German Drilling Is One Of A Kind

The word “unique” is overused when it comes to rare items, but not this time.

Right now, our shop has a unique firearm that fits the true definition; a 1920s-era German combination gun, known as a “drilling” (German for three). It has two triggers, with a double-barrel 16 gauge, 2 ½–inch chambers, on top, and a lower rifle barrel in 9.3 X 72R.

The origins and make of the gun had us scratching our heads, so we reached out to some combination gun experts who are genuinely passionate about drillings.

On a mission to "save the fine german guns" are George Inge, of Mobile, Alabama, an avid outdoorsman who fell in love with German hunting traditions while serving as a US Army physician in Heidelberg, Germany, in the early 1980s, and his business partner Tobi Nisse, a gunsmith and dealer who lives in central Germany's scenic Saurlands Region north of Frankfurt. He is a former airborne weapons specialist and German Army officer.

Their website is https://www.save-the-fine-guns.com.

German combination guns are endangered Germany, and growing in popularity in the U.S., Inge said.

In Germany, unlicensed inheritors of the guns are required by law to turn them over to police unless a licensed buyer is found in a specified time, depending on the state. Police destroy the guns and melt them down.

Like many with these guns, Inge inherited a long-held family drilling but couldn’t find an American gunsmith to repair and restore it. He eventually found Tobi, and that relationship restored his great great grandfather’s 1902 Hollenbeck, and launched their U.S.-German drilling connection to rescue more of these "fine guns."

The drilling in our shop is a special gun that someone likely rescued. Moreover, it is not of any make or model, but is a “guild gun.”

Tobi determined none of the many proof marks on the gun were meaningful, at least not in general knowledge or broad references, and that this was a firearm built by an up-and-coming gunsmith seeking admission to the trade.

And it’s not just any old working example of a guild gun.

The builder carved water buffalo-horn to create a smooth, sleek trigger guard, and flower-petal carved pistol grip cap. Buffalo horn was also used to create a rear-facing arrow-shaped inlay that passes through the stock just above the pistol grip. It matches angled wood contours at the front of the grip and is rounded where it lays on the flat of the fore-stock, near an ornate safety switch, which includes a flush gold-inlay ‘S’ under a deeply checked Guilloche pattern button switch.

That switch still slides smoothly 100 years post-production, as do all the mechanical parts, including a spring-loaded door at the bottom of the stock that pops open to reveal four rifle cartridges.

And we’re not done.

An unusual trigger selector and an associated function also caught Tobi’s eye, and is part of what truly sets this gun apart and makes it a collector’s jewel.

Immediately behind the action release is a delicately scrolled release lever that selects the rifle trigger. Under the switch, in flush gold inlay, is the word KUGEL (German for bullet). The lever not only selects the rifle trigger but raises a rear rifle sight that flips up from its nested spot in the gun’s neatly textured plain rib.

Inge said it’s not unusual to hear from people who inherit or buy a new drillings and just aren't sure what they have. Many he sees were brought home by World War II vets and handed down.

Family members often have no idea what the gun is or how to find someone with the expertise to restore or improve them. They welcome the conversation, as does the German Gun Collectors Association, which has a new website at https://germanguns.com. A column in its newsletter, “Ask Axel,” by Axel Eichendorff,  answers questions about European hunting and firearms history and traditions. New England Custom Guns is another outlet that handles rare firearms of this kind..

Of course the team at J. Gray’s is happy to look into it on your behalf as well.