Author |
Message |
< 16ga. Guns ~ 16ga. drillings? |
|
Posted:
Sat Jan 20, 2007 6:28 am
|
|
|
Joined: 01 Jul 2006
Posts: 26
Location: Finland
|
|
Anyone out there with experience of 16ga. drillings? I'm considering one for waterfowling. I hunt off the coast of Finland in the Baltic Sea, and the ducks are often out of range for a shotgun. I like long barrels, and my main concern is that a drilling with 28" or 30" barrels might be too heavy. The caliber of the third barrel is another problem, obviously it should be as small as possible, not as small as .22 lr though, because .22 lr is not legal for geese in my country. Any opinions? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted:
Sat Jan 20, 2007 7:40 am
|
|
|
Member
Joined: 01 Jan 2007
Posts: 1043
Location: Bozeman, MT
|
|
henrik wrote: |
Anyone out there with experience of 16ga. drillings? I'm considering one for waterfowling. I hunt off the coast of Finland in the Baltic Sea, and the ducks are often out of range for a shotgun. I like long barrels, and my main concern is that a drilling with 28" or 30" barrels might be too heavy. The caliber of the third barrel is another problem, obviously it should be as small as possible, not as small as .22 lr though, because .22 lr is not legal for geese in my country. Any opinions?
|
The drillings I've handled have been surprisingly light, and you'll want the next size up from .22, which would be 6mm (like 24 cal.) or maybe have to settle for .264 (6.5mm)...... good luck, it will be a nice gun, but not too heavy, haven't seen many 30" drillings, more like 26-27" Will they let you shoot a .223 or .22 Hornet?
bgun |
_________________ "Life is what happens to you while you're making other plans"....... anonymous |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted:
Sat Jan 20, 2007 10:13 am
|
|
|
Joined: 01 Jul 2006
Posts: 26
Location: Finland
|
|
Thanks Britgun. Don't remember the exact requirement, but .22 WRM or anything more effective than that will do. But because of the weight issue and danger of ricochets I would prefer a small calibre. As for the barrel length, I can't afford a brand new drilling (or at least I can't justify the cost ), so I will settle for shorter barrels if I can't find a a gun with long barrels. 30" is probably too much anyway, or what do you think? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted:
Sat Jan 20, 2007 10:22 am
|
|
|
Member
Joined: 01 Jan 2007
Posts: 1043
Location: Bozeman, MT
|
|
henrik wrote: |
Thanks Britgun. Don't remember the exact requirement, but .22 WRM or anything more effective than that will do. But because of the weight issue and danger of ricochets I would prefer a small calibre. As for the barrel length, I can't afford a brand new drilling (or at least I can't justify the cost ), so I will settle for shorter barrels if I can't find a a gun with long barrels. 30" is probably too much anyway, or what do you think?
|
well, I'm no "X - PURT" but it's unusual to find a rifle bbl that long anyhow drilling or no drilling, most rifles have 20" to 26" bbls anyhow, a 26" bbl is considered long! So I think you will have to settle for the metric set up of probably something like 27 1/2" bbls, which is plenty long rifle wise, maybe not as long as you'd like shotgun wise, but will work fine....my favorite shotgun, a 16, has 27 1/2" bbls, and I shoot it on everything.... I think you'll be OK...
PRACTICE!
bgun |
_________________ "Life is what happens to you while you're making other plans"....... anonymous |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted:
Sat Jan 20, 2007 11:29 am
|
|
|
Joined: 01 Jul 2006
Posts: 26
Location: Finland
|
|
Yes, I know the barrel length doesn't really matter that much even on a shotgun, it's just something I've got used to. Fit and balance are the most important things. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted:
Sun Jan 21, 2007 9:30 am
|
|
|
Joined: 13 Dec 2006
Posts: 694
Location: MN
|
|
Longer barreled drillings are usually older guns. Since the 1960's, the standard lengths for drillings have been 60, 63 or 65 cm (23.6 to 25.6 inches). With a steel action, these guns are usually a bit heavy to carry around much. The light alloy actions are considerably lighter but these alloys prior to 1960 or so had some problems. I don't think they will withstand the stress over time if you are shooting a lot of rifle rounds. Alloy guns from the 1970's on seem to have a better record. Our German colleagues buy mostly all steel guns.
