizing that they are a bit less "beefy" than single shots and double rifles?

No pet loads but Graf's has Privi 285 grain soft points for $30 a box.

Bruce,

I use 65.0 grains of H4350 in my side-by-side double with 286 Nosler Partitions, and the same load also worked very well in the Ruger No. 1 I had for a while.

Hodgdon lists 65.5 H4350 as maximum, for 2323 fps in a 24" barrel. In the 26" barrels of the double, velocity is around 2400. The pressure's listed as 41,500 CUP, about like the .30-30, so I doubt it would be a problem in a drilling, but their starting load is 61.5 grains for around 2200 fps at 36,800 if you want to be gentler on the gun and your shoulder. If you don't have any H4350, in my experience both IMR4350 and IMR4451 will work very similarly.

krupp...thanks. I like Prvi ammo in general. I find it regulates well in my combo guns. They must know something???

JB... Thank you for the skinny on pressures. I tend to baby drillings a little. They're made marginally strong enough to keep weight down. I'm out of H4350 but have a fair amount of IMR 4350 and IMR 4831 and H4831. I think I'll start at 62.5grs IMR 4350 and see where it prints with the open sights. As we both understand with doubles and combo guns, the correct load is what regulates.

I've not tried IMR 4451, since I have a lot of the old standard powders on hand. Do you think a pound might be something I would do well to add? I'll also be loading in earnest for a 7X65R Dural drilling with 150-160gr bullets and want the lowest pressures, while getting decent velocities from the gun's 25" barrel. Maybe look over 280 Rem starting loads?

thanks
BC

I've owned a couple. As I recall, one came from your house to mine. That one was my favorite.

They have all handled factory loads just fine, but in the 16 gauge frame they were pretty darn enthusiastic on the back end. As was my standard load of 65 grains of imr4831 with most 286 grain bullets. I got that over on AR from 450 No. 2. A more mild load with 286 grain bullets was with 5744. My best load was at about 1600 fp per or slightly less, around 30 grains. It shot a tad low, but with open sights it was easy to allow for the difference. It was plenty for deer and black bears.

I also have shot a pile of lyman 366408's thru them. 5744 was best there for coming close to sights. They are cruising around 1400 to 1600 fps as I recall. Again plenty for my eastern whitetails back home in PA and here in VA. For fun to shoot it was Trail Boss, but they shoot real low.

Accurate gave me a range for 5744 to start at28.0 and max at 32.0 with a 286 grain jacketed bullet, back in 2012. The velocity for those was1525 and 1775 in a 26 inch barrel. I loaded to the velocity window with a chronograph and used the most accurate combination in the individual gun.You have to be real careful with the 5744 because it doesn't make a half case full, so double charging can happen.

I sure miss those x74 drillings. I've often thought of selling my Chapuis and getting another 9.3x74r drilling..

Bfly

Nice find Bruce! I'd say that's a good material birthday gift to yourself. While not as cool as you going after pronghorns with your stepson, it's still pretty dang good! I sure love my Simson 12x12/9.3x74R. Looks like JB's already got you well squared away, but I'll see what I have after dinner. We picked high bush cranberries today, and Catherine is baking crisp, so I may have to come down from the sugar high before I get back to you! Get some pictures up of that drilling, when you can!

Jeff

Bruce,

For your purposes I'd just stick with IMR4350. There's plenty of room in the case for those long sticks, and you're probably never going to take it prairie dog shooting, so there's no need to use a powder measure to crank out a few hundreds rounds.... :-)

The big reason I've been using IMR4451 is H4350 is just about unobtainium. I like the smaller "short-cut" kernels and temperature resistantce of both powders, but I can actually buy IMR4451, and so far its performed just about identically to H4350 in a bunch of my rifles--except where it's worked better.

Bruce,

I have used the same 65gr H4350 load as John(for 286gr bullets), in a Beretta o/u, Simson drilling, and Ruger No.1. Great load, and my velocities pretty much parallel Johns. When that became a pain to find, I switched to 56gr of RL-15 for similar muzzle velocities.

Jeff

Have you tried Varget? I like 54.0 gn behind a 286 gn bullet (Woodleigh RNSP or Lapua Mega). It seems to give adequate performance, and with a rather lower weight of propellant, a little less recoil.

THANKS everyone!

I just found some of my old data where I used IMR 4064 for a Valmet DR. It was the most accurate powder for that gun and 286gr Woodleigh solids and softs. I got 2,320 +- FPS with 55.5grains. It and RL-15 were the best accuracy powders with 4064 being just a little better.

I shot groups of five twice from each barrel and alternated bottom/top, bottom/top at two designated targets set side by side. The worst accuracy was from 63 gr IMR 4831. These were shot in a Tikka 512 DT O/U with Lothar Walther barrels. The Tikka 12/9,3 combo set shot best of all, and all liked IMR 4064 and RL-15. I've been digging all day to find my last bit of brass I didn't sell and my data. The data was on a scrap of paper I found inside the front cover of a P.O. Ackley Handbook, Vol II.

Organization is not my strong suit.

PHOTOS Now...

This is the gun, but it will ultimately have either a 1.5-5 Loopy or a 6X newer Zeiss. We need to see what fits the available front mount best.

Very nice. Great case color! No Greener safety......I'm jealous! I've got a 4x Zeiss Conquest on my Simson 9.3 drilling, and it works well.

Jeff

If you get any more nice guns, I'm getting a waterproof phone and computer. I keep drooling over the pictures of that pretty little double and now this Merkel.
I must be getting old when the pictures of German girls that keep my attention are guns.
You must be living right, or maybe when you fell a while back, you fell into good luck.
Nice one.
Bfly

Very nice looking drilling!

A pair of 16 ga barrels over the rifle barrel I assume?

Looks good. Enjoy!

Guy

Curious, I've handled a 12 guage/9.3x74r at a gun show a couple years ago. I remember it being bit heavy. I remember it feeling like eight pounds or more, my memory could be wrong. I also do not remember the barrel length. What does it weigh on the 16 gauge frame? I would expect it to be a lot handier.
Bfly

These weigh almost a pound less than the 12ga version. The barrels are 25" +-, as I recall.

I had to sell two wonderful drillings and two very clean SXS shotguns to buy the drilling and double rifle. There was plenty of pain here, let me tell you.

My #1 prefers IMR 4831 with 286 Partitions or PRVI SPs . 64.0 grains works, a load that Nosler shows in their latest manual.

Good luck is usually not stubbled upon!
Having discovered early in life that you loved classic guns. Having the ability to keep your focus on them and learn from each one you've handled. Having and keeping a circle of friends who share your enthusiasm. Now you have the ability to recognize truly unique and useful guns, and have something you can part with, even painfully, to make the purchase. And especially having a spouse who understands this fascination. Yup, your lucky.
I've been lucky, but I'm a much slower learner.
A lot of guys would have looked at your double and thought it was a real old gun in an odd cartridge that would be a wall hanger. And the drilling was, good grief, a sixteen gauge and an elephant gun that somebody put a recoil pad on. When in fact, there were two great useful classics. Two great finds.
Great stuff
Bfly