Couldn't resist this one. I really like these old Sauer drillings especially the dural framed guns. I upland hunt and the alloy framed guns are lighter to carry and you would have to shoot them an awful lot to see any disadvantage over a steel action. This one is 16/70 over 7x65R and has a an older Hensoldt scope in 1.5-6x36 that is in stunning condition. Only hiccup is that the pop up sight is stuck....the rod inside the rib will have to be pulled to see what the problem is. Back to the reloading bench....

Damn fine looking rifle. Congratulations.

I wish I had it, and you had a better one.

Nice Drilling.

quote:

Only hiccup is that the pop up sight is stuck....the rod inside the rib will have to be pulled to see what the problem is. Back to the reloading bench....

I don't think there is going to be much hope for the rear sight unless .....

From the photo, my take-away is that the gunsmith who did the Claw Mount simply cut the rod when he removed the portion of the rib to install the foot plate for the Claws. I think it feels stuck because there's no leaway to push the rod at all as it's directly up against the plate.

Me thinks you may have to cut a notch in the underside of the plate and install another rod to fix the ill. Alot of work but I think I feel your pain as on a nice Drilling all the bits & pieces should function.

When the scope is removed can you see under the plate?

Gotta love a drilling. Nice piece and the 7 X 65 is a fine cartridge. Congrats!

Nice! I had the same combo in a Fortuna, and it is very parctical for North America. I sold it because I am too uncoordinated to use the Greener safety. If mine had a safety like the safety on your's, I would likely have kept it.

Gerry,
The problem you describe is not the issue. It looks to me like the rear site may have been replaced (perhaps with another profile?) and the rod under the rib removed. 3mm steel will slide all the way through the rib to the rear site without problem. Time will tell

My J.P. Sauer drilling is a Model 36 sidelock with separate rifle barrel cocking by means of a lever on the left side of the action, so I am unfamiliar with the boxlock configuration shown in your photo. Is the lever on the left side of the action the barrel selector or the safety?

The lever is called a Schlagstücksicherung and is the safety. In the picture it is in the fire position. I find it easier to operate, especially on cold days or with gloves, than the normal "button" type safety on the side of the wrist.

Thank you for introducing me to a term I was not familiar with. I had to look it up, and what I found was a diagram which illustrates all three kinds of safety available for a drilling:



The Schlagstücksicherung is a safety which blocks the internal striker or Schlagstück, while the other two safeties, the Stangensicherung and the Abzugsicherung block the sear and trigger, respectively.

The diagram shows the safeties in the "safe" position. The arrows indicate the direction of rotation used to unblock the safety.

I find the Greener safety or "button" type safety virtually impossible to operate with gloves on. A possible solution to this problem has been suggested, which is to have the "button" enlarged until it protrudes above the stock, making it easier to operate.

I haven't tried this, since I have only one drilling so equipped. The beauty of the lever operated cocking device for the rifle barrel is that it frees the tang of the action up for the normal shotgun type slide safety, since no barrel selector is required.

This is a photo of my Krieghoff Neptun drilling with separate rifle barrel cocking. The side lever was an option which was later dropped by Krieghoff in favor of the thumb operated slide located on the tang.

The safety on the tang that Krieghoff offers is very handy when using the gun for small game hunting. They offer it in other models in addition to the Neptun. Simson offered a drilling with the safety on the wrist behind the rifle cocking device. I have an old Collath drilling where the safety is on the wrist like a shotgun and a small toggle next to the trigger guard engages the rifle barrel.

That looks really nice. That 1.5-6x36 looks to me the ideal scope for a drilling / combination gun. It mounts lower that a 42mm objective lense, 1.5 gives a wide field of view for close range / running big game, whilst 6 gives more than enough mag for anything you want to shoot with 7x65r.

Pity nobody makes them anymore. Closest is the Swarovski 3-9x36, but 3 is too much for both eyes open running game.

As a lefty, I especially despise Greener safeties. I have four vintage drillings with top tang safeties, two with Greeners. But I finally ordered a new Merkel 96K with a left hand stock in 20/30/8X57IRS. The tang safety disengages the shotgun barrels. If I push the same safety button further forward, it cocks the rifle barrel and switches the front trigger to the rifle. There is nothing I like better.

My 16-gauge/9.3x74R Merkel has the single safety/barrel selector. My Simson 20-gauge/5.6x50R has the separate selector and safety on the tang. I never could get the hang of a Greener safety.