Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Combination Guns and Drillings DON'T Push Drillings!

Later H&R single shots were available in 270 Winchester which is loaded pretty hot. They don't fail at the hinge. Guns with steel frames don't fail at the hinge. Nonetheless, the advice to avoid hotrodding these guns is sound advice. GD

I've owned a Merkel single-shot K1 .308 Winchester break-action rifle for close to 20 years now. It has an aluminum receiver, but the bearing/locking parts are steel, which lock up very well. Have not only shot a bunch of factory ammo in it but handloads that may have exceeded the SAAMI pressures by more than a bit. It's just as tight as when purchased, and weighs 6-3/4 pounds with a Meopta 6x scope, despite having hunted with it in various parts of the world in widely-ranging temperatures. You might investigate how the Merkel action works before generally condemning "aluminum actions."

Have also owned an aluminum-receiver Sauer drilling, a 16x16/7x57R. It worked fine with "modern pressure" 7x57 loads, and still does for its present owner, a good friend.

Aluminum is NOT necessarily a "weak" metal for centerfire rifles, if the engineering is done right--and I have yet to encounter an aluminum-receiver German gun that failed due to the "inappropriate" metal. And neither have any of my friends who've owned a bunch of break-action German guns with aluminum receivers, whether rifles or combination guns.

Have you ever fired one? Or even seen one?

That tilting block (or whatever it’s called) used in the Merkel and others is very clever. Sometimes I fantasize about selling a bunch of rifles and putting the money into one of those for my old age, but as a practical matter, I now have several bolt guns that run about 6.5 pounds all up and won’t break my heart if I drop them.

Not quite the same thing, but similar in principal are all the bolt and semi autos that use an aluminum receiver as a shell to hold the steel breeching. I suppose eventually we’ll see polymer used more frequently for that. Wonder if anyone had tried engraving polymer?🤔

I have not owned one, MD, but I have seen many and fired some. I don't necessarily condemn the use of aluminum for this or any other purpose, but in this particular instance, it is the aluminum frame which failed. Perhaps it failed due to an overload; perhaps it failed due to a flaw in that particular frame. I don't honestly know. On the gun, the bearing points are steel but the hinge pin is supported by the frame which was the point of failure. It's just an observation.
This is not quite the same as a bolt gun using an aluminum receiver because in that situation there is no stress on the receiver. In a tip up action, stress is transferred directly to the hinge pin, and thence, to the frame. There are numerous designs which do have additional contact surfaces in addition to the hinge pin, but I can't see that this one does. I would like to know what load or pressure was involved. I didn't intend to be a pot stirrer! GD

Right. I was just trying to say, “don’t try to turn a 222 into a 220 Swift or an ‘06 into a 300 Wby”. Whether it makes any difference or not, if you want extra velocity, more cubic inches is the easy way to go.” 😊

Yeah I want it! It's a gorgeous little BBF, a delight to hold. I also want your JRS drilling now that it has a better scope.

Bruce,

I suspect some of your "want" involves the detailing of her "little" gun, aside from its superb balance and light weight:

Any idea when it was made? That’s a real beauty.

Not exactly. The proof marks don't include a year, just general era from their specific style. I would guess its pre-WWI.

That should be Mine!

Eileen should have a nicer one.

Judging from the engraving it sure does look pre-WWI.

It's too old and is dangerous.
There's no ammo for it.
A BF is much nicer to carry than a BBF.



Kisses to Lena
...no more head pats for Eileen...