Gents!
I am in search for a good drilling in above caliber and wonder which makes are considered better than others.
My economy is not unlimited and I can probably stretch up to €3000 including optics in claw /turn mounts.
I have seen some adverts on Franz Sodia Ferlach, Merkel 32 lux, merkel 96, Carl Gustaf (probably italian licence?), angelo zoli & some others. Many makes but I do not know what separates them. Most used drillings here are in the €2000-3000 range depending on optics & mounts.

What I want:
*Steel box (not Dural aluminium as on the Krieghoff plus).
*Rimmed caliber from 6,5x57R to 7x65R (preferrably 7x57R).
*Availability to shoot all barrels without breaking the gun.
*Shotgun 12/70. Capable of shooting steel shots if choke is opened. 80% of shooting will be shotgun on flying birds in dense forest with a need for 2 shotgun shots.
*LOP 37cm / 14,5" Can add a decelerator if LOP is too short, but do not want to re-make the entire stock just to fit me, the cheapest stock maker here changes a drilling stock for €1000.
*Preferrably straight stock without hogback/monte carlo.

Which makes/models can fill the above wishes?
Any suggestions are welcome!

Today I walk with my 12ga sbs & a rifle (either .22 hornet or .375HH) depending on which quarry I might be interested in, so any drilling with less weight than of 2 normal rifles will be a bonus to haul around.

Sincerely
Daniel

Check www.egun.de for pricing and used options.

Have just bought a Sauer & Sohn Drilling in 7x57 / 16 gauge and it ticks quite a few of your boxes.

Weighing at 7lb for the bare gun - that is less than my bolt action rifle! I guess you may have issues with the standard stock design on these older models - hog back seems to be the norm.

Good luck

Ian

Ian
Thanks for the link! Lots of nice gun porn there!!!
I have now looked through the E-gun site and the prices are about half compared to in sweden, atleast for 16ga, but it is very hard to get 16 ga shotgun shells here. Closest web-store with 16ga in stock is around 1400 km away from me.
I will have to order 1-2 000 shells just to get them sent here. New storage regulation limits total ammunition in gun vault to 2 kg gunpowder (ca 500 rounds). It is much easier to get 12 gauge here, 20 ga is almost non-existant as well.
It might be interesting with a 16 ga IF it is made to be a true 16 ga and not a 12 ga with 16 ga barrels.
How do I know if that is the case?
Buying a mail-order drilling seems a bit like an expencive lottery without possiblilty to refunds?
But, that is the same as buying from a private person in sweden...
What brands / manufacture years to avoid?
There are a lot of discussions about east-european drillings from the cold-war times and their assembly and steel quality, which seems to be a big lottery in getting a good one at the first attempt.
So, 16 ga might be ok if it is nice & slender & ammunition is available.
Any and all help will be appreciated!

Sincerely
/Daniel

Daniel

Sorry, I don't have detailed knowledge regarding brand quality.

All I can confirm is that the Sauer & Sohn Drillings seem to be uniformly well thought of - and their 16 gauge is always built on a correctly sized action.

Maybe the money you save would make a drive/flight down to Germany more worthwhile!

You know it makes sense!

Rgds Ian