About a year ago now, I managed to get my hands on a Drilling that went for less than $200 at an estate auction. I would really love to get it shooting again- it would be perfect when a coyote jumps out of the brush while we're quail hunting. A local guy specializing in Drillings says it should be safe; it's nitro proofed.
Right now my main questions are about proper bullets for the rifle barrel, but if anyone cares to tell me a bit about this gun's history or anything otherwise, I'd be happy to hear it.
Here's a shot of the proof marks.
Note that the chamber is marked 9 with a small superscript 3, and 72, while the barrel itself is stamped 9mm. This has caused me some confusion, because I've done a chamber cast, and eyeballing it, the cast seems to be a perfect match to factory loaded (RWS and Norma) 9.3x72mm R ammunition I have on hand. These rounds fit perfectly in the chamber with no discernable play, and the action closes fine.
However, I slugged the bore with a couple soft lead balls, and the groove diameter is only 9.0mm (.354") ahead of the chamber, and constricts (or may be dented) to 8.9mm (.350") towards the muzzles. Thus, it sounds like the markings are correct, in that I have a 9.3x72mm chamber and a 9mm barrel.
Elsewhere, someone suggested it may be a 9x72R (8.7x72mm), which is made from the 9.3x72mm brass. But I can't detect any bottleneck or shoulder at all on the chamber cast.
