doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Practical combination gun?

Quite by accident I ran across the Chiappa Double Eagle combination gun in 20-gauge/.22. Not expensive, but build quality is unknown to me. There is a .410/.22 magnum version as well. They also make a skeletonized survival version in .410/.22 .

https://www.sportsmans.com/shooting...e22-long-rifle-over-under-19in/p/1506153

I'll wade into this, I have a soft spot for combo guns and drillings, and I use them a lot. I'm a predator hunter and there is nothing better when you're calling in the thicker stuff. Coyotes can sneak in to some very close ranges before you see them, they can use brush and creases in the land to suddenly appear at your feet. Having a shotgun barrel loaded with NP BB's is really handy, then again they will hang up outside of shotgun range and survey the situation and the rifle barrel will do the trick.

My favorite drilling for preds is a 1926 no name drilling in 16ga/16ga/6.5x58R Sauer with a low mounted 1-4x20 scope and handles like lightning. I've killed more than one pheasant on the way back from a stand. Inside 40 yards an ounce of BB's will get the job done, no need for heavy loads of buckshot as the rifle barrel is there for the longer work.


No slouch in the accuracy department either.


Get in a little more open country where you can stretch out the rifle yet having a shotgun is really handy and you don't have to reach down and change weapons, the rifle is just a different trigger away.
BRNO 12ga/5.6x52R(22 Sav. Highpower) 55gr .228 bullets are availible.


Again more than adequate for 300 yard preds.


Another dandy combo Bernardelli 12ga/5.6x50R Mag


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Literally the worst designed combo gun Sav. Model 24 223/20ga. While both are more than adequate for the job getting them to fire isn't. To shoot it you have to reach up and cock it then move the selector and for the second shot you have to go through the process again. Be sure and mount your scope high enough to get your thumb to the hammer and then build up the stock so you can see through the scope without having to bob and weave your head around, it didn't take long for this one to hit the road.


Now this is a dandy combo gun American Arms(Marrochi) 12ga/222 Rem with Winchokes again it is a sub MOA rifle. It went to a turkey hunter that was plagued with coyotes stalking his turkey decoys.


Someone mention get a bird gun for upland, well this one is one of my favorites it handles as nice as some of my better sxs's. 1906 drilling 16ga/16ga/9.3x72R. It works well on fur also. I do have to reach up and cock it though.


And my favorite big game drilling for still hunting the northwoods. JP Sauer 16ga/16ga/7x57R again no slouch in the accuracy dept.


The ideal combo gun has two triggers(instant barrel selection) and a safety(no cocking hammers), solid scope mount, low power variable for the large FOV and enough X's to reach out a ways and preferably a rimmed rifle cartridge to your choosing for the game you intend to hunt. A set of shotgun barrels are handy too.

The BRNO

oskar, you have definitely had experience with combination guns of most types. Have you ever tried a Valmet? There are lots of them around, and they bring pretty strong prices in good condition. I owned a 12 ga. Valmet trap gunfor several years and found it to be a very solid competition gun. They are built strong and, according to a close friend of mine who owns several sets of combination rifle/shotgun barrels sets for his, are noted for good accuracy from the rifle barrel. Just wondering if you've had experience with them, since you didn't mention them.

I have not used the Valmet yet. I've bid on a couple but haven't been successful. They are or were recently available new and have quite a selection of barrel combinations. I saw one that was being sold with seven sets of barrels. I believe that Sav rebranded some Valmets as the 2400 but don't quote me on that. Interestingly Valmets haver come with single triggers with a selector on the trigger and double triggers. They are good combo gun with the option of double rifle barrels or double shotgun barrels.

The American Arms combo above has the barrels adjustable for point of impact. For some reason I think Marrochi is making the Valmets now, something I might have read.

I suspect this was common knowledge here, but it was educational for me. It's a shame that they are so collectable and that I'm a southpaw.

Oscar's experiences and favorites are much different than mine, but the very differences illustrate the advantages of combination guns.

If I am not mistaken the Valmets have the rifle barrel adjustable for POI. They're now being produced and sold by a Swedish company, maybe Tikka? The Remington 3200 and the Kreighoffs have the same locking system as the Valmets and Tikkas.

As is usual here, I learn a few things and then I set off to see what else I can uncover. Drillings are a subject that is very-much on the fringe of the gun world (IMHO) and while I can't really justify any need for one, I still find them appealing on several levels. The biggest of those is simply the level of quality that most were made too (ahh those Germans!) and then... the utility of perhaps having one for "special occasions" (which likely includes showing it off to your friends). Like with so-many things for me, I need to sit with something for a while and slowly do the analysis on it (I'm sorry, I'm just wired that way. No changing that now). I'm usually very deliberate in my actions (& my purchases) which is clearly a vestige of growing up in 1960s Appalachia. Frugal to a fault and pretty hard-headed too. But...I've come to understand what I like and don't like about the various options (& there are plenty).

I'm not a fan of the highly engraved versions and I don't want or need a scope or even a scope mount, simple and efficient is the key (at least for me) on this subject. You hear German guns compared to coo-coo clocks and for my tastes, that comparison is apt. I'm not knocking the level of skill and effort those engravings require but they're just not for me. The English approach to gun decor has always appealed to my sense of form following function. The WWII Luftwaffe guns are almost perfect in my estimation, as they adhere to that minimalist approach.

It seems that they even have their own specialty dealers, and Gunsinternational is fairly loaded with them. There are even left-handed versions that I have found (!), not cheap but they do exist. At the moment, an early gun with hammers and damascus tubes would be just about perfect in my humble estimation & now I just need to find it. All seem to mostly have the bigger 9.3x74R rifle cartridge, but I can work around that one with a sub-caliber insert to suit my needs. I would think a .22 Magnum or even a .22 Hornet would be about perfect. Functional (& more-modern) versions can be found in about the $2,500 range.

https://classicsportingguns.com/index.html

Lloyd3,
You mentioned Hammer Drillings, saying "all seem to have the bigger 9.3x74R rifle cartridge", while the 9.3x74R is one of the world's great cartridges I think you will find that more of the old hammer drillings are 9.3x72R instead of 9.3x74R. While older, the 9.3x72R is also a great cartridge in the class of 38-55 or 35 Remington, whereas the 9.3x74R is in the class of the 375 H&H Magnum Flanged. I find both 22Magnum and 22LR useful in the righthand shot barrels of my drillings (can use the set trigger and automatic rifle sight). I do find a scope essential for my use, however.
Mike