Rough Value of this Drilling

[robertham1]

Im about to purchase a drilling and I need an estimated value for what I should be paying. Its a guild gun, so im not sure of who made it but I do have some pictures.









It does have all three cocking indicators, the flip up sight does work. the caliber is 8.8mm/72 x 16 x 16. there are some other markings under the barrels also. Im just wondering if its worth is in the hundreds or the thousands.

any help would be appreciated. Thank you Gentleman as I have received a LOT of help from this forum.

 

[HB]

No real idea on price but id offer 500-700 depending on condition. Drillings arent that popular here so its kind of a "whatever somebody will pay" situation.

HB

 

[HoosierQ]

Very cool gun but you'll have a dickens of a time getting ammo. Of course you probably get that and nobody buys/owns a drilling as a range toy.

 

[Vaarok]

Probably in the 1,200-1,750 range, though it depends heavily on the regional market. I saw one here in NC that'd been marked down significantly for lack of interest, but up in the Northeast where I'm originally from, you can't find one under two thousand.

 

[stan rose]

The real important thing, after condition, is the chambering. A 9.3x72, 16, 16, would be worth more than a chambering you can't get ammo or components for. That is just the first thing I think of with older firearms, and is just my opinion not gospel.

 

[DM~]

There's NO way anyone can tell you what it's worth, without examineing it and any accessories in person, "thorougly" and then researching the proof's.

What are the bores and chambers like? Is it off face"" Does it have internal rust?? And there are many other questions that need to be answered! These are BIG issues!

Without doing that, it's just a poor uneducated guess!

DM

 

[NCsmitty]

It is quite difficult to put a price on one of the older drillings from pictures. Something like that needs to be evaluated in hand, by an expert in that field.

The bores need to checked, as corrosive ammo was used exclusively in most of the older drillings, and pitting in the rifle barrels can be an issue.
The 8.8x72 is marked as such because the land to land dimension was used to denote the caliber. It is likely a 9.3x72 caliber cartridge, but you would need to slug the barrel for the proper bullet size, as bore sizes often varied greatly in these drillings.


NCsmitty

 

[robertham1]

Thank you guys. There isn't any rust and there isn't any pitting in any if the barrels.

 

[Il Duca]

I helped a friend sell a drilling not long ago and it was a work of art. Heavily engraved, excellent condition. It was a 9.3x72rx16x16. What I found when doing research is that most drillings aren't worth very much money unless built by a well known maker. Kreighoff, Sauer, H&H all bring premiums. But guns from less known or little-known makers, even if stunning, just don't bring big money. I wouldn't pay more than 7-800 for the one you pictured. Especially since it is in a completely obscure caliber. I would be thinking of having the barrel lined to .22 Hornet or something, I have seen many converted from obscure Euro calibers like that.

 

[robertham1]

Thanks duca. I payed a few hundred. It seems to be a guild gun, would better pictures of the proof markings help to identify it? I'm not worried of the value as I'm now interested in the maker and history of it.

 

[Jim Watson]

As a guild gun, it is not likely to be identifiable by maker.
It was made sometime between 1891 and 1939 but I no longer have the proof mark literature to pin it down closer.
The type is shown in the Alfa 1911 catalog but they were surely made before and after that time.
The price started at 255 German Marks for a relatively plain one like yours.
By way of comparison, a plain Mauser sporter was 180 marks and a house brand hammerless shotgun was 74 marks.

Rifle caliber is likely 9.3x72R - 8.8 is the bore diameter, quickly measured with a plug gauge at the proof house. Shot barrels are 16 ga 65mm - 2 9/16", not US standard 2 3/4".
Ammunition is somewhat available but not cheap. $68 a box for 9.3 at Midway.

History: Herman the German bought a moderately priced general purpose hunting gun sometime before the Nazis took power. In 1945 the Americans invaded the Homeland and confiscated all firearms to discourage post war insurrection by the losers. GI Fred (Joe's buddy) picked this one out of a stack of such appropriated guns because it looked sleek and kewl. It sat in a corner for some decades because the hardware store did not carry bullets for it. The grandchildren found it in Fred's closet after the funeral and sold it off because he had never shot or talked about it and it had no heirloom value like his old Remington.

 

[dprice3844444]

just google"antique drilling rifles"

 

[Liberty1776]

robertham1, if you paid under $1000, you did fine, considering the shape you describe. They are rarely shot enough to loosen the action up. Many manufacturers built drillings on actions like this - and many were non-marked as they were to be re-sold by sporting stores (the German version of the American hardware store gun...) For example, my Lignose marked shotgun, was actually built by Sauer. Lignose was a retailer. Anyway, sorry to digress. I love my drilling - it's my favorite deer hunting gun. I also lucked out and the shotgun bbls are very accurate with slugs as well. I had the chambers safely and professionally relieved out to take standard 2 3/4 inch shells. If you're not interested in shooting slugs, I'd not bother with that. 2 1/2" 16 ga shells are available and I've laid in a couple cases of them... I bought RST shells.

 

[wlewisiii]

This is a fascinating thread for me. I'd love one of these, especially an inexpensive, relatively more obscure, one like this. There is just something about the idea I find interesting. A cheap double rifle over a shot barrel would be cool too. 16 or 20 gauge over 7x57R would be a whole lot of fun to me, though I'd sure not say no to a 9.3 variant either. Be great fun to go small/upland game hunting with this and then hunt deer later in the season.

 

[DM~]

They are rarely shot enough to loosen the action up.

The rifle bbl., NO... BUT, most of the old drilling get shot with modern 2-3/4" ammo quite a bit by unknowing folks, and that knocks most of them off face in no time.

Then there's a bunch of guys that shoot reloads and think they have a bolt action rifle! That kills a drilling pretty fast too!

DM