The biggest problem with drillings can be the schaft. Almost all are with cheek pieces but the dimensions are for shooting with a scope. Common is a "Schweinsrücken" or curved schaft (from the comb to the plate). The best place to look for a drilling for small game hunting might be Denmark or Sweden. Drillings with small/medium caliber rifle are common there and hunters do carry drillings for small game. I have seen a number of lighter drillings with caliber 222 to 6.5 x 55 and with normal pistol stocks. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted:
Sun Jan 21, 2007 1:45 pm
|
|
|
Joined: 01 Jul 2006
Posts: 26
Location: Finland
|
|
Thanks for the info JonP. I will check out what Denmark and Sweden has to offer. Had a quick look at Germany, but the rifle barrels were mostly for bigger game. Also, the cheek piece is very common in Germany, and I can do without that. The germans seem to fancy oversized scopes also. Together with the cheek piece it makes for, let's say not a very elegant gun.
I'm looking for a gun with nice small scope that I can mount quickly when a duck or a goose is out of reach for a shotgun. Perhaps I won't need a scope at all, I think most rifle shots will be in the range of 50 to 80 yards.
The sensible thing to do would be to take a separate rifle along, but you know how it is, there's only one cure when you start thinking about a gun, and that is to buy it. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted:
Mon Jan 22, 2007 11:38 am
|
|
|
Joined: 13 Dec 2006
Posts: 694
Location: MN
|
|
The reason our German colleagues like those big scopes is because they do so much hunting at night or at dusk. Those big diameter scopes gather more light. Germans are big into large slow moving rifle calibers-the contention being that they cause less damage and still put the game down quickly. I have shot pigs with 9.3 x 74 and 9.3 x 62 and there is no way they make less of a hole than a 260 (6.5) which would do the job very nicely. 7 x 57 is probably the best caliber for driven hunts in Germany with a barrel insert with maybe a 5.6 x 52 (Savage Hi-Power) for roe deer and fox, etc.
My ideal for a drilling here in the US is a 16/70 over 243 but I have talked with a number of gunmakers in Suhl and they don't recommend the alloy receivers for 243 which generates a lot of pressure. However, I wouldn't be shooting it that much-we probably have no more than 6-10 fox/coyote/year jump when we're small game hunting and we don't shoot that many deer. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted:
Mon Jan 22, 2007 12:10 pm
|
|
|
Member
Joined: 16 Jan 2006
Posts: 1008
Location: Sandy Lake, PA
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted:
Tue Jan 23, 2007 9:08 am
|
|
|
Joined: 13 Dec 2006
Posts: 694
Location: MN
|
|
There are some nice guns on Barnett's site but I can buy 3 super drillings for that kind of money!!! You're paying for a rare barrel combination and the name.
I buy guns to hunt not to collect. Pretty to look at. I don't think German guns hold their value like the English ones do. Was at an auction in Denmark a few years back and Ferlach Drillings were selling for 3-4000, and those are engraved sidelock guns. Even a better Dural drilling in very good condition shouldn't cost more than $1500. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted:
Fri Jan 26, 2007 3:30 am
|
|
|
Joined: 01 Jul 2006
Posts: 26
Location: Finland
|
|
The guns on Barnett's site are very nice, but somewhat out of my price range. I intend to use the gun for waterfowling on the sea, so I won't buy a gun that is worth so much that I'll be ruined if I drop it, and it sinks to the bottom. I know guys who have lost their guns that way. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted:
Fri Jan 26, 2007 6:16 am
|
|
|
Member
Joined: 02 Dec 2006
Posts: 741
Location: Long Island, NY
|
|
there is a man in upstate NY who specializes in Drillings. I'm not positive, but try www.drillinghotline.com The company is J-Mar Enterprises. I don't know about importing to Finland, but I would definitely go there to gather information.
Another place would be the German gun collectors club. www.germanguns.com They have a drilling for sale on their site.
Good luck,
Peter |
_________________ "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind" ... Dr. Seuss
"There aint nothin' better than huntin' with a Setter" |
|
|
|
|
|
|