a Sample issue of Der Waffenschmied

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No. 44
© GGCA 2012
Combination Guns!
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Editors’ Notes
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his issue of Der Waffenschmied continues our new direction for the GGCA
“flagship” publication. We offer here the second in our series of singlethemed issues that explore more in-depth important topics in Germanic gun
making. The “Combination Gun” opens with an article by Fredrik Franzen of Sweden,
who contributed so much to our premier single-themed issue on “Drillings.” His picture
library enhances his text to the benefit of us all. Next we receive the visit of an earlier
Scandinavian expert in matters of combination guns. Franz Rosenberg, of Norway, speaks
to us from a 1931 article he contributed to the American Rifleman entitled “Modern Over/
Under Rifles and Combination Guns.” Eighty years have not blunted the relevance of his
insights. Shortly thereafter Mike Ford shares his experiences with combination guns over
several decades. Jon Spencer, Jim McCoskey, and Dennis Hrusosky follow in the parade of
lovers and users of combination guns in the game fields and forests.
Future themed issues will examine German double rifles, single shot break-open and
falling block designs, Schuetzen rifles, as well as exploring the offerings of single makers
such as Collath, Merkel, Sauer, Krieghoff, Meffert, Simson, Förster, Barella, and others as
they come to our attention.
Please share your reactions to this second installment of our new direction. We hope
these issues will earn a permanent place in your reference library.
Waidmannsheil!
(coeditors)
Tom Devers,
Mike Ford
Fredrik Franzen
Richard Hummel
Jon Spencer
Axel Eichendorff
Der Waffenschmied
of the
German Gun Collectors Association
Dedicated to enthusiasts of Germanic hunting and sporting firearms. A 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
P.O. Box 429
Mayfield, Utah 84643
Tel. (435) 979-9723
[email protected]
www.germanguns.com
Coeditors:
Fredrik Franzen
Richard Hummel
Jon Spencer
Tom Devers
Mike Ford
Axel Eichendorff
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Compositor: Robbie Grafer
Printing: Copy Express
Eastern Illinois University
Number 44
Combination Guns
by Fredrik Franzén
speciality for Germany and
Austria, even it they were made
in other countries (in England
they were called Cape Guns) In
Germany (and in Sweden too
where I am living) much hunting is
in the forest and on the same day
you can get the possibility to shoot
everything from birds up to deer,
moose and wild boar. In Germany
a light combination gun with one
barrel in 20 bore and one rifled
barrel in calibres around .22 is
called Schonzeitgewehr. It is used
off season for vermin control. If a
combination gun with one shotgun
barrel and one rifled barrel is a
side by side it is called Büchsflinte,
if it is an over and under it is a
Bockbüchsflinte.
Now I will show photos of
some combination guns of different
kinds which I have photographed
during the years.
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What is a combination gun?
Usually this is used for a gun with
one shotgun barrel and one rifled
barrel. But I will include guns
with two rifled barrels in different
calibres (Bergstützen) and guns
with several barrel sets for shot and
rifled for bullets. The most common
combination gun is of course the
drilling, but this is discussed in the
last issue of Der Waffenschmied.
Combination guns are a
Wolf pinfire combination gun--Suhl
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This W. Wolf Suhl Pinfire is the
oldest combination gun I will show
here. I will date it to around the
1860s. It is built on a Lefaucheux
system, which was common
on pinfire and early centerfire
hammerguns. This Wolf has two
sets of barrels, one pair shotgun
and one pair combination. All
barrels are 16 bore, but one barrel
in the combination set is rifled. No
doubt, this Wolf was top of the line
when it was made. The engraving
is extensive with many gold inlays.
Unfortunately the stock is not
original; now it has very plain wood
and a simple checkering. I can
think that the original wood was
very nice and on the same level as
the engraving. Note the patchbox
in the stock. This is a relic from the
muzzleloaders.
The next gun is a high quality
Büchsflinte that has no maker’s
name at all. The action is stamped
no 777 and CH and the barrels
777, 1882 and a crowned V. This
V is for Vorratszeichen, it means
that the gun was in stock by a
dealer when the German proof law
became effective in 1891. Probably
this gun was made in the end of the
1880s.
It has an odd calibre
combination. The shotgun barrel is
16 bore but the rifled barrel is 24
bore for a short cartridge. It could
be effective at close range for deer
and similar animals. Note the broad
ends of the firing pins.
Hammer Büchsflinte 16
ga. smooth X 24 ga rifled
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to the action. The barrels are held
to the fore end by a bolt that is
engaged by a peg in the front of
the fore end. (like an Anson fore
end) When the barrels are closed,
the bolt is locked by two pegs
against the knuckle. When the
barrels open, the two pegs fit into
two holes in the knuckle and it is
possible to release the barrels from
the fore end and action. Hopefully
the photos will show how it works.
Everything indicates that it is a
high quality gun. The stock wood
is beautiful; the locks are very well
fitted into the wood; there is still
no oil or soil in the wood under the
locks. The engraving is a rich and
well cut scroll and some animal
scenes. These are very dramatic
with dogs taking a wounded deer
and deer crawling under a fence.
This Imman Meffert-Hubertus
Büchsflinte is an early hammerless.
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There is one more odd detail on
the gun. Some years ago it was for
sale at an auction in Sweden. In the
catalogue was noted that something
was wrong in the foreend; it was
not possible to remove it and the
barrels. But it was very simple; you
only had to open the gun before
you could release the foreend and
lift off the barrels.
As we can see on the photos,
the fore end is fitted permanent
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(Translation by Jon Spencer)
Imman, Meffert, Arms Factory
Hubertus Arms
Suhl, Thuringia
Hubertus Self-Cocking Guns
German Built
Patented
Action uncocked and off safe
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The Hubertus gun is hammerless with the best safety in existence currently supplied on arms.
The safety is absolutely solid and operates in three ways. It is put on safe by the finger rest located
behind the trigger guard. With this
I.
II.
III.
The triggers are blocked
The mainspring is relaxed
The hammers are withdrawn from the firing pins.
The set trigger is uncocked without firing when the safety is applied
Accidental discharges are impossible under all circumstances.
The safety is removed automatically and instantly as one readies to fire when one grips the stock wrist
and brings the safety lever into position which can never be forgotten.
The Hubertus is the simplest of all currently manufactured hammerless guns. One can safely open and
close the gun, load and unload under any condition of the lock or safety. One is assured of equal safety
whether the gun is cocked or uncocked and whether both or only one barrel has been fired. The safety
lever as well as all the lock parts are made from the finest spring steel and are hardened. The safety
lever is covered with horn.
The durability of the lock results from its simplicity and is assured by the lock and the hammers being
attached to a single lock plate and to a single pin; plus the tumbler and hammer are of a single piece.
The mainspring is formed in a bowed shape without any sharp angles, to prevent its breaking.
The Hubertus with its top-lever lock is cocked by opening and tipping the barrels and is the best
replacement for the English-style self cockers.
With the top-lever Hubertus it is important to note that the safety must be on before one can remove or
replace the fore arm.
If gun is supplied with radial-stahl-rohr-extra-quality steel barrels, the price is about thirty-five marks
higher.
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mechanism. The locking (bolting)
system is a side-swing underlever
of Jones type.
The shotgun barrel is 16 bore
but I don’t know the rifle calibre.
Note that the shotgun barrel is
Damascus, but the rifle barrel is
steel. I have seen this before, also
on drillings.
The engraving is extensive with
large scroll and animal scenes. Note
the engraved Hubertus legend on
top of the action. It is also marked
Hubertus Gewehr DRP (Deutsche
Reich Patent) 7142.
For me this Büchsflinte is very
interesting, it is of high quality and
it has an exciting mechanism. It is
in very good original condition and
very little used. Have a look at the
photo that shows the area around
the firing pin holes. There are only
very slight markings. Even the
checkering looks like new.
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The mechanism was patented
by Franz Feist in 1879. Hendrik
Frühauf has kindly sent me the
Patent document and copies of
a Meffert catalogue from 1908,
where it shows guns using this
mechanism. (Patent1, Patent 2,
katalogabbildung 1980, Flinte in
katalog).
I don’t know when this one was
made but as the barrels don’t have
any proof marks at all, it must be
made before 1893. The very thin
fences also indicate that it is an
early gun.
The horn lever behind the trigger
guard cocks the mechanism. You
can carry the gun with uncocked
mechanism; it is very safe. It is
very fast to cock the mechanism
as the cocking lever is a part of
the grip. If the gun is not fired, it
is easy to recock the mechanism by
the small lever behind the cocking
lever. This is a very early safety
Meffert-Hubertus early hammerless
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A.W. Kessler-Suhl 11,15X 60R by 12 ga and extra 12 ga double barrels
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On this gun is engraved Adolph
Jessen Hamburg and A. W. Kessler
Suhl. The first is a dealer, Kessler
is the maker. It is a traditional
German boxlock with one pair
12 bore shotgun barrels and one
pair combination barrels in 12
bore and the old German military
calibre 11,15x60R or .43 Mauser.
With these barrels it became a
Büchsflinte.
What is special with this
gun is the proof records from
Waffentechnische Versuchsstation
Neumanswalde Neudamm. They
are dated June 22 1922 and are still
complete with the gun. The test is
very extensive; it is too much to
describe here, but the photos of
some pages in the record book will
give an indication of the extent.
One example is the rifle barrel
which was shot at 80 meters, 5
shots were inside 3,75 cm height
and 2,5 cm width.
The most fantastic aspect is that
the records are still with the gun.
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Simson Jägerverschluss 12 ga. X
8X57IR and extra 12 ga. double barrels
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Simson Jägerverschluss is
described in Der Waffenschmied
before. This one is both a shotgun
and a Büchsflinte, it has two pairs
of barrels. The combination barrels
are 12 bore and 8x57IR, a very
good combination for hunting in
Europe. The mechanism is a Blitz,
with the two barrel lumps side by
side, there is no space in the action
for a Anson & Deeley mechanism.
Bürgermeister 5.6X35R Vierling by .25-35 Win.
I don’t know if this
Bürgermeister is allowed to
take place in an article about
Combination guns, but for me it is
such one. It has two rifled barrels,
both in weak calibres, so I will
name it a Schonzeitgewehre. Yes, I
know the right term is Bergstützen.
This Bürgermeister is a very
light and handy gun. It doesn’t need
to be heavy because the barrels are
in 5,6x35R Vierling and 25-35.
Both are good vermin cartridges
and 25-35 is good for roe deer too.
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There is no date of the proof,
so it must be made before 1923.
Another indication that it is quite
old, is that both barrels are proved
for copper jacketed bullets.
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Gebrüder Merkel Bockbüchsflinte 12/65X 9.3X 72R
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This
Gebrüder
Merkel
Bockbüchsflinte is a very typical
German combination gun. They
were made (or sold) by most
German gunmakers pre WWII.
Over and under guns were a
speciality for Gebrüder Merkel
and probably they also made many
actions or finished guns for other
gunmakers. Gebrüder Merkel had
a wide range of O/U models built
on Blitz, Anson&Deeley or side
lock mechanisms. They were made
as shotguns, Bockbüchsflinte or
double rifles.
