doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion German & Austrian Sporting Guns @ doublegunshop.com Educate me on barrel regulation (BBF)

A morning at the range with my Sauer Model 54 16ga over .30-30 revealed that:

With the non-adjustable folding rear sight flipped up, the rifle barrel sent bullets exactly where I aimed at 50 yards. However, slugs (of various brands and weights) out of the shotgun barrel flew 12-16 inches high with the sights.

Similar results (high) with shot patterns at 25 yards using the sights.

With the sight folded down the shotgun barrel shoots flat, with nicely centred patterns at 25 yards.

In other words, it shoots well as a rifle when in rifle mode and it shoots well as a shotgun when in shotgun mode, but one must not mix the two.

Presumably this is how it should be? Thanks in advance.

nine, I don't have an O/U combination gun but do have one SXS combo and 4 drillings. My experience echo's yours. None of them will shoot slugs very close to the sights at 50 yards, 6 inches was the best and the worst was over a foot. At 25 yards two of the four drillings would do in a pinch.

Gentlemen,

To my knowledge once slugs such as Wilhelm Brenneke's 1898 patent variety became the thing to carry along in one's pocket, when out and about in areas frequented by wild boar, the better German gun makers made a point of regulating the left shotgun barrel (rear trigger) to shoot a slug to the same POA (close anyway) as the rifle barrel at 50 meters ... that is with a conventionally configured drilling, rifle barrel mounted below the SXS shot barrels. Remember with the vast majority of conventionally configured drillings, when the selector is switched to activate the rifle barrel the rear sight will flip up and pulling the front trigger will set off the rifle cartridge. Though the right shot barrel is taken out of action in this mode pulling the rear trigger will set off the left barrel turning your drilling, with a slug cartridge in the chamber, into for all practical purposes a double rifle. I have not witnessed nor heard of O/U combinations "bockbuchsflintes", SXS rifle/shotgun combinations "buchsflintes" (some call them "Cape Guns") or any other combinations being set up in this manner. In other words, with these "other" combinations the shot barrel is simply that so don't be expecting a slug to be showing up on your target in close proximity to where the rifle shows up. If it does, IMHO, such would be by coincidence and nothing more. Our friend Axel and perhaps a few of our other more knowledgeable members may have seen or heard differently, let's see.

Regards,

Mark

When the rear side flipped it's only to aim the rifle barrel! Never for the shot gun barrel.

I have two O/U combo guns and one drilling set up for coyote hunting. All of them set up 100 or 200 yard zero will print shot loads on the cross hairs at 40 yards. I have 10 boxes of 2.5" Brenneke's but don't hunt anything but preds so haven't done much work with them. I bought them for my JP Sauer drilling 16x16/7x57R in case I decide to do some bear calling. I did fire a couple and they seemed to print close enough at 50 yard to be useable.

My vision isn't good enough to use the flip up sight any longer.

Interesting. There would appear to be two different intentional approaches to barrel regulation.

Oskar,

When commenting about your Sauer drilling and your experience with the 2.5" Brenneke slugs you say "I did fire a couple and they seemed to print close enough at 50 yard to be useable." Was this firing the Brenneke slugs out of your left barrel, right barrel or both? Also, what was your average "close enough at 50 yard to be useable" distance between rifle and slug groups? Just curious.

Regards,

Mark

I just fired out of the right and it was in a paper plate at 50 yards. I just wanted to see if a quick shot inside 50 would be effective without having to mess with the barrel sector.

I'm headed to the range on Monday, I'll take a few along and try them again and see how they do.

Oskar,

When you're at your range Monday and shooting 50 yards, with your Sauer drilling's barrels cold and loaded with a Brenneke slug in the left barrel and a rifle cartridge chambered below, position your selector to fire the rifle barrel. Then, with your cross-hairs on target fire the rifle barrel (front trigger), acquire your target again and then pull the rear trigger. Of course, as usual, most like groups of three at a minimum to understand how you're actually shooting so, between your front/rear combos be sure to let the barrels cool again. This is typical procedure for shooting double rifles which is pretty much what you will have in your hands Monday when your drilling is loaded in this manner (slug in the left barrel and rifle below).

Have fun and let us know the results.

Regards,

Mark

I got to the range today and they had changed the locks two weeks earlier than they said in the renewal notice said. It will be a couple weeks before I get a new key, meetings are on the third Tuesday of the month.. I'll keep it in mind when I get out there again.