Chiming in a bit late on this one...
Labowner, do you own a bird dog?
Reason being, love my drillings and capes but from what I have learned, Germany was/is not the place for wingshooting so most of those drillings were made to shoot things from a high stand with the shotgun reserved for smaller furred varients mainly hare, fox, etc. That should explain the way that most of them are stocked. Even as a shotgun they were more like a rifle.
Now the dog issue. Given the choice I have found that without going to a dural frame, the lightest (most shotgun like) drillings are the hammer guns. A rifle is a rifle unless you are driving deer so the hammers shouldn't matter.
I don't know about you, but shooting birds without a dog present is difficult enough without having to deal with cocking hammers - hence shooting over a pointer with a hammer gun really isn't any issue.
I have a blitz action Meffert that is a fantastic rifle in 7x57r but as a 7.75# 16 ga it has something to be desired.
The solution of course is to purchase two drillings - a hammer and a blitz action. Oh, and of course a pointer if you don't already have one.
Cheers
Tom