This one shown here is an
Anson & Deeley Bockbüchsflinte,
the model is 157. The calibres are
12/65 and 9,3x72R. It is made
between 1916 and 1923. The scope
is eventually added later, but the
scope is the old type with only
adjustment for elevation in the
scope; the windage adjustment is
in the mount.
Gebrüder Merkel O/U guns
usually had Kersten-Verschluss
with two extensions on the side
of the upper barrel. For some
reasons most Bockbüchsflinten of
this type only have one extension
on the right side. One reason for
this single extension can be that it
is easier to reload the lower rifled
barrel.
This
Gebrüder
Merkel
Bockbüchsflinte is in very good
condition with most original colour
hardening. The rib is engraved
Glaser Zürich which was one of the
leading gun dealers in Switzerland.
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Gebrüder Merkel Bockbüchsflinte 16 X 7X65R
A Gebrüder Merkel, not made
pre WWII, but during the war. It
is stamped 10/41, that is October
1941. I have seen several high
grade guns from different German
gun makers made during the war,
some as late as in 1944. Even
during the war there was a demand
for hunting guns for leading Nazis,
as gift to foreign leaders and so on.
This one is a best quality
Gebrüder Merkel with two sets of
barrels. One set is double rifle and
the other set makes the gun into a
Bockbüchsflinte, model number
313. The shotgun barrel is 16 bore
and the rifle barrel is 7x65R, the
same as the double rifle set.
The fine engraving with large
scroll and animal scenes is typical
for best GM guns from that time.
This one has been in Sweden for
a long time. Have a look at the
comb of the stock. There is added a
rubber pad to adjust the stock so it
fits the owner. This tells us that the
gun still is used. That’s fine; guns
are made to be used, not to stay in a
safe for all their lives.
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the following barrels are with the
gun.
I. No 32087, shotgun, 12 gauge
75cm, proved December 1930
II. Lacking
III. No 32087, double rifle, .360
No2, 65 cm, claw mount, proved
December 1930.
IV. No 32249, 12 bore Paradox,
70 cm, proved September 1931.
V. No 32249, 12 bore Paradox
– 8x60R magnum, claw mount, 68
cm, proved September 1931.
VI. No 32249, 12 bore, the rifle
barrel originally .22 Hornet, later
altered to 222R, claw mount, 68
cm, proved September 1931.
VII. No 32249, .470NE double
rifle, claw mount, 68 cm, proved
September 1931.
VIII. No 32249, original double
rifle, .22 Hornet, later altered right
barrel to 6,5x57R, claw mount, 65
cm, proved September 1931.
IX. No serial number. Made by
Sempert Krieghoff, shotgun 12-70,
60 cm, proved August 1933.
X. No serial number, made
by Sempert & Krieghoff, 12
bore Paradox – 470NE, proved
November 1933.
Bengt Berg who owned and
used these guns lived close to my
home and a local gunsmith told me
about them already around 1970,
when my interest in guns just had
started. I also had the advantage to
have them in my gun safe for some
months to photograph, handle and
even shoot them some years ago. It
really is a fascinating set of guns. is
there one more like this. Please tell
me if you know about another set
of similar guns.
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nature and animals.
He wrote about
25 books; he was
translated to no less
than 16 different
languages and in
total his books sold
about 1 million
copies.
He hunted much
in India, Africa
and many places
in Europe. He got
an idea that he
should have a gun
with barrel sets in
different calibres,
which he could use
for all his hunting
worldwide. He was
much influenced by
Germany: German
cameras
and
German guns, so he choose Simson
to make his dream guns.
This gun is shown in a BSWSimson catalogue from the end
of the 1930s. The gun is named
Model Bengt Berg. The guns are
also shown here together with a
buffalo.
It is an Anson&Deeley (box
lock) ejector with the long and
heavy action used for double rifles.
The top strap is extended for extra
strength in the grip, where we find
a pop-up peep sight. The engraving
is typical German with scroll and
animal scenes. One of the actions
has deer inlaid in gold. The
remarkable feature is that there is
no less than 9 barrel sets and all of
them fit to both actions. The barrels
have Roman numerals in gold on
the ribs. Two of the original barrels
are missing but two others are
added. The serial numbers of the
guns are 32087 and 32249. Today
This is a very special gun. It
is a combo in many ways. It has
no less than nine sets of barrels,
all of which fit two separate
actions. Some of the barrels are
real combos, with one shotgun and
one rifled barrel. I have written an
extensive article about it in Double
Gun Journal, 1996 issue 3. (Was
16 years ago; where has the time
gone!!!)
This is the ultimate Combination
gun. There are two guns or actions
and nine barrel sets in different
calibres – and all barrels fit both
actions. I doubt if there is one more
set like this anywhere in the world.
(This set appears on the last page
of our GGCA 2012 calendar.)
It was ordered in the beginning
of the 1930s by a Swede, Bengt
Berg (1885-1967). He was a very
famous zoologist, hunter, author,
photographer and much more.
His books were principally about
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The Vierling
by Fredrik Franzén
A Vierling, it is a gun with four
barrels, must be the ideal hunting
gun – or not. The most common
combination on a Vierling is two
shotgun barrels and two rifle
barrels. Then you have a double
barreled shot gun and a double rifle
immediately available. This must
be the dream gun. However, there
are some disadvantages, the gun
will be very heavy and expensive.
Then you have to use the correct
barrel in a stressed situation.
There are few Vierlings around, so
perhaps they are better in theory
than in practice.
Most German and Austrian
gun makers offered Vierlings and
a few are still built, especially
in Austria. I have seen Vierlings
as muzzleloaders, with outside
hammers and as hammerless. But
all I have seen have been by gun
dealers, on exhibitions or gun
auctions, but never met one on a
hunt.
Here I will show two Austrian
Vierlings, both started their life as
2x 20 bore and 2x 7x57R. One of
them, a Gottfried Juch has side lock
for the shotgun barrels and a Blitz
mechanism for the rifle barrels, the
other, also a Gottfried Juch, has
Blitz for all four barrels.
The most interesting is that both
have got a set of new barrels in other
caliber combinations. The owners
really had used their Vierlings for
hunting and had found out that they
wanted another set of barrels to fit
their own hunting better. In Sweden
where I am living, we have a very
talented gunsmith, Hans Englund,
he has graduated as Austrian
Büschsenmachermeister. About 15 years ago he got an
order to build new barrels for the
Gottfried Juch side lock. Instead
of two shotgun barrels and two
rifle barrels, the owner wanted
four rifle barrels. 2x 7x57R and 2x
9,3x74R. I followed the building of
the barrels and I can guarantee that
there is need for much experience
and handcraft to build such barrels.
Hans Englund was successful and
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after a long time the barrels were
ready. The regulating was time
consuming but after 120 rounds all
four barrels hit inside 5 cm at 65
meters range.
The owner of the other Vierling,
the Gottfried Juch, wanted four
rifle barrels for the same cartridge,
8x57 IRS. They are regulated for
Norma ammunition with 12,7
grams Oryx bullet. This is a bonded
bullet, which is very popular in
Scandinavia. At 100 meters, all
four barrels group in 10 cm. I know
the owner has used these barrels on
his Vierling with success the last
hunting season.
One reason to why the owners
of Vierlings now want four rifle
barrels is that we in Sweden have
lots of (too many) wild pigs; we
also have more deer and moose.
We have more rifle hunting and
less shotgun hunting than before. If
we really need a Vierling is another
question, but there is much in life
we have but really don’t need, so
why not a Vierling?
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A Gottfried Juch originally built with two shotgun
barrels 20 bore and two rifle barrels 7x57R. The new
barrels by Hans Englund are FOUR rifle barrels--all in
8x57IRS.
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A Gottfried Juch sidelock, originally built with two shotgun barrels 20 bore and two rifle barrels 7x57R.
The new barrels by Hans Englund are two rifle barrels in 9x3x74R and two rifle barrels in 7x57R.
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Modern Over-Under Rifles and Combination Guns
by Franz Rosenberg
barrel, but only one flint hammer
lock. The barrels were moveable
on a pivot, so that when one shot
had been fired, the hammer was
recocked, the barrels given a half
turn, and the under barrel with
its flash pan was in position for
a second shot. Each barrel had it
separate set of sights. These old
guns were far from clumsy looking,
and were usually most beautifully
ornamented.
The late W.W. Greener, in
his great work “The Gun and
Its Development” also speaks
about over-and-under double
rifles, mentioning that he had
built several double rifles on this
principle, and that it works out
as well as the old system. It is on
the Continent, however, that these
over-and-under guns have reached
their greatest development, and
during the last ten years they have
become increasingly popular; and
I think that this is not merely one
of the many periodically returning
fashions which we see even in the
world of gunnery.
Over-and-under
guns
are
built not extensively by German,
Austrian and Belgium gunmakers,
though mostly by the Germans. In
conservative England, too, they
have begun to build and use overand-under shotguns; but, on the
Continent these arms are built as
shotguns, double rifles, and most
of all, as double combination guns
and rifles.
The English gunmakers have
always laid great stress on the
graceful outline and form of a
gun or rifle, and, of course, on
the balance; and in this respect
we must admit that they have no
rivals. I should say that next to
them come the Belgium’s. The
English have usually built their
“best quality” guns without any
extension rib, relying only upon the
bolted barrel lugs and extremely
careful hand fitting for a beech
fastening. In double-barreled rifles
like the Holland and Holland Royal
hammerless models the extension
is usually very small and is placed
low between the barrels so as not
to interfere with the easy loading
of the rifle, and allows a very neat
and compact form of breech. They
have followed this same principle
in the construction of their overand-under guns as well, in many
cases also letting the barrels pivot
on a bolt between the barrels instead
of under them, in this manner
getting the gun much lower at the
breech and neater looking than
the German models. One German
maker, Sempert and Krieghoff, of
Suhl, has also adopted this plan.
Otherwise the Germans have
universally adopted the so-called
Kersten fastening, which consists
of two very strong extensions of
the upper barrel, one on each side
of the cartridge chamber. These
extensions are let into the standing
breech, nearly friction-tight, and
locked horizontally with a strong
double Green cross bolt.
The two barrels themselves are
dovetailed lengthwise into each
other at the breech, and are screwed
or soldered together. In addition to
the top fastening, the two barrel
lugs, made integral with the lower
barrel, have the usual bolting, thus
making in all a quadruple fastening
of extreme strength and simplicity,
the moving limbs being easily
replaced if necessary.
I will not say that the Kersten
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(Ed. Note: We offer portions
of an article appearing in
American Rifleman, December
1931 by a famous Norwegian
hunter, Franz Rosenberg.
He
contributed numerous articles to
U.S. gun publications as well as
several fascinating books on his
hunting adventures. His voice
from 80 years ago provides an
historic view on the subject of this
issue contemporaneous with the
heyday of the combination gun in
Germanic cultures, 1920-1940.
His wide ranging analyses and
opinions on sporting arms’ designs,
both English and Germanic,
remain relevant to the present in
ways sufficient to justify inclusion
herein. Enjoy!)
Rifles and shotguns built with
two barrels superimposed, “overand-under” as they are popularly
called, are not a novelty by any
means; and we will find that this
was rather the original form for
the two-barreled “shootin’ iron”
including pistols, fowling pieces
and rifles. I have seen many fine
old specimens of this kind in the
various museums in Europe, so
it is evident that the “Bock gun”
or “Bock rifle,” as such firearms
are termed in German-speaking
countries, were great favorites at a
certain point.
