1923 Drilling

[goetzrh]

Hi everybody, I just joined the forum, and I am a newbie at Drillings. I have looked all over this German Drilling, and have verified a lot of details about it, thanks to the amazing knowledge base that forum members have accumulated. First of all, it has the usual arrangement of two shotgun barrels over a rifle barrel (caliber 16, choked left barrel), has the "U" proof mark on all three barrels, and was proofed in Suhl (Nitro) in December of 1923. The rifle caliber is 7,8 x 57. There is no information about the manufacturer anywhere. However, there are some additional marks, and I was wondering if any member of the forum had come across these, and if they would give any indication about where and by whom the gun was made. I have attached the photos, and would appreciate any comments.

Rainer Goetz

[mike ford]

goetzrh,
While they are often referred to as "guild" guns, those that don't have makers marks are usually made by known makers for "the market". This means they were sold to suppliers (large or small) for marketing to the end user. They were intended to be marked with the supplier's name, but often this was not done (especially by small gun shops). The small marks are mostly workers "touchmarks" to insure payment for their work as well to show liability for it. There is no legend showing names to go with the marks, so they can't really be identified. I believe the H with star is the mark of the barrel maker who used fluid steel from Krupp in Essen.
Mike

[goetzrh]

Hi Mike Ford, thank you for your response. Although some of the marks could be accidental dings or impurities, most of them seemed to be intentional. It makes sense that if the manufacturer had wanted to put his name on the gun, it would be more visible and in a much more prominent place. I appreciate that you took the time to explain. Sorry about the late response, I was offline for a few days.
Rainer