doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Krieghoff Drilling Rifle caliber help

I have a chance to purchase a decent box lock pre war Krieghoff drilling. Date of manufacture is 1931. It is SXS 16 guage with the rifle caliber advertised as 25-35 WCF. The rifled barrel is marked 6.3mm over 58 1/2. Does anyone know what the rifle caliber really is? Thanks in advance.

Maybe 6.5X58 Sauer or 6.5X58 1/2 R.

25-35 WCF equates to 6.5X52R but the power may vary.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

6.5x52R

The 6.5x52R is a European cartridge that is a close variant of the .25-35 Winchester. It should not be considered identical to the .25-35 Winchester and is not treated as such by the Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes � Feu Portatives (CIP), which has released separate specifications for each cartridge. The 6.5x52R has its origins in Germany and was introduced by RWS and is chambered in many drilling and single shot rifles. Any interchangeability between the two cartridges is solely dependent on individual chamber tolerances and should not be assumed

I suspect this may possibly be the cartridge. The only way to tell for sure is to get a chamber cast. Any good gunsmith can do this for you.
Jim

Jim is correct,the only way to tell for sure is a chamber cast. Very easy to do if you want to try it yourself with cerosafe

Another fairly common designation is 6.35x52R.

I have seen the length on drillings and German rifles stamped on the barrels as longer than the actual caliber designation. Does the stamped length take into account the total length of the round including the projectile? I always wondered why it was done this way.
Thanks again.

The caliber of the drilling is 6.5x58R Sauer & Sohn. This cartridge is also known as 6.5x58 1/2R ( 8x58R and 9x58R are both some times shown as "58 1/2"- case length is actually between 58mm and 59 mm).This cartridge was a popular cartridge,especially for hunting where the largest game expected was Reh (Roe)deer.The 25-35 Win. aka 6.5x52R is a distinctly different cartridge with similar ballistics,and was used for the same game,but very different case shape.I never tried,so I don't know if a 25-35W will even chamber in a 6.5x58R.Cases can be made from original length 38-55 cases or bought from Buffalo Arms or Bertram at a higher cost. Bullet diameter is usually.260-.262" rather than the normal .264" of 6.5mm bullets. The normal 6,5mm bullets can be resized to the required diameter,or some people have satisfactory results with .257" 25 cal bullets.If you just will not handload,there are custom handloaders that will do it for you. Your local gunsmith will likely help you find one.
The diameter stamped on the barrel is the bore,not groove or bullet diameter,and the length is the length of the case.Neither is necessarially the same as the nominal caliber designation.These marks were placed by the proofhouse,not the manufacturer.
I hope this helps-have fun.BTY the 16 ga. chamber will be 2 9/16",not 2 3/4".
Mike

While I believe Der Ami is correct if you're going to want to shoot this gun spend the small amount to get a cast of the chamber or do it yourself as Dave described. Safety is always of primary concern to me and I'd rather be safe than sorry.
BTW: If you go the do it yourself route you'll need a dial micrometer preferably calibrated in millimeters to do the measuring.
Let us know the results
Jim

AS a general rule, I too believe a chamber cast is best.It just seemed that the drilling had sufficient info in the markings,while the owner may not have been prepared to make one.
Mike