Mystery Drilling

[Fred]

"Hello from central PA. I inherited the drilling shown in the attached photos from my Uncle, however, he passed away long before I knew it would ever land in my possession and unfortunately, therefore, I'll never know how he came to own it. The craftsmanship in this gun is of course amazing and that compels me to seek out its story. I've learned a little about the markings under the hand guard and that Walter Paul was more so a gun broker vs. a gun maker. I am very interested in and would appreciate anything this membership can tell me about this gun. The top questions are: who made this gun and where; what design characteristics preceded and followed this model; what purposes and interests inspired the buyers of this gun back in 1921?

Thank you!"

Kevin

hbgpond@yahoo.com

[Fred]

More Mystery Drilling open_left.jpg rounds_in_stock.jpg open_right.jpg Walter Paul Hameln.jpg open_left.jpg

[mike ford]

Fred,
Was your uncle of someone in his family a WW2 Veteran? The drilling likely came here as a War Trophy with a returning veteran. If your uncle or someone connected to him didn't serve, he may have obtained it from someone that did. It is engraved with pretty standard game scenes. The 8.7/72 indicates it is chambered for 9.3x72R which was a popular old cartridge. The 5.21 means it was proofed in May of 1921(proofed, not made, but close enough), The 539 is the ledger number, meaning the 539th proofed that month at That proof house. The fact that it has a ledger number (Suhl didn't stamp the ledger numbers) and the Nitro proof mark on the shotgun barrel was written in script letters (Suhl used block letters) means it was proofed at Zella-Mehlis, therefore was likely made there or near there. The crown G means it was proofed for a single projectile (bullet). The crown N next to the BlG over 14.5gr, means it was proofed for a Nitro 9.3x72R cartridge using a 14.5-gram (not grain) lead bullet. The crown S means that barrel was proofed to fire shot. The crown W means that barrel is choked but doesn't indicate amount of constriction. The crown U means the gun underwent a View proof, which amounts to a detail inspection, including of dimensions, after firing the proof loads. The 16 in a circle means it has a standard 16-gauge chamber. which was 2 1/2- 2 9/16" deep rather than the current 2 3/4 American standard. The 16 with no circle is the bore diameter ahead of the chamber, expressed in gauge measurement. This converts to 16.81mm (if the other barrel, not shown, has a 16/1 it translates to 16.99mm). There was more than one version of the 9.3x72R, I believe yours is the normalized, or standardized version, because silver primers in some cartridges in the cartridge trap indicates your uncle may have handloaded them. Ammunition is currently available for both the rifle and shot barrels, but you may have to order it. The currently available 9.3x72R ammo will have a 193-grain jacketed bullet, which is fine (even preferable) for use in your gun. Whoever told you Walter Paul likely didn't make your drilling was likely correct. It was a common practice for large manufacturers to make them for "the trade" to be sold to the end users by other dealers/shops.
I hope this answers your questions and hope you enjoy the drilling.
Mike