Tweet
I would welcome any information or comments on this Sauer shotgun. First just let me say that what conclusions I have drawn are based on information I found in Jim Cate’s Sauer book, and also the reprint of the 1907 Sauer catalog. The gun is a 12 gauge SxS boxlock, round top action, and I believe it to be a Model 11, based on the screw location for the sears and the non-scalloped frame. Serial no. is 207802, which I think puts it somewhere around 1922. The proofing was not dated on the barrel flats. Barrels are 30’’ long, Krupp Fluss-Stahl, and the right barrel is cylinder bore (note that there is no crown/W stamped under the right barrel) and the left barrel is choked modified. The barrel rib has two ivory beads, the muzzle one .155 dia and the mid barrel one .090 dia. Chambers measure 2-3/4”, but the barrel flats are unmarked as to chamber length. (The chambers may have been lengthened). The buttstock has no cheekpiece, a steel casehardened pistol grip cap, and a horn buttplate that has horizontal grooves, but no Sauer logo. The buttplate screws are engraved. The wood finish is a smooth glossy finish, with the checkering cut after the finish was applied. The sling swivel was expertly removed from the bottom barrel rib, and a small brass oval was fitted to the bottom of the buttstock where the swivel was removed there. Engraving on the bottom of the receiver is of a male and female capercaillie under a spruce tree done in a very fine line style. The gun retains 100% of its case colors, and nearly all of the lacquer covering. In fact, it looks basically unused! I assume it is a special order piece, but with those open chokes, what was it intended to be used for?
-
-
norsk,
Your gun was made with 65mm(2 9/16") chambers. If it is now 2 3/4", it has been rechambered; likely at the same time the sling swivels were regretably removed, and an extra bead added.There is no way to actually know what it was used for, but in my part of the world it would likely be used for Bobwhite Quail. Maybe a little farther north,it would be used for Grouse or Woodcock. With this combination of chokes it would be a good upland game gun.There is a difference of opinion over extending the chambers, and there will likely be some gnashing of teeth, but in my opinion; if that is what the owner wanted, he could do it.
Mike -
Thanks for your input Mike. In regard to the open chokes, I am fairly confident that they are original to the gun, based on the lack of a Crown/W on the cylinder bore barrel. Also, I am of the opinion that the gun was originally sold in Germany (no Made in Germany mark, German spelling of Sauer & Sohn, safety marked Sicher). My other European guns (3 German and 2 Hungarian) have very tight chokes, all modified or full. So, what European/German game was the buyer going to hunt with such an open choke? (I got it with the idea of using for Ruffed Grouse) Also, is it possible that the ivory beads and the sling swivel removal were done at the factory, as part of a special order? The work is extremely well done, barely noticeable. Jim Cate's book says 30" barrels are not common either.Comment
-
norsk,
I agree that the chokes came from the factory with the right barrel cylinder bore. The left barrel was choked, but with the "W" mark, I can't say what the constriction was. They used ammo that didn't have the shot cups,etc that we use today. This makes the older guns shoot tighter patterns with todays shells than they would then. There is no way to know what game the original owner intended to shoot with it, they were very much like us in that they all had their own opinion of what was best. We did hunt European Partridges in beet fields,early in the small game season, that reminded me very much of Bob White Quail hunting.All things are possible, but I doubt very much that the sling swivels were removed by the factory, this is an "American" thing. I think it was a mistake, but at least it was done in a workmanlike manner.
MikeComment
-
Norsk, Mike is correct about the "tighter patterns" the old doublebarrels shoot. It would appear that your Sauer is a Model 11 having upper and lower sears, but not having a scalloped receiver. These features are/were standard for the Model 11. From my serial number database I would think it was made in late 1921. There is another doublebarrel having serial number 207856 noted in my database that is a 12 gauge with 65mm chambers and 29" barrels. It, too, was made for the German market. That data came from the Sauer production data I got at the Suhl Archive. JIMComment
-
Hello ,
The gun is a sauer Modell 8 and was built 1920.
Beginning with work on 10.mai - and finish on the 5.october.
Greetings hendrikComment
-
Modell 8 Sauer doublebarrels do not have upper and lower sears that I am aware of.....Thanks! JimComment
-
Hello Jim, yes i am wondering...
The gun its normally a modell 11 , but in the books i find this number is a modell 8.
I dont know....
Greetings hendrikComment
-
Thanks to everyone who has replied with information. I have been collecting European pistols for years, but have only recently gotten interested in the sporting arms. By the way Jim, if you are still following this thread, I have some Sauer pistol info for you. Sauer model 1913, 7,65mm, sn 39498. Crown/N proof, no military or police marks. No zusatzsicherung, but the safety lever is milled like the one on page 78 of your volume I book.Comment
-
Hi Hendrik! Nice to hear from you. Did your information regarding this book come from the Sauer ledgers (production records) in the Suhl Archiv? If so, then I don't understand why it would have been listed as a Modell 8. Hummmm??? Best regards, JIMComment
-
Norsk, regarding your description of the Sauer: horn buttplate that has horizontal grooves, but no Sauer logo. That is probably the correct buttplate. When I finished my SAUER book (that is available from the GGCA) I had not seen an original Sauer having a buttplate with just the horizonal grooves. Since publication I have seen 2 pre-war Sauers that have original buttplates of this type. Therefore it is correct. Just wanted you to know. Regards, JIMComment
Comment