I remember especially one
magnificent specimen, a double
over-and-under flintlock rifle at the
Muse d’Artillerie in Paris, which
had belonged to the Emporer
Napoleon I; and I happened on
another similar rifle last winter
[1930] in the chateau of a Polish
shooting companion. These guns
were usually furnished with two
sets of flash pans, one for each
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than the Kersten. Moreover, if they
really thought it as strong as the
latter they surely would not build
their medium-power double overand-under rifles of a weight which
would be more suitable for elephant
rifles. The great unwillingness
of the English gunmakers to use
modern nitrocellulose powders in
their sporting-rifle cartridges for
double-barreled rifles, instead of
the barrel-destroying cordite, is due
partly to the fact that the cordite
gives lower pressures in relation to
the velocity obtained.
The writer has had considerable
experience with high-class English
double-barreled sporting rifles of
the old style with the barrels placed
side by side; in fact, like many
another sportsman in Scandinavia,
and elsewhere for that matter, he
thought in his younger and lessexperienced days that no selfrespecting gunner could possibly
use anything but firearms from
makers like Holland and Holland,
Purdey, Westley Richards, and
Rigby. Now there was always one
thing which got my goat, as you
say in the U.S.A., when discussing
rifles, cartridges, powders, etc.,
with the concerns of the London
gun trade, and that was their
perfectly maddening conservatism
and lack of knowledge of what was
going on “outside.” If you wanted
a special kind of model built to
your own ideas and different from
the conservative British standard,
or if you wanted a modern powder
or a modern cartridge, you were
looked upon with horror, and very
politely told that such a deviation
from standards could not at all be
recommended, for surely where
lords, dukes, yea even royal
sportsmen, were satisfied with their
standard models, then it should be
good enough for poor little you!
Now the gun crank is a rare and
not always welcome animal in New
Bond Street; and after all, London
post-WWI prices are not exactly
right when you want to experiment,
so I decided to make a trial of
German-built double rifles, and had
the great luck to find just the right
people in the gunmaking town of
Suhl, a charming little place in the
hills of Thuringia, where before the
great war no less than two hundred
gunmaking firms were in operation.
These people were willing not only
to make an attempt at building
anything I ordered, and at a fair
price, but would also listen with
interest to any sensible suggestion
for improvement; and I very soon
found out that German barrel steels
were far superior, that their designs
and breech fastenings, though
perhaps not as graceful as might
be wished, made possible much
lighter and handier weapons; and
finally that the old superstition that
only a few gunmakers in or near
New Bond Street, London, could
regulate two rifle barrels to shoot
together with the greatest accuracy,
was pure nonsense. I further
discovered that if one were willing
to pay a price say two-thirds that
of the London prices, one could get
workmanship second to none in the
world.
Well, this pleasant cooperation
resulted in many fine firearms
being built for both the writer and
his friends, each new one being
somewhat better and more graceful
than its predecessor, for these
German makers were not averse
to criticism, and gladly made
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fastening makes for a pretty gun,
and for rifles or combination guns
firing the less powerful cartridges as
well as for shotguns, such a strong
fastening at the breech would seem
unnecessary. In combination guns
of medium power we often see a
single Greener bolt with extension
and in conjunction with the bolting
of the barrel lugs. The Suhl firm
of Merkel Brothers uses for
their lowest priced double rifles,
combination guns and shotguns
only the Kersten top fastening
without the additional bolting of the
barrel lugs. That this is sufficient
even in double rifles I have had
occasion to test out myself, as the
smallest groups I have ever shot or
seen shot with a light 7 1/2-pound
double over-and-under Merkel rifle,
chambered for that very powerful
big-game cartridge, the 9.3X74,
and which had only this Kersten
top fastening. Also, lately the same
firm built a similar cheap double
rifle chambered for the powerful
8X75 cartridge (237-grain bullet
at 2,750 f.s. velocity), which shot
100-meter groups of less than 1 ½
inches in diameter. The rifle was
sighted with a telescope sight.
All the English over-and-under
guns I have shot or examined
seem, in comparison to have an
inferior breech fastening. We have
several such guns at our local gun
clubs, and they become loose in
the action after only a few seasons’
use. The only British firm which
to my knowledge regularly builds
double-barreled sporting rifles on
the over-and-under system has a
quadruple fastening, and though
it makes the rifle more graceful in
form, it is far more complicated and
mechanically much less effective
29
double-barreled rifles I believe
that the over-and-under system
is the most logical, and it is only
this system in connection with
the extremely strong and simple
Kersten fastening which makes
possible the successful, durable
arrangement of a variety of
combination barrels for the same
action and stock. Also, with a
well-fitted Kersten fastening such a
thing as a loose action is practically
unknown, which cannot be said of
even the highest-priced English
guns and rifles, which have to be
tightened up again and again.
Double-barreled
over-andunder rifles, in conjunction with
high-class steel, such as Krupp’s
best barrel steel, Boehler Special or
Antinit steel, may be built for the
most modern sporting cartridges
of high intensity, with pressures
approaching 60,000 pounds, in a
reasonable weight, 7 ½ to 8 pounds,
and showing the highest degree of
accuracy, and never giving trouble
with sticking cases or bad ejection.
Also, all gunmakers seem to agree
that it is easier to regulate such
over-and-under rifles.
I shall mention one possible
disadvantage, however—the rather
strong pronounced refraction
occasioned by a strong side wind
or air current striking the broad
surface of the superimposed barrels
and sighting rib, and forming an
air wave above the barrels. When
aiming through a peep sight or with
the open sights I have found this
refraction very disturbing. when
shooting groups or targeting my
rifles on my open range, the target
seemingly jumping all over the
landscape, as in a mirage. On the
other hand, this has never troubled
me when in the hunting field, and
with a telescope sight, of course, it
is not noticeable.
My first over-and-under rifle,
having a raised rib all along the
upper barrel, I thought this rib
might be the cause of the trouble,
so I had my next rifle built with an
interrupted rib that reached only
just beyond the back sight, with
the front sight mounted on a block.
This made absolutely no difference,
however, though it added greatly to
the neat appearance of the rifle. I
do not believe that a ventilated rib,
used on trap guns would help either.
With three-barreled guns, drillings,
I have not noticed this refraction to
any appreciable extent, probably
owing to the surface of the barrels
forming an angle with the air
currents and deflecting them under
the barrels.
Years ago, when Colonel
Whelen
was
boosting
the
Springfield rifle and its cartridge
as the only combination worthy an
American rifleman, the writer make
their acquaintance, and seeing
the great accuracy and deadliness
of the Western Cartridge Co.’s
220-grain load on our Norwegian
elk and other big game, he finally
put up to Merkel Brothers, in Suhl,
Germany, the matter of building a
double hammerless ejector overand-under double rifle for this
rimless cartridge, and they willingly
set about the task. The rifle was to
have Holland and Holland handdetachable side locks, quadruple
Kersten breech fastening, grip of
stock to be strengthened by the
metal strap from action extended
over the comb and bolted through
to the strap under the pistol grip, as
on my Holland rifles; in fact, I sent
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changes in their models; and now
my beautiful but excessively heavy
double English cordite rifles rest
idly in their cupboard, only to be
taken down and petted and admired
now and then, while, when roaming
the forests or mountains and killing
game, I carry these new German
rifles.
But to return to this over-andunder system; Is it really such an
advantage over the old? I must
say that, personally, I had a certain
difficulty in accustoming myself to
my over-and-under shotguns when
shooting upland game in forest
or brush, and to eject and reload
one has to break them very much
further than the old models. After
a while, however, I began to like
them, and for clay bird shooting
(not Skeet) I found them a decided
advantage, and so have others of
my acquaintance.
Now, over-and-under guns of
12-bore or larger sizes are far from
pretty; 16 bores look quite passable,
but the 20 bores and double-barreled
rifles are really most graceful. The
great advantage of the over-andunder system, however, lies in the
fact that the locking of the barrels
is symmetrical and in the same
plane as the action of the recoil.
In the old side-by-side system the
locking lugs of the barrels and
the top fastening lie between the
two barrels and the recoil acts on
a short lever, giving each barrel
a slight wrench to one side when
firing; and we find that in a double
rifle, when the action has become
loose from wear, the barrels will
throw the shots out fro the common
center of impact.
This is not of great importance
in the case of shotguns, but for the
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them my nicest Holland rifle as a
pattern.
To this same action was to be
fitted one pair of 16-gauge shot
barrels, regulated for Western
Cartridge Co.’s Super-X cartridges,
and, further, a third set of barrels,
the upper being a 16-gauge shot,
and the lower a rifle barrel for the
.30-06 Springfield cartridge, all
barrels to be of Boehler Special
steel, with ejectors, besides an
extra forearm for the larger shot
barrels. Everything was to be of
the highest quality throughout
and engraved with small English
scroll engraving. A combination
gun using the rimless Springfield
cartridge with its very hard military
primer necessitated a very strong
hammer blow and very accurate
adjustment of headspace. On the
other hand, the firing pins must
not pierce the soft primers of the
shot cartridges. Well, we were not
entirely successful at first, but after
a few small alterations everything
functioned right, and I certainly
had a most wonderful gun! The
balance with all three sets of barrels
was superb. As a double rifle with
26-inch barrels it weighted 8 ¾
pounds, the Holland and Holland
side locks making it somewhat
heavier than necessary.
With
29-inch shot barrels it weighed
just over 7 pounds, and with the
26 ¾-inch combination barrels,
exactly 8 pounds.
A similar rifle of mine by the
same makers but having the Anson
and Deeley box action chambered
for the German 8X60 Magnum
cartridge (186-grain boat-tailed
copper-capped bullet at 2,750 f.s.,
pressure around 52,000 pounds),
weighs, with 26-inch barrels, 8
¼ pounds; and with 29-inch shot
barrels, 16-gauge, only 6 ¾ pounds.
As I have remarked above,
the accuracy of these over-andunder rifles is quite remarkable,
and these two Merkel rifles were
no exception. With the double
.30-06 I have repeatedly shot
2-inch groups at 100 yards, and
4 t0 5-inch groups at 200 yards,
with open sights. Besides the
two folding leaves for 100 and
300 yards, I have a small folding
peep sight let into the rib near the
breech and this is a most practical
hunting sight. The combination
rifle and shot barrel is fitted with a
Zeiss Zielklein telescope sight for
shooting at long range.
The shot barrels of both these
guns shoot quite remarkable
31
patterns, in fact, far too dense
for most hunting here. (With
Remington Nitro-Express, number
6 shot, 83 percent; and with number
4 shot, 86 percent, inside of a 30inch circle at 40 yards.) Also they
shoot very well up to 60 and 70
yards with the Brennecke special
lead projectiles made for shotgun
barrels.
I shall mention a most practical
test of the shooting of these guns.
With the double .30-06 barrels I
fired from rest at 100 yards three
shots, two with one barrel and one
with the other, then dismounted the
rifle and put on the combination
barrels, and with the rifle barrel I
fired two shots, with the same hold
as with the double rifle barrels.
