For a long time I have been about to make a description of an interesting drilling that I inherited four decades ago. This gun came to my family as a gift presented to my father by the widow of a Swiss gentleman in gratitude for helping her to arrange the legal procedures that arose upon his death in 1952. According to family lore it arrived to Chilean shores as NIB in the 1920´s, date I cannot confirm from its proof marks.
This gun has several features that makes it a well balanced hunting tool.
It tips the scales at 7 lb 10oz, with 26.75" Krupp barrels in 12 Ga and a lower barrel in 25-35 caliber (6.5 x 52R). It is the prescribed weapon for close to mid distance encounters with deer/boar/wood-pigeon in the Chilean Southern temperate woods. The front trigger operates the right barrel as well as the rifle barrel, that has also a hair trigger option. Chamber length is 67.5 mm and barrel chokes are Full/Full. For several considerations I have not made forcing cone lengthening nor choke openning. There is no provision for scope nor is needed under most local hunting conditions.
Its boxlock receiver displays a red deer on its left side and a running roe deer on the right one.
This drilling has an easy openning system that operates on a patented mechanism registered by Eckoldt´s own company. Following standard teutonic traditions this gun sports a Greener cross bolt and a side safe as well as barrel side clips. The trigger guard is not original, the old one was horn made in all probability.
Few years ago this gun went into a refurbishing scheme including new stock and fore-end made by Mario Zavala as well as barrels re-bluing done by Juan González. Re-engraving was needed a the receiver´s bottom, that had been soldered after a crack previous to my tenure. It was postponed for lack of a suitable engraver at that time.
These are the drillings old woods.
The new stock had to be of Bavarian style, with a buffalo horn butt as well as a grip cap that both were present in the original stock. It was made from Chilean grown European walnut and to my own dimensions.
More improvements are still in the waiting list, as more engraving is needed, with accantus folliage at the receiver´s bottom as well as on the trigger guard. Maybe a .22 Win.Mag. insert would be a good option to consider, for the occasional fox or beaver. All in all, I feel quite satisfield to have brought this old piece of German ingenuity to recover part of its past glory and performance.
Comments and questions are welcomed,
EJSXS
