Thanks to these forums I know a lot about W Foerster in Berlin, and Heym Patent 60215. I have a drilling brought back from WWI in 1918. W Foerster on 1 side, Berlin on the other. W Foerster on top ribbing between barrels. Heym Patent 60215 underneath so obviously made after 1891. 3 barrels(SxS shotgun, and rifle). 3 triggers. No hammers.
Maybe im not looking in right direction, but how many drillings by Foerster are hammerless? How many had 3 triggers? It seems once they figured out the 3 trigger system, they quickly modified it to just 2 triggers. Any info or direction is appreciated, i cant seem to find many examples that resemble this setup.
https://www.germanhuntingguns.com/archives/archive-heym/You'll find Heym's patent info in the above link to Dietrich Apel's website with the most adept custodian Larry Schuknecht.
Förester was more of a firearms merchant rather than a maker. He had to source Heym, or a Heym contractor with the skills for the patent, for the 3 trigger Dreiling. They are uncommon.
Serbus,
Raimey
rse
There are a fair amount of W. Förester offerings out there. I think Heym had the thought of replacing the selector, as found on hammer Dreilings prior to 1891, with a 3rd trigger. So the end user had to decide whether to go with a traditional selector for the 3rd shot or to follow Heym with a 3rd trigger on the new fangled hammerless platforms.
https://www.germanhuntingguns.com/archives/archive-forster-foerster/Serbus,
Raimey
rse
Ive talked the the Heym company about the gun. Their thoughts were it was made by Foerster with the help Of Heym, or a Heym associate as you mentioned. Their reasoning was Foerster most likely made it because his name is in 2 locations, and there are no other names on the gun. Does that sound correct? Or should I take the gun apart and look for evidence elsewhere on the gun?
When I break the gun over, engraved on one side is the crown over the U, and the numbers 124. On the other side is 2222 CH. Maybe the CH is Conrad Heym who wouldve been able to help Foerster?
No, I don't think W. Förester applied much effort to the longarm as he had say 24 years in 1861. CH just may be Conrad Heym but it could be Christoph Heym as well. Pleasure us with some images marks & possibly we can make a stab at the actual mechanic who made it.
Serbus,
Raimey
rse
W. Förester would have had a client come in asking for a 3 trigger Dreiling and then W. Förester would have in turn placed an order with Heym, or C.Heym who acquired a Gesteck / Parts Kit from Heym with the 3 trigger platform. It is entirely possible that W. Förester ordered an >>in the white<< platform and had his mechanics to complete it. But the typical sourcing line was to send a telegram to a mechanic or compagnie in Suhl, have them make & the put the retailer's name on it, and put it on the next Ox Cart to Berlin.
Serbus,
Raimey
rse
Conrad Heym hung out his gunmaking shingle in 1876 so he could have been a contemporary of W. Förester. But with the proofmarks being original to the longarm, then the longarm would date to post 1893. Now there could have been several generations of Conrad Heym as well as W. Förester.
Serbus,
Raimey
rse
Wilhelm Förester hung out his gunmaking shingle in 1861, the if typical @ an age of 24 years, he would have been born circa 1837. Paul Schmidt was @ the helm of the firm from say 1925 forward, so assuming Wilhelm Förester passed within a year or two prior, Wilhelm Förester would have lived to 86 - 87 years??
Serbus,
Raimey
rse
I posted a few links to pics. The gun was brought back from WWI in 1918 so the window it was made is pretty slim. 1891 from Patent, to 1918 at the very latest. Just an interesting gun and wondering if they are a dime a dozen in this setup, or how rare is it.
I would say pretty rare. Most interesting inletting or sculpting of the frame on the A&D Body Action. Pattern welded tubes, so that too dates. it. Lovely wood with Ebony inserts @ the rear of the Church Windows.
Serbus,
Raimey
rse
I got a few more pics of proof marks. Looks like a 16 gauge SxS, over a .410 equivalent rifle. 2 numbers are repeated, "2222" and "124". What do those mean? And there are stamps above the 67/47, but they are hard to make out, any recognize them?
https://ibb.co/pPzSH9nhttps://ibb.co/qWtLZPhhttps://ibb.co/c69XVYkhttps://ibb.co/HK2GstLhttps://ibb.co/7G5LDd4https://ibb.co/4jV731mhttps://ibb.co/sKrnX8j
2021 Durama,
The photos wouldn't open for me. The mark 64/49 (guessing the 9 misread as 7) is the bore (not groove or bullet) diameter expressed in gauge measurement. This works out to 10.41mm and the nominal caliber might be 10.75X whatever the case length is in mm.
Mike
>>2222<< and >>124<< are the makers serialization and the firearms merchant's serialization.
That frame filing is just spectacular.
Serbus,
Raimey
rse
![[Linked Image from i.ibb.co]](https://i.ibb.co/L9DYZyz/IMG-2901-2.png)
![[Linked Image from i.ibb.co]](https://i.ibb.co/DRQfhRR/IMG-2897-2.png)
![[Linked Image from i.ibb.co]](https://i.ibb.co/H2zjckX/1.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.ibb.co]](https://i.ibb.co/FqfDKvJ/IMG-E2895-2.jpg)