All five shots could be enclosed
in a 1 ¾-inch circle. The rifle
barrel of the combination also
shoots excellently with any of the
recommended reduced loads for
the Springfield cartridge, making it
extremely useful.
I have used this gun now
for about five years, and with
the double rifle barrels I have
[harvested] five bull moose,
besides a number of wild boars and
other game. With the shot barrels
I have shot a good deal of small
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game, besides thousands of shots
at traps, and the action is as firm
and smooth-working as ever. In
fact, the makers tell me that it has
not happened that they have ever
had any of these guns sent back for
tightening up.
When one has seen the extreme
closeness of the fitting of these
three sets of barrels to the same
action, one will begin to doubt
about the alleged superiority of
the hand-made guns and rifles. It
is impossible to do such accurate
work with hand tools as is done
with the highly specialized modern
milling machinery. I have seen in
operation in the shops of Merkel
Brothers, Sauer and Sohn, and
others of the great Suhl firms. It
seems to me that we here have a
most practical combination which
might well fill its place in every
hunter’s “battery,” including those
in the U.S.A. I find that I have
really wanted such a gun all my
life. How well I remember one
time when I was hunting elephant
on the slopes of Marsabit Mountain
fifteen years before Martin Johnson
had “discovered” it. I had been
working hard for some days to
get a good specimen of the lesser
Koodoo, but always without luck
and one evening I left my ox
wagon (no motor safaris in those
days) with a shotgun to kill some
game birds for the table. I had just
flushed a covey, and at the report
of the gun out rushed from an
adjacent bush a magnificent lesser
Koodoo—and there I stood saying
nasty things and wishing for a rifle!
There are countless such
situations where a combination
gun is needed, and it is not wonder
32
that such a gun was so popular in
South Africa, the “Cape gun” being
built on the old side-by-side system
and having one barrel 16-gauge for
shot and the other rifled in .450
bore, black powder, but later on for
the .303 British cartridge. Our own
great explorer, Dr. Nansen, carried
such a gun (20-gauge and .360
bore, black powder) on his North
Pole expedition.
In Germany
and Austria we find this kind of
gun being used by a great many
sportsmen and by professional
hunters and game keepers, the rifled
tube often being used with deadly
with the usual bolting of the
barrel lugs. As an example I will
describe a gun of mine built by
Merkel Brothers and intended to
be carried in my ruck sack when
woods-roaming. The barrels are
only just short of 23 inches, the
upper one being chambered for the
2 ¾-inch Western 20-bore Super-X
cartridge, and the rifle barrel for the
German edition of the .22 Hornet,
a specially loaded “Vierling”
cartridge (40-grain copper jacket,
soft or hollow point, 2,000 f.s.
velocity). The gun is a hammerless
nonejector and weighs only 5 1.2
pounds without the Zeiss Zielklein
telescope, which is mounted low
on the barrel. This little dream
of a gun, which is my constant
companion, is very hard-shooting,
giving full-choke patterns with
the shot barrel, besides shooting
the above mentioned Brennecke
shotgun lead projectiles fairly
well up to 50 and 60 yards; while
the little rifle is quite remarkably
accurate, averaging 1 ½-inch
groups at 100 meters on a calm day.
One of the illustrations shows a
similar gun built for a friend of the
writer’s and having an additional
set of double 20-bore shot barrels
with ejectors, hence the action had
to be somewhat stouter and the gun
is not quite as neat looking.
The over-and-under system
lends itself admirably to the
construction of large-bore, doublebarreled rifles chambered for the
English cordite cartridges in .400,
.465, .470 caliber, etc., suitable for
the heaviest tropical game. There
is published herewith a picture
of such a double hammerless
ejector over-and-under rifle by
Merkel Brothers, chambered for
the .470-bore cordite cartridge.
The rifle weighs 10 ¼ pounds and
is exceedingly handy and well
balanced. It has rustless Antinit
barrels, and Anson and Deely
action with imitation side plates,
which latter is an excellent method
of uniting the stock with the action
and is not merely for show.
(Ed.note: Rosenberg now turns
his critical eye to Drillngs, the topic
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effect in encounters with poachers.
Nowadays it is mostly in the form
of over-and-under, with the rifle
barrel chambered for a smallbore modern smokeless-powder
cartridge, and usually sighted with
a telescope sight. Delightful, handy
weapons.
The old “cape gun” or
“Büchsflint,” as it is called on
the Continent, with one heavy
rifle barrel placed beside the shot
barrel, always felt rather lopsided,
and necessarily could not have the
excellent balance of the modern
over-and-under gun. Besides, the
Kersten fastening allows the latter
to be constructed for any modern
powerful cartridge.
There is also a great variety of
over-and-under combination guns
built to handle a 16, 20, or even
smaller gauge shot cartridge, and
a light rifle cartridge of the .2535 or .25-20 type. Such guns may
be built extremely light and may
have a simpler breech fastening, a
single Greener bolt on one side, or
a doll’s head extension combined
33
actions employed are many, but the
most reliable seems to be the Anson
and Deely action with Greener
cross-bolt and barrel extension.
The rifle lock is usually mounted on
the trigger plate between the locks
of the two shot barrels, and there
are various ways of connecting one
of the triggers with the rifle lock.
The most common arrangement
is through the use of a small slide
on the top of the grip (where the
top safety slide is usually located).
The safety is then of the Greener
pattern, mounted on the left side of
the action. Where a top safety is
employed, the trigger-connecting
arrangement is a small lever just
behind the top lever, which is by far
the best arrangement. Sometimes
three triggers are seen, one for each
lock.
Some makers prefer side locks
for the shot barrels, the rifle lock
being wholly independent, and may
be cocked or uncocked by either a
small lever beside the trigger guard
or by pushing forward a small slide
on top of the grip. This is rather a
good plan, as the rifle lock need not
be cocked until the moment it is to
be fired.
On most models the triggerconnecting lever or slide is hooked
up with the folding back sight by
a thin steel rod running inside the
sighting rib, and when the slide or
lever is set for firing the rifle barrel,
the sight is raised automatically.
In some models the sight balls
down again when the rifle barrel
is fired, and it is then possible to
fire two shot barrels without first
disconnecting the trigger from the
rifle lock. Ejectors may also be had
for one or all barrels, but all these
“cute” arrangements are rather too
complicated and are not advisable
if one wants a reliable gun.
I have seen these Drillings
used with deadly effect during
wild boar drives in Poland, where
also wolves, lynxes and foxes may
come up to the posted “guns,” and
for the latter the shot barrels with
large shot or buckshot are the most
effective. This type of Drilling
has never appealed to me, and is
not very useful where game is not
shot mostly in drives. Also these
Drillings, with their rifle stocks,
high ribs, etc., do not “come up” or
balance like a shotgun.
For my personal use a Drilling
should first of all be a perfect
shotgun,
well-balanced
and
stocked exactly as my game gun,
the rifle barrel chambered for a
small rifle cartridge of the .2535 type, and as inconspicuous as
possible, but instantly available for
long shots at wolves, foxes, geese,
Capercaillie, or varmints, etc..
The sighting rib should be hollow
and sunk low between the barrels
as on shotguns, the only sights
being a small bead front sight and
a small peep sight near the breech,
sunk into the rib and invisible
until raised automatically by the
moving of the trigger-connecting
lever placed between the top safety
slide and the top lever. With such
a gun one is assured of maintaining
the same degree of accuracy with
the shot barrel as with his favorite
game gun. The American shot,
not being so wedded to the light
English game gun with straight
stock, might possibly prefer the
German pattern, with pistol grip
and cheekpiece.
The writer has had a great many
Drillings and has spent a good deal
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of the previous Der Waffenschmied
special issue. If we had discovered
Rosenberg’s article in time for that
issue, you would have already read
what follows. But, better late than
not at all!)
We now come to the threebarrel variety of combination guns
and rifles—the famous German
“Drilling,” which also is a most
practical weapon for a hunter. Your
Drilling must be built according to
the purpose for which it is intended.
On the Continent this arm is to a
great extent used by sportsmen
for big-game hunting, and the rifle
barrel is not considered as merely
and auxiliary barrel, hence this
kind of Drilling is usually stocked
very much like a rifle, with a
pistol grip stock and cheekpiece,
fairly high rib and is often also
fitted with a telescope sight. For
serious big-game shooting the
rifle barrel is chambered for such
powerful cartridges as the 9.3X74,
approaching the .375 Magnum
in power; or for the most modern
high-velocity cartridges in 7-mm
and 8-mm.
When they shoot a great many
wild boars the rimmed 10.75-mm.
cartridge is a great favorite, and
often the two upper barrels are rifle
barrels and only the lower one is
intended for shot. Also, such guns
often have an extra set of barrels
with two shot barrels on top and a
rifle barrel underneath. Even when
chambered for such powerful rifle
cartridges these weapons are very
light and handy, excellent for
shooting running game; and as the
three barrels soldered together give
extreme stiffness, they shoot with
the greatest accuracy.
The breech fastenings and
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two of the muzzle is rifled, as in
the Holland and Holland Paradox,
or the Westley Richards Explora
and Fauneta, or the barrels are
rifled with a very shallow, invisible
rifling for the whole length, or are
oval bored like those of the Charles
Lancaster
ball-and-shot
gun.
These guns have been built in very
large bores, such as 8-bore and 10bore, also in 12 and 16-bore, and
the Westley Richards Fauneta in
20-bore and 28-bore, and shoot
a large lead bullet or a coppercapped hollow bullet. Up to 100
yards they give good accuracy
with the solid lead bullet. With the
28-boreFauneta and capped bullet
I have shot well up to 250 yards.
With shot cartridges these guns
made a cylinder pattern. In the
larger bores they are excellent for
jungle shooting and for walking up
dangerous game, and at the same
time useful as shotguns. On the
other hand, they are neither perfect
shotguns nor perfect rifles, and
with my present experience with
the three-barrel combination gun I
should prefer such a gun to a Paradox
or Fauneta. Take, for example a 7
to 7 ½ pound Drilling with 12-bore
shot barrels for 2 ¾-inch cases, one
full-choke and the other quarterchoke, and regulated to shoot also
the Brennecke lead projectiles with
a maximum powder load. At 60
to 70 meters they would shoot as
well with both barrels as a Paradox
at 100 meters. The rifle barrel
underneath should be chambered
for either the 9.3X74 or the 10.75mm. Could one imagine a better
combination for Africa or India?
Also this would have the advantage
over the ball-and-shot gun in that
either the shot barrels or the rifle
barrel would be instantly available;
whereas with the ball-and-shot gun,
if it were loaded with shot and you
needed the bullets, or vice versa,
you would have to change loads, or
else content yourself with keeping
shot in one barrel and bullet in the
other.
Mr. Charles Askins, in the
December 1930 number of the
Rifleman, describes some trials
of these Brennecke bullets for
shotguns. In my 12-bore Drilling
these bullets shoot with rifle
accuracy up to 70 meters, but I can
use only the right barrel, as the left
one shoots low and to the left. It
is not difficult matter, however, to
have the shot barrels so regulated
that they shoot to a common center,
while to overcome the tendency
to shoot high with bullets which
every shotgun must have, one will
only need to have the front sight
somewhat higher, and then forget
about it when using the gun as a
shotgun.
