Sauer & Sohn Guild Gun 16 GA 8x57mmR Drilling Shotgun/Rifle, 1919-1939 C&R

SOLD FOR: $1007

LSB#: 210906MB15

Make: There are Sauer & Sohn markings on the barrels, but we suspect that this is a Guild Gun due to the lack of any obvious S&S markings.

Model: Drilling

Serial Number: 15665

Year of Manufacture: Ca. 1919-1939

Gauge: The shotgun barrels are 16GA with 2 ½” chambers. The rifle barrel is 8x57JR (.318 Bore with rimmed case)

Action Type: Top Lever Break Opening Sidelock Drilling with top Barrel Selector and left-side Safety Switch

Markings: The bottom of the rifled barrel is marked “15665” with German proof marks, “7,7mm / 57” (see Our Assessment), and with a “S&S” logo. The shotgun barrels and flats have German proof marks including Nitro proofs and the left barrel has a “S&S” logo just in front of the flat. The left of the rifle barrel is marked “8-88” under the extractor arm. The left of the barrel lug is marked with an eagle over “L” in circle logo and “15665”. The inside of the forend iron is marked “665”, found again on the inside of the forend. The left shoulder of the receiver is marked “15665”, the right shoulder has German proof marks. The guard is marked “665”. The receiver has scroll and border engraving, with the motif continuing on the lever, guard, forend iron, forend latch assembly and the lid of the cartridge compartment in the stock’s belly. The top of the receiver and lever are matted.

Barrel Length: 26 3/4″

Choke: Left: Full, Right: Modified, both Fixed.

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a blade which is in-lined dovetailed to the front of the rib. There is a “U”-notch rear sight which flips up when the rifle barrel is selected using the switch on the top tang. The top of the rib is serrated for glare reduction.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two piece checkered walnut with a splinter forend, capped pistol grip, straight comb with European-style cheekpiece, ventilated black rubber Pachmayr White Line recoil pad and a trapdoor in the belly which covers a storage compartment for four rifle cartridges. There is a sling swivel at the front of the trapdoor assembly and another mounted to the bottom of the barrel rib forward of the forend. The stocks have several scattered nicks, dings, scuffs and scratches. There is a patch-repair at the left-front of the wrist and another at the toe. The toe repair has a filled hole on the bottom, possibly a dowel through the patch into the main portion of the stock. There are some minor cracks around the edges of the wrist and a few more notable cracks at the left-rear edge of the buttstock. There is a small loss at the front edge of the trapdoor assembly. Likely due to the damage in the wrist, the stock has minor play to the receiver. The checkering ranges from well defined to worn smooth. The LOP measures 14 7/8″ and 13 7/8″ from the fronts of the triggers to the back of the recoil pad, 13 3/4″ and 12 3/4″ to the back of the wood. The pad has light wear and is still fairly supple. Overall, the stocks are in Good-plus condition as repaired.

Type of Finish: Blue & Case Color

Finish Originality: Original

Bore Condition: The rifle bore is gray with well defined rifling. The rifle bore has scattered light erosion and infrequent minor pitting. The shotgun bores are semi-bright with some scattered light erosion and some spots of light-moderate pitting, more in the left bore than the right.

Overall Condition: This drilling retains about 70% of its metal finish. The finish is thinning at all edges. The barrels have some light wear over the forend, more on the left than the right and some light wear at the muzzles. The barrels have some minor surface oxidation with a few scattered light nicks, scuffs and scratches. The receiver’s case color has mostly muted, with color only in protected areas. There is some surface erosion on the standing breech. The muted surfaces of the receiver have infrequent minor surface oxidation. The rifled barrel’s firing pin appears to be damaged and its cocking indicator is not functioning properly. The screw heads range from sharp to lightly tool marked with strong slots. The markings are clear. Overall, this drilling rates in about Fair-Good condition (see Mechanics).

Mechanics: The rifled barrel’s firing pin appears to be damaged and its cocking indicator is not functioning properly. Otherwise, the action functions correctly. The safety is on the left side of the wrist above the triggers and blocks them when on. The selector switch for the barrels is on the upper tang, and when the switch is pushed forwards into the rifle position, the front sight pops-up. With the rifle barrel selected, the front trigger is used to fire the rifle barrel, but the left shotgun barrel can still be fired using the rear trigger. We have not fired this drilling. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: None

Our Assessment: This drilling appears to be a Guild Gun, produced by apprentice gunmakers and sometimes assembled with parts from different maker’s shops. The only maker’s markings we could identify on this gun are from Sauer & Sohn. The Sauer & Sohn firm was first founded in 1751 in Suhl, Germany and they are the oldest firearms manufacturer still active in Germany. While they are known today for their Sig-Sauer semi-automatic pistols made in collaboration with Swiss arms AG, they were once well known for their fine European made rifles, shotguns and drillings. This example has two 16 GA barrels, choked Full and Modified over an 8mmx57 JR rifled barrel. The “J” was used to denote bullets made with a 0.318” diameter to distinguish them from the later rounds, which were 0.323”. Interestingly, the barrel is marked for 7.7x57mm, but this appears to have been a common practice in the inter-war years to conceal the production of 8mm rifles, which was restricted by the Treaty of Versailles. The shotgun chambers are 2 ½” in length, meant for the old 65mm rounds, not the 70mm rounds made today. The barrels are blued and the receiver is case colored. A distinguishing feature of this gun is its rear sight, which pops-up when the rifled barrel is selected. The receiver is scroll engraved with the motif continued on the forend iron, guard, lever and the cover for the storage compartment in the belly which can hold an additional four cartridge. This drilling is in about Fair-Good overall condition with 70 of its original metal finish remaining. It has wear consistent with a gun which has seen time in the field, but also has some damage to the rifled barrel’s firing pin assembly which will need to be addressed. Once that is done, this will be a classic drilling, perfectly set up for someone who likes to hunt upland game as well as deer. It will also make a nice addition to a collection of classic German hunting guns or drillings, specifically. Please see our photos and good luck!