Newcomer Ojava lifts his hat and greets AH members

[sestoppelman]

Velkommen aboard!

 

[johnvdw]

Welcome to the posting side.

 

[ojava]

I have no idea what caliber the rifle barrel on my drilling is. I've placed a 7 mm bullet into the bore and found it much to small. I then tried it with a 30 Cal. bullet and it seemed just about right. But that didn't make any sense to me being a German made gun. I just did a quick calculation and 8mm is very close to 30 Caliber. I am now of the opinion that it is an 8 x ???. I had an older German shooting buddy that was going to make a cero safe cast of the chamber but unfortunately he passed away before doing it. Not being familiar with that process I'm unwilling to undertake it myself. I suppose that I could pay a gunsmith to do it. In the next few days I'll try to dig it out of the safe and come up with some more information as to the manufacturer and year it was made. At the moment there are no restrictions on the number of guns we can own, so I can correctly say that I am gun "poor." The trouble is that you can only shoot one at a time. I shoot pistols competitively. I belong to several clubs and normally shoot at least twice a week. My rifle shooting is confined to a few days per year developing a load for a new caliber or confirming my zero for hunting purposes. I enjoy taking my grandsons to the range so they can practice with their Swedes. I got a big kick out of my oldest grandson telling me "Opa, there is no sense wasting any more ammunition, the gun just shoots (Xs).

Do you reload or use factory ammunition? I've been reloading since 1982. I really get a lot of satisfaction taking game with my hand-loads.

Sounds like you have one out of many possible 8mm combinations. I would guess it’s a 8x57 but then there are many different kinds of that round. Ir, irs,is making it even more complicated the ammunition sometimes are labeled J instead of I with from the beginning was a misunderstanding on the font used by the germens for the letter I. In Sweden we say 8x57jrs that I believe internationally is an 8x57irs.
I would take a look at the stamps on the barrels, there you will find the maker of the gun, what year it’s made and the caliber it was made in. That not guaranteeing that it hasn’t been changed.

If it is a old Suhl or Ferlach region gun its probably going to be Buhler steel, that is great.

Just find out the caliber and you will probably have a better made gun then buying a new one today!

I do not hand load myself, I have someone I really trust doing my hand loads for my drilling.

My other guns shoot well enough with factory loads that I feel confident with their performance for hunting. I will hand load in future, but finding the time having a small child, full time work and a house to renovate is not easy.


Handgun or rifle, as long as you get the “whiff” of burnt gunpowder on a regular basis, the blood keeps flowing properly.

 

[ojava]

My drilling rifle barrel is 30-06 so you never know, but have a gunsmith look at it. I would love to see some pictures of it.

Indeed, pictures would be lovely!

 

[adriw]

Welcome to AH!

 

[caddman]

You are in the right site to plan an African adventure! Welcome and have fun.