In conclusion and to make this
article complete, I shall mention
the ugliest of the combination-gun
tribe, the four-barreled gun and
rifle, built like a Drilling with two
shot barrels and one rifle barrel
underneath, and with the raised
sighting rib containing a second
small rifle barrel chambered for
the 5.6X35 cartridge, or Vierling
cartridge—the German edition
of the .22 Winchester center fire.
These are also guns with two
double rifle barrels on top and two
shot barrels underneath. These
monstrosities are seldom met
with, however, and it seems to
me that a reduced load in the rifle
barrel of a Drilling would be more
satisfactory.
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of time and money in attempting to
have them altered to suit his ideas
of the ideal, but without result.
Now, however, he has hopes of
getting the ideal Drilling, have sent
his favorite Holland and Holland
game gun to Merkel Brothers, and
they are now building a Drilling
on the plan outlined above, and as
like the Holland in appearance and
balance as possible.
If one will reduce the size of
the shot barre3ls to 16-bore, or
even 20-bore, and for the rifle take
a small cartridge such as the .2520, or even the .22 Hornet, it may
be imagined what delightful little
weapons may be turned out.
The rifle barrel of the Drilling
being stiffened by the two shot
barrels, it will usually shoot
different loads without any change
in the windage. This allows one
to use a reduced load as well as
the full-power load. For many
years the writer has used in his
Drilling (12-borew and .25-35) a
small reduced load consisting of
the 87-grain .25-20 Winchester
jacketed bullet with a small charge
of suitable powder (du Pont No. 80
or similar powder), which, with the
(unadjustable) standard back sight,
shot to cent at 50 yards, while the
full load with the same sight was
correct for 100 yards. This is very
useful if one wants to shoot small
game for the pot without disturbing
the game country by the report of
the full-power cartridge.
There is another kind of
combination gun manufactured
kin England and which has done
excellent service in the game fields
of the world, notably in the jungles
of the tropics. This is the ball-andshot gun, in which the last inch or
35
Germanic Combination Guns I Have Known
by Richard Hummel
species. The rifle barrel is mated to
a single-set trigger. A friend found
it at a gun show, at an attractive
price, and virtually brand new and
(the clincher) sporting a left-hand
cheek piece. That friend, also lefthanded, knows I find southpaw
stocks on otherwise possibly
interesting arms, difficult to resist.
The second adoptee appeared
on the sale rack at Dixie Gun Works
at a discounted price. A hammer
side-by-side combination gun in
16 ga X 6.5X70R with a single
bite LeFauchaux forward under
lever locking system, it is marked
with a name, “Hübl-Salzburg” on
the shot barrel and “Böhler Guss
Stahl” on the rifle barrel. The name
is most likely that of a retailer as
it does not appear in any reference
source. The gun is fitted with an
integral pop-up tang sight, typical
in Austrian sporting rifles, and a
steel butt plate trap with recesses
for 3 rifle cartridges. Two original
6.5X70R cartridge cases nestled
within.
The third member of my
combination gun clan is a
scope-mounted, side-by-side 16
gaX8x57R, marked “BarellaBerlin.” This jewel appeared on
the auction block of a local gun
auction at the last minute. I did
not have time to examine it but
bid it successfully with only the
knowledge that the locking lever
spring was broken. Oh well, the
name “Barella” sealed the deal
in my mind. The scroll-engraved
receiver has faded ti a mottled
brown, but the barrels retail 90+ %
of their original blue. The tear-drop
stock points behind the receiver
and the toe-mounted cartridge
trap, along with its elegant lines,
bespeak its aristocratic bloodlines!
The claw-mounted scope is marked
“Voightlander-Braunschwieg” and
is fitted with metal lens caps, The
breech faces suggest the rifle barrel
was used much more often than
the shot barrel.
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With no preexisting plan,
I find I have adopted 6 varied
combination guns in the past
decade, each an unexpected
target of opportunity. I suspect
many GGCA members with
combination guns stumbled across
them and acquired them because
of their attractive prices an/or the
mesmerizing possibilities for their
uses.
The collection/accumulation
falls
into
two
categories:
(Büchsflinten) side- by- sides
and (Bockbüchsflinten) overunders. Quickly, their backstories
(pedigrees):
Side-by-Side
Combination Guns
Number one is a percussion
side-by-side 16 ga. smooth and .59
cal. rifled bores. The barrels are
a sublte Damascus in pattern, no
names of any sort, and a wooden
trigger guard of unidentified
36
Over-Under
Combination Guns
this 16gaX8X57R appears to be a
survivor of the W.W. II post-war
arms turn in. It has been heavily
rusted on its barrel surfaces,
suggesting
prolonged
burial
before emigration to America. Its
action is tight and the previous
owner honestly cannot recall if he
replaced the barrel hinge pin to
tighten the lockup. Its lockup, two
under lugs and a single Kersten tab,
is stiffly snug. The rifle barrel, well
worn, launches cast bullet loads at
modest ranges with encouraging
accuracy. The scope rings slide
on to a rail mount, making Stateside mounting systems function
adequately. The European sling
swivels have been removed and a
white-line ventilated pad attached..
The single set trigger for the rifle
barrel performs without a hitch.
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The fourth “child” in my
combination gun lineup joined
my menagerie during the same
auction. It too appeared at the
last minute, not being listed in the
sale bill. An over-under, no-name
piece in 16 gaX9.3X72R, with
claw scope bases, and horn trigger
guard, this gun showed strong
condition during my 30 second
examination of it as the auctioneer
led me down the ultimate purchase
path. No names or dates appear
anywhere on rhe gun. The single
Kersten locking tab, along with the
double under lugs, suggest a postW.W.I birth date, perhaps in the
early 1920s. Any suggestions from
readers will be appreciated.
The fifth resident among my
cascade of combination guns is
and over-under jewel. A true side
lock, its charisma to me flows
from the “clamshell” receiver
reinforcements. This gun appeared
on the table of Bob Jones at the
Beinfield Show in Las Vegas a
half decade ago, just after my
article on a clamshell double rifle
by Bernard Merkel appeared in
Der Waffenschmied 29. I had
“clamshells” on my mind and this
combination gun stole my heart
immediately. If the clamshell
receiver had not done the job,
the name “Förster-Berlin” on the
rib would have turned my head.
The side locks also display his
name. The barrels are 12 ga. over
6.5X58R. No proof dates suggest
a pre W.W. I origin. A lovely gold
“K” or “H” is inlet into the top
operating lever. Claw bases ride
atop the 12 ga. barrel. The rose and
scroll engraving on the side plates
would satisfy an English shooter,
no doubt.
The sixth gang member is most
deserving of the “motley” label.
Only identified with the initials ”F.
J. K.” engraved on the breech face,
37
A Combination For All Seasons
by Mike Ford
My solution was an over/
under combination gun (could just
as well have been a side by side)
with different barrel sets. My first
tour of duty in Germany came
as an inter-theater transfer from
Viet Nam, where I was unable to
hunt any game animals for a year
and the guns I handled were not
exactly suitable for sporting use.
I was stationed in Würzburg, and
I had previously heard of the store
Waffen Frankonia (now Frankonia
Jagd). Shortly after I got my car
from the port, I found Waffen
Frankonia Würzburg-- what a
wonderful place! As soon as I got
my family moved into permanent
quarters, from the BOQ, I went
there with all intentions of buying
a Merkel over/under shotgun. Next
to the Merkels, in the over/under
rack, was a Heym Mod 44. To me,
it handled better than the Merkel. I
noticed the Heym had a single set
trigger (since I had been hunting
for several years with a Drilling,
I knew exactly what it was). I
asked the clerk where Heym was
located and if I could have another
barrel set fitted. The clerk pointed
out another rack with over/under
combination guns. They had a
Heym in 7x57R/16 ga. with an
extra barrel set in 16 ga/16 ga.
(Mod 44 N). Since it had been there
since 1969, and this was 1971,
it was on sale at a good discount.
Because of the sale and the fact
that the conversion rate was about
to change from DM 3.63/dollar to
DM 3.52/dollar, I bought it. As an
aside, by 1981 the DM had been
“floated” and had gone down to
DM 1.48/dollar. Along with the
gun, I bought a case for 3 barrels, a
slide-on scope mount, a sling, and
ammunition.
Later on, I traveled to
Münnerstadt, where the Heym
factory was located, to have a third
set of barrels made. This was when
I met my friend, Helmut Kerner,
for the first time, as well as Rudi
Henneberger. I asked for 60cm (23
½ inches) 16 ga./16 ga. barrels,
choked cyl./cyl. Helmut was
resistant to this because he said he
would have to cut the barrel blanks
off enough that there would be
no choke left. I told him that was
what I wanted, but my German was
poor at the time. Before they were
finished, I got a letter informing me
that there had been a “break-in”,
and my case with the two original
barrel sets had been stolen. They
asked that I return and discuss what
to do about the theft. They said
they intended to replace the barrels
and would make whatever caliber/
barrel length I wanted. I told them
I wanted the same as was stolen.
The rimless version of the 7x57R
is a well known caliber, from the
Shah’s brother to Jack O’Conner’s
wife; even Elmer Keith spoke well
of it. I asked them about changing
the extractor to the rimless version,
but under the law at the time, they
couldn’t do it. They did give me
the parts to change it myself. Over
the last 40 years, I haven’t changed
it because I came to respect the
rimmed version so much. As far as
the shotgun is concerned, I almost
always use 16 ga., and I didn’t
want to change it. Sometime later,
they wrote again to inform me they
had recovered the original barrels
and to ask me to return to discuss
what I wanted them to do since
there was a small amount of light
rust showing. I told them to just
clean up the original barrels for me,
then they could fit the new ones to
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When we were growing up,
someone would write an article
about every year to convince the
readers just what would be the
best overall or best one gun for
everything. It seemed that this was
a good way to meet the editor’s
deadline. Sometimes the favored
gun would be a 12 gauge pump,
30-06, .270, .357 Revolver, or for
one of them a .22 caliber revolver.
What made this plausible was
that the author would define the
conditions, and of course, they
would favor the selected gun.
In Der Waffenschmied # 43,
Drillings were the focus of the
entire issue. A Drilling would come
pretty close to being the best one
gun for everything, especially if
fitted with an Einstecklauf barrel
and telescope. This would hold
only if use in one area is considered,
so that expected game animals
would be limited and a variety of
calibers wouldn’t be needed. Even
then, some compromise might be
required so that the chosen caliber
might be a little overly powerful
for some game and marginal for
other, but acceptable for all. On the
other hand, what if you didn’t limit
the use to one area but intended to
travel to different areas to hunt a
wide range of animals/birds?
I was faced with this question
when I was still working for our
Uncle Sam and was a young man fit
enough to follow a bird dog, climb
a mountain for a chamois, walk
plowed fields for hare, or stumble
around in the Turkish nights for
wild pigs. I also had visions of
hunting the Dark Continent for
the animals Bell, Ruark, Selous,
Hunter, Taylor, and others wrote
about.
38
I came back to pick up the opened
up barrels, Helmut informed me
he couldn’t open them up enough
to quite get 45% and invited me
to the range to see the patterns.
He was a little bit dissatisfied that
the patterns didn’t exactly overlap.
