doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion German & Austrian Sporting Guns @ doublegunshop.com Gold inlay Cape - seeking info E.F . BUCHEL IN ME

My uncle recently decided to move out of the country and I purchased all of his guns. Included in the group was a gun he gave me that belonged to my grandfather. He brought it back from WWII. It is a side by side cape gun in 16g x unknown rifle bore. I have read that there should be markings telling me the guage and caliber but I can't find any. The name on the barrel is E.F. BUCHEL IN MEHLIS. Any info you can provide would be appreciated.

[img:left]https://imgur.com/5rjCY8p[/img]

[img:left]https://imgur.com/E6FUdXk[/img]

[img:left]https://imgur.com/3Z5EyrW[/img]
[img:left]https://imgur.com/rhh0sFQ[/img]

Cast chamber, measure and compare, remove all doubt.

Ditto

If you can't find any proof marks your gun is probably older that the proof law; say from the 1880s. So probably chambered for a nice fat black powder rifle round - another reason to make chamber cast right away (and report the findings here).

With kind regards,
Jani

I can't find your man in Heer/Stoeckel but his guns are all over the 'net. Mostly percussion guns, so your gun could be older, from the 1870s. What is the approximate diameter of the rifle bore?- Jani

bdb,
I did not see any indication of the barrels having been removed, at least not in the photos. Proof marks, if any, will be on the bottom of the barrels, which must be removed to see( and photograph) proof marks. Proof marks, if any, will provide helpful information, but to definitively ID the cartridge you should follow Sharps 45-90 and montenegrin's advice. A sketch with dimensions to the closest thousandths of an inch will be most helpful. This level of precision in dimensions is common with gunsmiths and handloaders, so don't be afraid of it. Mehlis is an area near Suhl and has a Proof house nearby( Zella-Mehlis).
Mike

They are pretty worn. It appears to be AL followed by an F, E or H on the smooth barrel. On the rifled barrel, it is mostly unreadable but appears to be the same as the other barrel.

[img:left]https://imgur.com/a/IfiYM[/img]

Didn't even know casting the chamber was a thing. A buddy of mine has done it and has the equipment so I will report when we get it done.
Thanks for the advice.