Hello again to all. I just picked up a 16ga T+S Nimrod SxS the other day and have been going over it. From what I have read on the net and what I can see, it appears to be very well made. The action looks to be simple, yet extremely strong. Can any of you shed more light on what I see here?


The engraving is intricate and covers the gun completely. The checkering is also very fine and looks well done.




I have had it open and removed the spring and hammer. Everything looks as it should.



I plan on eventually cleaning up the wood as it shows signs of years of usage. Lots of dings and scratches to size up.

I have read that T+S stopped making guns during WWII. What I am trying to determine is the age of this one. It has 2 9/16" chambers and the serial number is in the 36400 range. Here are some pics of the stampings.





Any info, opinions, experience is appreciated.

Dilly541,
Since it was proofed in Suhl and I couldn't see a date stamp, I trhink it was proofed between 1912 and 1923. It looks like a nice one to me. It looks like the right barrel is cyl. bore and the left is choked ( amount of constriction unknown).
Mike

My T&S Nimrod drilling is number 400xx, only 4-500 away from yours.

The bottom barrel (rifle) has the bore size stamped and "1137", Nov. 1937?

Thanks Mike for the info as always. I measured the barrels with proper tools and they are choked roughly at imp/mod and very full. I was a bit puzzled by the k with the jagged circle stampings on each barrel. Overall It appears solid to me in every way and my gunsmith was enthusiastic about seeing it.

Does anyone know more about the makers? Were they relatively unknown or a low production/good quality outfit?

Rob, I looked all over for a stamping like that and came up empty. My Sauers all have them, but this one does not.

A very fine example of a Nimrod action, certainly in much better shape than my Nimrod drilling from T&S. Mine is currently undergoing a renovation in the hands of Torsten Retz, a gunmaker in Suhl who manufactures a modern version of the Nimrod action. http://www.retzandson.com/de









Torsten tells me that the locks have interrupted sears, the first he has seen on a Nimrod action.

Good on you for resurrecting that drilling. Sounds like you found the man for the job too.

Does your gun have an auto safety? Mine does not and I can’t tell if it has been modified for that, or if it was made that way.

I have not yet had the drilling in my hands, so I really can't say, but I can't remember any of my drillings (mostly Krieghoffs) with an automatic safety. If it does have one, I would want it disconnected.

Automatic safeties arguably make sense with a shotgun, but I don't see the rationale for one with a drilling. Drillings have enough options for the shooter to choose from without adding another factor to the reloading procedure.

I agree with you on the drilling safety. My drilling has a greener style and there is lots to think about when you suddenly have things to shoot in front of you.

Dilly141,
The proof dates were stamped by the proof house, not the manufacturer. The likely reason your Sauers are dated and the T&S is not is because the Suhl proof house started dating them around 1923. The T&S likely went through before then and the Sauers were likely later. This can be confusing because the Zella-Mehlis proof house started dating them much earlier than Suhl and also marked the ledger number.
Mike

That’s great info. Thanks again.
Do you happen to know anything more about the firm? I read a bit about them in Norbert Klups book and it seems they had a solid reputation for building quality drillings. The action is remarkable in that it seems so simple.

Dilly541,
I really don't know as much about the company as others on this forum. I'm sure one or more members have T&S guns, mostly drillings. Maybe drillings are discussed more because of having to ID the rifle calibers and finding a way to load rifle ammo. Shotguns, on the other hand are pretty straight forward. Maybe one of the T&S owners will chime in.
Mike

I did some research when I got my drilling about 20 years ago, from what I found T&S was a very good maker and their Nimrod was considered very good.

I emailed some pics to Dietrich Apel, he was quite interested so one year I brought it to the Vintagers and showed it to him. He said he hadn't seen that type safety on a drilling and took some pics for his records.






I also purchased Norbert Klups two fine books, one on drillings and the other on double rifles. T&S are mentioned several times, they are highly thought of box actions, he mentions they are still being produced as mentioned by xausa.

Thanks again to all for the above info. I hope more will join in the conversation.

Shot the T+S today at skeet. The tight patterns really vaporized the clays but it went bang every time and the triggers are nice. Long barrels helped with my swing too. She’s a keeper.

I knew that from your first post...good on you!

Love those Nimrod internals!