I got a chance to watch him and
Rudi adjust the patterns. They used
a reamer with one of them turning
it at the chamber end and the other
one “crowding” the reamer to one
side with a yoke at the muzzle.
I got a “kick” out of seeing how
they did that, plus they gave me a
box of mixed brass from the range.
Throughout this whole experience,
I was very impressed with Heym’s
attitude and helpfulness. They
seemed pretty impressed that I
didn’t try to “get over” on them,
either. When I left, I gave Helmut
and Rudi a bottle of Mrs. Beam’s
favorite son’s best Kentucky elixir.
Helmut didn’t seem crestfallen any
longer!
With the three sets of barrels,
I took about 25 Reh, my best
Red Deer, best Boar, Chamois,
Whitetail, Ducks and Pheasants,
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new guns since they had not been
used. During this time, I arranged
for them to have claw mounts
fitted for the scope. Still later, they
informed me that I could pick up
the new 60cm barrels. It turned
out that Helmut had performed
his “Büchsenmacher Hexerei”
(Gunsmith magic) and had made
the barrels full and half choke after
all. He seemed a little crestfallen
when I told him I still wanted cyl/
cyl. He asked what percentage
of choke to ream them to, and I
specified 45% with #8 shot. When
Chamois, taken 1973 with 7x57R
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Fox, Bobwhite, Doves, Hungarian
Partridges,
Hare,
Rabbits,
Raccoon, Squirrels, and even a
Woodcock. While not game, the
barrels also took Jays, Magpies,
Crows, and a Rattlesnake. I had
an Einstecklauf (insert barrel) in
22 mag. fitted to the combination
barrels, but I didn’t find it as useful
as the ones in my Drillings. In the
Drillings, I still had a shot barrel
available, but not in these. In
addition to the game taken, I shot
skeet with the 60 cm barrels and
trap with the field barrels. I really
had the 60 cm barrels made for
shooting bobwhite quail and skeet,
but I wound up using them on most
small game. At first I used the full
and half choke barrels on hare and
pheasants when hunting with my
friend Adi Stangl in Rottendorf
bei Würzburg. He sold the game
to make up the cost of the rent for
the hunting area. With number 4
and 6 shot, I damaged the game too
much. Having grown up hunting
quail, I shot too fast for the close
choke and amount of shot. Adi
asked if I had shot one hare with
a slug (Brenneke), and I shot one
pheasant from between its wings.
I switched to the 60 cm barrels
and number 2 shot. This sounds
counterintuitive, but 1 ¼ oz. of
number 2 shot has fewer shot than
the number 4. This combination
of barrel length, choke, and
shot proved absolutely deadly. I
remember taking 17 hare on one
morning’s hunt. On the other hand,
if the hare or pheasant got 40 yards
away, I just let someone else shoot.
With number 7 ½ or 8 shot, these
barrels are also deadly on quail and
doves.
The Nickel scope has a four
post reticule with crosswires, like
Red Deer Stag (Lebenshirsch), taken in 1972 with 7x57R
40
H&H fitted. Helmut was dead
set against this, and insisted that
9.3x74R would be a better choice.
To my objection that the former
British Colonies required .375, he
answered that there were many
other areas that didn’t require .375
and that the 9.3 was adequate.
Actually, there was an exception
allowing 9.3x62, and the 9.3x74
was equal in ballistics.
It was not until my second tour
to Germany, after two years at Ft.
Bragg, N.C., that I was able to have
double rifle barrels fitted. By this
time, I had become friends with
Walter Grass, who had actually
preceded Helmut and Rudi at
Heym. I arranged with Walter to
have a set of 9.3x74 / 9.3x74 60 cm
long barrels fitted. He used Heym’s
barrel blanks and had them fit up
by Gerold Pfeffer, who worked at
Heym during the week. The dollar/
DM conversion rate had changed
so much, and the DM prices had
gone up, I had to sell a nice 16 ga.
8x57IR BF to finance the barrels.
(Believe it or not, there are some
of us who can’t have everything we
want.)
Since Gerold only worked in
Walter’s shop on Saturdays, I was
lucky to be able to watch him fit
the barrels up, even though I had
seen him do this before. He was
amazing to watch! He came with a
box of his own files, and filed like
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a really heavy 4 plex. With the
scope sighted so the 173 gr. H
mantle bullet hits 2 ½ inches high
at 100 meters, it keeps Brenneke in
my “hat” at the same distance by
holding half the bottom crosswire
over the target. I tried the 162 gr.
TIG on the chamois and a Reh, but
it proved too destructive for me.
On the other hand, the H mantle
penetrated the larger animals, but
it didn’t destroy too much meat
on smaller animals. This bullet is
similar to the partition bullet but
preceded it by many years. (pic M2
While Heym and I were going
through the “drill” with the stolen
barrels, I discussed having a set
of double rifle barrels in .375
Last Hirsch (Red Deer Stag), taken 1981 with 9.3x74R Double barrels
41
back to Walter to have the barrels
regulated once more, this time with
the scope mounted.
Before the barrels could be
regulated again, someone broke
into Walter’s strong room and
stole the rifle, together with my
22 caliber Mauser single shot and
several guns belonging to other
customers. The police were at
Walter’s when I arrived on the
next Saturday morning. They were
looking for fingerprints, means of
entry, etc. The thieves had broken
into a construction site at the
Schützenhaus next door, robbed
it too, and used the construction
tools to break into Walter’s shop. It
became clear after some time that
the guns would not be recovered.
Since I had three other sets of
barrels, there was no option but
to replace the rifle with the same
model so they could be fit to it.
In the intervening years, Heym
had changed from the Model 44
to a system designed by Rudi
Henneberger, Model 55. Walter
found a Model 44 shotgun he could
acquire. It took my insurance, his
insurance, a stock blank I had (a
nice California-grown English
walnut blank), and Walter’s work
to complete the project. The only
problems were that he forgot I
wanted 60cm barrels. He got a
65cm set. Also, the stolen rifle had
a hunting scene engraving where
the shotgun had a simple floral
pattern. This pattern couldn’t be
changed to a hunting scene even
though Walter did add to the floral
pattern. I had to just give up the
22 Mauser. It couldn’t really be
replaced anyway, since it was a
keepsake from an old Army friend
who didn’t make it home from Viet
Nam.
This time we mounted the scope
before having the barrels regulated.
The first two rounds of 293 gr.
TUG were touching, one over the
other, at the Rod and Gun Club’s
100 m range. When I took it back
to Walter, for finishing, I told him
not to change anything. We didn’t
even cut the regulating wedge off.
I learned as Battalion Maintenance
Officer of an Engineer Battalion
that “if it ain’t broke-don’t fix
it.” I had Walter change the serial
number to match the number on
the barrels, with an “E” added for
“Ersatz” (replacement). This was
noted on the IRS form 6 when I
came back to the States, and there
was no problem with the import.
I took my last red stag with the
replacement rifle. The story of that
hunt is pretty interesting, and I may
tell it sometime. (Pic MF 3)
While a good scoped Drilling
with mid-power rifle barrel and an
Einstecklauf may be the best “all
around” gun for someone hunting
in only one area, the situation
is different for a world-wide
hunter. Someone in the military,
an employee of a world-wide
company, or someone in a better
financial situation than I, may
encounter hunting situations that
a Drilling won’t satisfy. There are
many locations that don’t allow
a rifle and some that don’t allow
a shotgun. Most would allow a
Drilling (or other combination)
as long as no rifle (or shotgun as
appropriate) ammunition is in the
possession of the hunter. There are
some places where this exemption
doesn’t apply, however. It turned
out that the only reason I didn’t
get into trouble the times I went
pig hunting in Turkey was that the
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a machine. He had a piece of clock
spring on his head to keep his hair
out of his eyes. He filed quickly
and precisely, working within a
couple of thousandths of an inch
of expensive engraving without
making a single wrong stroke.
While he was working, he wouldn’t
say a word. When it was 10 o’clock,
he stopped, made a cup of coffee,
and read the newspaper. Then he
went back to work. Since this is
not about gunsmithing, I won’t go
through the whole process, but I
will say Gerold even polished the
areas he fitted with a fine-cut file
loaded with oiled chalk. Being
able to watch the process was very
valuable to me, and I will never
forget it.
After the barrels were fit
up, Walter sent them to the
(Rohrmacher) to have them
regulated. They try to regulate
them to hit within a 5 cm group.
I asked that they be regulated to
shoot parallel to each other. When
the barrels came back, the target
showed about a 2 ½ to 3 cm group.
Fred Schegelmilch fitted the scope
in claw mounts, and Walter blued
them. When I picked them up, I
was very excited to take them to
the Rod and Gun Club range. I was
shocked to see that they were no
longer regulated. I don’t remember
now whether they crossed or shot
wide, but the barrels printed about
3 inches from each other. This is the
difference mounting a scope can
make (but not always) to barrels
that have been regulated without
a scope. Since it was close to the
red deer season, I went ahead and
hunted with them until the season
was over. I just considered them
the same as a single shot. After
the season closed, I took the rifle
42
barrels. My acquaintance, Hans
Zimmerman, was just starting
to market the full caliber, full
length Einstecklaufs he had just
developed (www.zimmerman.de)
the last time I saw him. These offer
pretty exciting possibilities, even to
the point of an over/under shotgun
being set up to handle everything.
A set up with EAW or ERA swing
mounts and different scopes,
different caliber Einstecklaufs, and
single set triggers could handle
any conceivable situation. The
heavy caliber Einstecklaufs are not
available for drillings, but they are
for over/unders and other strong
lockup guns (www. einstecklauf.
de), (www.henneberger.de), and
(www.frankonia.de). Drillings can
be fitted with some useful calibers,
however, even 8x57IR, 8x57R/360,
8x58R which can make double rifle
drillings from some fine old pre-war
guns. Since I am so far “over the
hill” that I won’t be able to finish
the projects I already have going, I
will leave it up to someone else to
put a system like this together.
Waidmannsheil!
Mike Ford
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Turkish customs officials didn’t
know any better than I that rifles
were not allowed at all at that time,
1973. If I had known, I could have
just left the combination barrels
at home. In areas that don’t allow
hunting big game with shotguns,
I can use the double rifle barrels
and leave the others behind. The
different barrel sets that I chose
were the best for me and have been
satisfactory for forty years. (Pic
MF 4)
Now, however, there are choices
I didn’t have. Screw in choke
tubes would give the possibility
of needing only one set of shotgun
43
Sidebar - Mike Ford:
sitting in a Kanzel ( free standing
high seat) without roof. It was about
time for the morning’s hunt to be
over, when a fox appeared walking
down the trail. It was winter time,
and a winter fox has a thick pelt, so
I shot it with the 16 gauge barrel
and #6 shot. The fox was hit hard,
but got up and ran into the woods.
When Herr Balling walked from
his stand, he naturally asked what
I had shot. I told him what had
happened and he said we would
go back to his house and bring
his dog, a Longhaired Dachshund
( Langharr Dachshund, Deckel,
Teckel),to find the fox.
He fixed breakfast, and after
eating, we went back to find the
fox. He put the dog on the blood
trail, where it went into the thicket
and we went downwind to the next
woods’ road that paralleled the one
I was sitting on when I shot. We
walked into the woods a hundred
meters or so, and Herr Balling
started sniffing the wind himself.
I thought he was playing a joke,
but he smiled and pointed into
the woods saying “there.”
We
walked toward where he pointed,
and there lay the fox. We got to it
before the dog did.
I didn’t smell a thing, but in
those days I was smoking two packs
of cigarettes a day. I was amazed at
this feat, but wasn’t too surprised.
He had lived through fighting in
the Spanish Civil War, 3 1/2 years
fighting in Russia,4 1/2 years in
a Russian POW camp, so I knew
he was very resourceful. I took
the skin to a tannery in Kitzengen
a/Main and had it tanned. A hat
shop in Würzburg made a hat from
it, which is still the warmest hat I
own. I wear it on the coldest days
of the hunting season and it brings
back memories of Herr Balling, the
hunt, and the Büschseflinte that I
let get away from me.
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In my article” A Combination
For All Seasons,” I mentioned
having sold a 8X57IR/16GA
Büchseflinte
(side
by
side
combination gun) to obtain the
money to have double rifle barrels
built. This was a plain, but goodcondition gun with nice case
coloring, but little or no engraving.
As I remember (it was 30+ years
ago) it was a “no name” Trade
Gun that handled and shot very
well. I had a Bushnell scope with
“Command Post” reticle mounted
in claw mounts by Walter Grass’
shop. All in all, I would like to
have it back. I did hunt with it
several times, but recall one hunt
in particular that still sticks in my
mind, for a pretty unusual reason.
I was hunting one Saturday
morning on the Revier of my
friend, Herr Raimund Balling, in
Grosswenkheim near Münnerstadt.
Herr Balling had been a wonderful
friend for years; in fact I shot my
first Roe buck on this Revier. I was
Meet My Little Friend
by Jon Spencer
I was told once, by someone
wiser than I, that the three things
one should consider in collecting
guns are: Condition, condition,
and condition. Years of bitter
experience buying and selling guns
have shown me the wisdom of this.
However, since I have pretty much
given up on actually selling guns
and may insist that what I have all
be interred with my dust at some
distant day, I haven’t considered
this dictum as much of an
impediment to adopting something
new that interests me.
A case in point is my acquisition
a few years ago of a hammer cape
gun originally from the shop of
Reinh. Stadelmann of Suhl. The
price was pretty cheap and the metal
work looked really good. It was
tight when it locked
up; the barrels were
bright with no pitting,
had
rebounding
hammers, set trigger,
and the exterior had
no rust. It is a .43
caliber and a shortchambered 16 gauge.
The shotgun barrel
is Damascus and the
44
rifle, steel. It bears the “Vorrat”
proof mark, so given the style, was
probably an 1880’s gun. On the
down side, the butt stock had been
cut off at the wrist, probably to
powder, dear readers, is your
friend. It is inexpensive, easy to
clean up after, dependable, and
there is never any doubt about
how much to use as the cases were
designed to be full of it.
So now, I had a serviceable,
old and ugly rifle/shotgun.
Fortunately, I have a neighbor
adept in stock work. The repaired
buttstock had been done, actually,
with some attractive wood. It was
just somewhat reminiscent of a
canoe paddle. He was able to do
a little re-shaping to make it more
attractive and serviceable. He also
checkered, rather nicely, over the
repair seam so as to make it hardly
noticeable. At this point, I would
ask my collector friends to just
contain themselves. It looks OK
and it works.
For some reason, I mentioned,
at this time, my lack of a finger
rest to one of our acquaintances,
Joerg Schilling of Zella-Mehlis,
and was told an interesting story.
It sadly occurred that at the
occupation of Germany after the
war, his grandfather’s shop, Firma
Alfred Schilling, was shuttered and
sealed. Upon the commencement
of social justice and communal
spirit a short time later in what was
known as the German Democratic
Republic, the shop remained
closed but work continued in a
worker’s cooperative. This idyllic
state continued until 1991 when,
due certainly to the perverse selfserving nature of man, the socialist
experiment failed and, at long
last, Germany was reunited. At
this point, legitimate owners who
had been dispossessed by the East
German government were able
to reclaim their property. Mr.
Schilling, upon taking advantage
of this, found, in his grandfather’s
shop that things were pretty much
undisturbed since 1945. May I say
that in addition to other felicities
occasioned by this removal of
the oppressive boot from the true
owner’s neck, there was a horn
finger rest found in a drawer
suitable for my gun. Mr. Schilling
was persuaded to sell it to me at the
1945 price, plus interest.
As a result, I now enjoy the
use of a gun that is completely
serviceable, reasonably accurate,
and doesn’t look too bad either.
As for value, you can talk to my
widow.
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meet luggage requirements of 1945
and the horn finger rest behind the
trigger guard was missing.
My first project was to
determine what its chambers and
caliber were. In those days, I was
unacquainted with Mr. Galazan’s
handy chamber gauge for shotguns
and, as long as I was doing it for the
other barrel as well, I did chamber
casts with CerroSafe for both. As
expected the shotgun was a 2 ½”
chamber but the rifle was difficult
to determine. I annoyed both the
nice folks at Huelsen Horneber,
who make odd metric brass and
our own expert, Bernd Kellner.
Dieter Horneber was patient but
unable to help me but Bernd gave
me some good advice. He told me
that Stadelmann could only have
used what was available. Hmmm.
That led me to assume that the
chamber was, at least, based,
perhaps loosely, on the Spanish .43
cartridge. Who knows? Standards
for reamers were not, in 1880, what
they are today; but by shortening
this cartridge some, about 3/8”, it
worked. I bought some dies from
Midway, brass and bullets from
Buffalo Arms and, with some .45
cal. Wonder Wads and Goex black
powder, I was in business. Black
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A Great Day For Dusty
by James McCoskey
are plentiful, as are javelina, the
small desert pig. Turkey, doves
in abundance, even a small herd
of antelope and lesser game such
as coyotes, jack rabbits etc. insure
there is always something to hunt.
That fall day, we decided to
explore an area of high desert in a
remote section of the post which
had seen little or no recent training
or other use. I had looked it over
from the air. It looked like good
deer, javelina, and coyote country.
I opted to carry a neat little German
combination gun by F.W. Heym
with 20 bore shotgun and .222 cal.
rifle barrels, a “jack of all trades”
gun, not dedicated for either fur or
feather, but a good casual generalpurpose piece.
We parked our old International
Scout about noon and proceeded
south toward the mountains along
a dry, rocky creek bed.
Loading both barrels,
I frankly did not expect much.
Though the quail season was on, this
area didn’t look like bird country
to me. But it was an exceptionally
nice day, so we poked leisurely
along the creek bed, just enjoying
the outdoors with Dusty frisking
along ahead.
Our dog, incidentally, nearly
got left at home that morning.
Only a few weeks before, we had
reclaimed Dusty from our relatives
with whom she had been left
during our three-year Germany
tour. Dusty had two passions in
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(Ed. Note: Major General
McCoskey (Ind. Ret.) is the
author of Gunning Adventures
in Germany:
Reflections of
an American Soldier-Hunter,
available from the GGCA booklist,
order no. B085.)
Humming a cheerful tune,
my “better half” busied herself
at the kitchen counter prepping a
huge sirloin destined for the coals.
From a vantage point beneath the
kitchen table, a pair of big brown
eyes contemplated those culinary
preparations with interest. That
Saturday had been an unforgettable
day afield. Dusty, my good old
Brittany hunting buddy, long time
family pet, the Mrs. and I had just
returned from the damndest quail
hunt I have ever been on.
We’d set forth that
fine morning for nothing
more than a sort of “armed
ramble” over the always
interesting high desert
country of historic Fort
Huachuca, which lies at
the foot of the Huachuca
Mountains
in
south
central Arizona. The old
fort is a reminder of our
19th century border wars
against Apache raiders.
And, in fact the 1886
4th Cavalry expedition
which resulted in final
surrender of the renegade,
Geronimo, was launched
from there.
There is a plentiful
population of desert
quail; Gambels, Scaled,
and even the unique
and
somewhat
rare
Mearns variety. Petite
“Coues” whitetail deer
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wife and our eight-year-old son
went along to see Dusty perform.
A few minutes into this
expedition, our dog starting acting
“birdy.” Suddenly, up rocketed one
of the biggest old cock pheasants
I have ever seen!
Cackling
raucously, he fought for altitude
right in front of the pup’s nose! I
could not have been more surprised
if a bull elephant had risen up out
of that brown grass. Stunned, but,
acting on auto pilot, I popped him
with my .28 gauge Parker double
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life; hunting and eating. During
those three years, she got no
hunting but did get plenty to eat.
That dog just plain loved to eat!
Our doting family had indulged
her to the point that the trim young
debutante I left three years ago was
now a broad-beamed middle-aged
dowager. But she still loved to hunt
and she needed some exercise. We
just moseyed along, chubby little
Dusty hunting enthusiastically
some 30 yards ahead.
Dusty’s acquisition some five
years previous had been a really
lucky fluke. Just a puppy, and
abandoned, she had been found
by the Fort Riley, Kansas, Military
Police. They turned her over to the
post veterinarian, a friend of mine,
who made fruitless attempts to
find her owner. She was obviously
a top-quality dog with registered
breeding. My friend thought we would
get along, so brought her over one
evening. The wife, kids and I were
delighted to welcome her, and I
believe the feeling was mutual.
She proved the ideal dog for a
novice trainer like me. Because,
other than basic socialization,
and obedience, Dusty required no
formal training whatsoever. All she
ever needed was encouragement
and exposure. I played and worked
with her during the summer, but
had no opportunity to put her on
birds.
That autumn, military duty
took me to Germany for an annual
military exercise, which lasted
until opening week of the Kansas
hunting season. As soon as I got
home and over the jet lag, I took
Dusty on her first hunt. It was a
pleasant Saturday morning, so my
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Actually, the country on that side
looked quite a lot more promising
as we approached higher ground
closer to the Huachuca Mountains.
Dusty locked up solid on a thick
clump of mesquite and out boiled
three or four birds; I managed to
make my one shot count.
Though the Heym cocking
device resembles a standard top
safety, it is actually a sliding thumb
piece, loaded with a stout spring.
I had learned to manipulate this
fairly well, but it required some
thought that failed to take place in
this instance. So, I had two quail,
but only three shells left.
Dusty locked up tight again, in
a clump of grass. I waded in, and
a half dozen birds erupted. Ready
this time, the Heym cocked and
primed, I dropped one bird neatly.
Dusty laid the darndest looking
quail I ever saw in my hand.
Conformation-wise it looked like
a Bobwhite, but infinitely more
colorful; with big white polka dots
on a purplish breast and masked
face.
I knew I was looking at one
of the fabled “Mearns” quail
cocks. These high desert birds
are comparatively rare. They act
more like conventional Bobwhites,
in that they will hold for a dog
rather than running. Admiring this
unusual bird, we moved on. Soon
Dusty pinned a single and I shot it
too, this time a Mearns hen. Dusty
was the dog of the millenium!
I was especially gratified to
note the praise and affection heaped
upon our newly minted canine hero
by the wife, particularly so in view
of the fact that their relationship
had undergone some strains while
I was on field duty: (Puppyhood
piddling on the oriental carpet,
having to bail her out of the dog
pound after having dug out under
our fence, having to placate an
irate mom whose son Dusty had
nipped because he had hassled our
daughter at the playground)
By golly, I had a dog I’d bet
could find birds in the middle of
the Sahara Desert, and had shot
well with an unlikely gun too.
What more could a man ask for?
That big old sirloin was going to
taste mighty good, capping off that
magnificent day!
Abruptly, my idyll was
shattered! From the kitchen there
erupted a spate of enraged feminine
vituperation to which I had never
previously, and hope never again
to be exposed! I burst into the
kitchen. There, was my normally
calm, cool, gentle lady jumping
up and down, sputtering with
outrage! Dusty, on the other hand,
was cowering under the kitchen
table as far away from the storm as
possible. A glance at the kitchen
counter told the story. There, close
to the edge rested a conspicuously
empty platter upon which had
recently reposed that magnificent
sirloin! Only a smidgen of blood,
a few peppercorns, and a squiggly
blood trail down the front of the
cabinet, marked passage of that
luscious piece of beef into Dusty’s
voracious gullet!
Dinner that evening was not the
warm fuzzy affair I had such high
hopes for.
But, what the heck?
Dogs will be dogs! I confess to
slipping Dusty a surreptitious tidbit
or two of my hotdog by way of
forgiveness. We had many more fun
days together, but I like to think of
that one as Dusty’s GREAT DAY!
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before he leveled out. Dusty had
him in a flash. That was HER bird,
and we had a heck of a time getting
him away from her.
That first bird was a harbinger
of Dusty’s long career.
But getting back to that Arizona
day with my Heym, Dusty was up
front soldiering on as always over
that unpromising looking open
sandy ground cover of wispy dry
grass, studded with inhospitable
clumps of mesquite, cactus,
creosote, cat claw and the like.
After we had ambled about
300 yards or so up along the dry
creek bed, Dusty started acting
birdy, definitely on the job. Desert
quail are far more inclined to
run than sit tight. I thumbed the
Heym’s selector to shotgun mode
and moved up, just in case. I was
about to remove the Heym’s semiquick detachable 6x scope, when,
Whoosh! what looked to be a
20 bird covey of Gambels quail
erupted from among the head size
rocks populating that dry creek
bed. They flushed some 30 yards to
my left front, and most flew straight
ahead, but a half dozen or so broke
back over my left shoulder. By pure
instinct, plus a lot of luck, I found
one in the scope and slapped the
trigger. I was still in shock when
Dusty laid the top-knotted cock in
my unsteady hand. That remains
my luckiest shooting fluke to this
day! Quickly, I undid that scope,
stuck it in my belt, and went after
the singles. Singles, even desert
varieties, are more likely to hold
for a dog. Unfortunately, I had
only five shells left.
Because the preponderance
of the covey had flown across the
creek, we moved in that direction.
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Adventures With A Combination Gun: Acquiring, Scoping, Hunting With
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by Dennis Hrusosky
As a collector/shooter of
German sporting guns for over
forty years, I’ve developed a great
affection for the guns of Geb’r
Merkel. I’ve collected them,
carried them in the field, studied
their characteristics, admired
their workmanship and tinkered
with them to make modifications.
When I started to consider writing
this article, I thought my choice
would be a Merkel. So, I surprised
myself somewhat, when after some
reflection, I opted for this nifty little
Bockbuechsflinte (over and under
‘combination’ shotgun over rifle)
made by Adam Schork of München
(Munich) as my “Favorite German
Gun.”
Specifications:
Maker: Adam Schork –
München Serial #1241 Mfg’d
10/37
Type: “Bockbuechsflinte”
Action: Boxlock
Barrel: 24 3/8” or 62cm
Calibers: 16ga x 65 shotgun
over 5.6 x 52R rifle (.22 Savage
HP)
Sights: Leupold 1.5-5x Variable
scope
Wood: Stocked for left-hand
shooter w/Tyrolean cheek piece
Engraving: Pine cone and
needle motif
This particular A. Schork came
my way in 1985 while I was packing
up on a Sunday afternoon at one
of those great old O.G.C.A. gun
shows then held at Vet’s Memorial
Hall in Columbus, Ohio (those
were the days!). The Schork was
being “walked” through the show
by a young man whose uncle had
brought it back after the war. As
soon as he handed it to me, I knew
it was talking to me, saying, “Buy
me! buy me!” The voice became
stronger as I examined the gun. I
was immediately struck by three
particular features of this Schork
that I continue to appreciate. First,
the gun is stocked with high quality
wood for a left-handed shooter.
Second, the calibers include the
always-versatile 16 gauge over
a great small bore 5.6x52R (.22
Savage HP). Third, the engraving
is in the seldom seen pine-coneand-needle motif. I knew I had to
take this one home. As it turned
out, the young man wanted badly
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to sell. He had certainly found the
right guy so we didn’t have much
trouble coming to terms. After
parting with about $450, I had a
new German toy and home it went.
After I arrived home in Illinois,
my close inspection of the A.
Schork proved most satisfactory.
Mechanically and cosmetically, the
gun was fine. The 16 gauge bore
was as new while the rifle bore
showed only minimal wear. A close
look at the wood revealed no chips
or cracks. Although Schork was a
new name to me at the time, my
examination of this gun showed
him to be a skilled and artistic
maker. Subsequent opportunities
to view other Schork guns have
reinforced my initial opinion: A.
Schork knew his stuff!
The gun did have a problem that
required attention. The scope was
missing. For my use a scope was
mandatory. Interestingly, instead
of the usual claw mount bases;
this Schork had a single 2 ¼” long
dovetail base in the top rib. The
width of the base increased toward
the front of the rifle (I would guess
this original scope mounting system
has a name probably known to
fit on the integral Schork base.
After achieving a satisfactory fit,
the next step was to screw the
modified Leupold base to my new
adaptor. After some deliberation,
I fit my adaptor base with a single
set-screw to lock the scope base
to the Schork base. While it’s not
exactly quick detachable, I’ve
found that in the field the scope is
never off; so there’s no handicap
whatsoever. As to scope selection,
I wanted something compact yet
still as versatile as possible, given
the calibers of the Schork. What I
finally chose was a Leupold 1.5 –
5x Variable with matte finish. All
things considered and after twenty
years of use, I’m still pleased with
this choice.
This Schork has performed
extremely well for me in the
field. I have found enough
readily available Norma factory
ammunition that I’ve never had any
need to hand load. Norma loads
both a solid and a soft point bullet
that clock at 2790 fps. Designed
over ninety years ago, this cartridge
still enjoys a reputation in Europe
as an excellent game load. US
shooters probably consider it more
a varmint cartridge, but it works for
me. I have found that the Norma
ammunition will typically group 5
rested shots at 100 yards into a 2
½” group.
When shooting the 16 gauge
barrel, I found it necessary to know
where the gun patterned when
sighting through the scope set at its
lowest setting. It proved to be right
on, but the real bonus was finding
that when shooting clay birds
with the scope mounted, I had no
problem hitting just as well as I
ever do with any conventionally
sighted shotgun.
One area remains where a
combination gun really shines
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some of the readers of this journal).
In any case, this system proved a
boon because after some thought
and planning, getting a scope back
on the rifle proved to be rather
simple. I had to deal with several
considerations when mounting
the scope. First and foremost, I
didn’t want to alter the gun in any
way. Second, I wanted to keep the
mount as compact and as solid as
possible. After some searching and
investigation, I turned up a onepiece Leupold base about 2 ½”
long (originally for a pistol) that I
modified for this project by milling
the bottom flat. Of course, this
base allowed the use of standard
Leupold or Redfield detachable
scope rings.
The next step was to make
an adaptor: a piece of mild steel
.750 x .250 x 2.750 long with a
dovetail slot milled in the bottom
and hand filed to a close sliding
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So, this A. Schork has served
me well, logging many hours and
miles afield over the past twenty
years with never a glitch. It’s still a
joy to carry and it’s effective. Even
though I knew this A. Schork was a
keeper from the very start, I had no
idea how attached I would become.
I’ve started to consider “Viking”
style send-offs. I might have to
grab this Schork to accompany me
on the voyage. Who knows what
you might encounter!
shotgun slug and muzzleloaders,
you might be legal with a
combination gun or drilling as long
as you are not in possession of any
rifle ammunition. Better check!
I’m sure there are other gray
areas, depending on the species
and the state involved. Far better to
check with your regional DNR than
to risk a very expensive citation in
the field.
*Some twenty-five years ago I
ran into several “old-timers” (that’s
anyone 15 years older than you)
who shared the opinion that there
was no better turkey gun than a
scoped German combination gun
or Drilling with a small bore rifle
barrel (.22 vierling or .25-20).
What with turkey hunting being
more popular than ever today, I
assume there are still some states
where, if legal, these guns would
still be an excellent choice.
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for American hunting, but I can’t
recall ever hearing it specifically
mentioned.* That area would be
varmint calling, especially with
an electronic caller. Somehow
my own time afield has evolved
into spending much more time
hunting our ever-increasing coyote
population than the time spent on
all my other hunting combined.
In the pursuit of “Wile E,” the
Schork rifle barrel serves well to a
range of 100-125 yards, while the
shotgun barrel works effectively
in thick cover out to 30 – 35 yards.
Since coyotes can materialize out of
nowhere in thick cover, the Schork
is a real comfort (to me, not the
coyotes). I did have a local friend
who is a very experienced hand
loader fix me up with 16 gauge 2
½” shotgun loads with both BB
and No 4 buckshot. These loads
have proved out nicely on coyote.
Addendum
Something I must mention is
that with the variety of game laws
in this country, I think it would
be wise to check into the legality
of hunting with any combination
gun in your state or district. For
example, in most states where deer
hunting is only permitted with
Our Vision-Our Mission
Our Association was founded in 1998 with the vision to preserve the history of Germanic hunting and
sporting guns and the makers for future generations and for us, and
To share this history with like-minded people in the United States, in Germany and the entire world.
To achieve this, we established a permanent non-profit organization guided by democratic principles which
welcomes members from all over the world, and
To collect and share information on Germanic guns, from earliest to modern hunting and sporting gun, as
well as information about the rich heritage of the Germanic hunting tradition.
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as a 501c3 educational non-profit association.
Our Association depends on the support of our members and generous donors.
We invite you to join us and to take advantage of our various activities and services.
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answers to e-mail inquiries.
51
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Front Cover
1. Trade Side-by-Side Hammer Combination Gun in 8X57JR X 16 Ga.
2. Christoph Funk-Suhl Side-by-Side Combination Hammer Gun in .43 Mauser X 16 Ga.
3. Charles Hoffaker-München Over/Under Hammer Combination Gun in 12 Ga. X 10.5X52R.
4. Hans Lechner Hammer Combination Gun in .22 r.f. X 6.5X57R
Back Cover
1. Simson Side-by-Side Combination Gun in 8X57JR X 16 Ga.
2. Collath-Frankfurt Over/Under Combination Gun in 16 Ga. X 8X58R Sauer
3. Herman Weihrauch-Zella-Mehlis Boxlock Over/Under Combination Gun in 16 Ga. X 8X57JR.
4. Remo-Suhl Sideplate Over/Under Combination Gun in 16 Ga. X 8X57JR
52