Simpson & Co. Suhl Drilling

[Deleted member 74279]

Hi guys. New here so I hope I'm doing this right. I have an old drilling that my grandfather bought from a Portuguese man from Congo many moons ago. I would love some info on it if anyone can help. Very limited info on the net. Its a 12GA side by side and the rifled barrel is 8.9mm (.350 I think).

 

[Tgood1]

Beautiful firearm, I have nothing else to offer

 

[crs]

Same company that made my .405 WCF DR"

Considerable history on the internet.
Search on Simson Company of Suhl

 

[crs]

I had to search long and hard for the Simson Co label and still have the original and copies. Let me know if you want me to email one to you..

 

[Deleted member 74279]

Same company that made my .405 WCF DR"
View attachment 445455
Considerable history on the internet.
Search on Simson Company of Suhl

Mine came in a box very similar to this. Unfortunately it was lost in the early 2000s on a farm..

 

[Deleted member 74279]

I had to search long and hard for the Simson Co label and still have the original and copies. Let me know if you want me to email one to you..

Please.. any information is greatly appreciated. I have done quite a bit of searching but have found nothing on my specific calibre (ie 8.9mm/.350)

 

[WebleyGreene455]

Please.. any information is greatly appreciated. I have done quite a bit of searching but have found nothing on my specific calibre (ie 8.9mm/.350)

I could be incorrect but it's possible that your "8.9mm" is actually a 9mm or 9.3x72R/74R, due to how the Germans measured the rifling/bullet diameters. Most drillings I've seen with a 9.3 cartridge are the x72R but based on the engraving of lions on the receiver and its coming from the Congo, it could be a x74R. Could be. You'd need to do a chamber cast to be completely sure, but in the interim perhaps you could measure across the rifle chamber? If it's not quite 13.5mm in diameter, chances are it's a 9.3 rimmed of some sort, but again you'd need to cast the chamber to be sure of the case length.

 

[crs]

I forgot to mention German Guns as an excellent source of information on Simson and other guns made years ago in the big plant in Suhl, Germany. The folks on German guns are very well informed and always eager to help we Americanos that buy one of their great Suhl guns. Some of them actually live in the USA. http://www.germanguns.com/

 

[PerH]

You might find something here.

Gun Indentification

Gun Identification Introduction to German Hunting Gun IdentificationBy Dietrich Apel It is not as easy to identify a German made gun as identifying a gun made in the USA, and the following articles explain why. Even the most knowledgeable collectors and gun owners are often scratching their...

www.germanhuntingguns.com

 

[PerH]

One qoute from page, further down.

"
Rifles from later in this era are sometimes stamped with a bore (not groove) diameter in millimeters, the most common being 8,8mm for one of the 9.3mm cartridges and 7.7mm for one of the many 8mm cartridges. Some rifles will also have chamber length marked along with bore diameter."

When in doubt ,do a chamber cast.

 

[steve white]

Elenber over on the DoubleGunshop forum for German guns will know all about your gun from the various proofmarks. I have never seen lions, etc on a drilling--very unique. Congratulations!

 

[Kraut]

Nice old drilling and kind of special.
You could try to do a research on the subject "Tropendrilling". Some manufacturers build them especially for use in the collonies.
The engraving of your drilling seems to fit in this category.

 

[Kraut]

 

[Kraut]

"We manufacture these selfcocking drillings especially for hunting elephants, rhinos, buffalo, lion, tiger and so on in foreign countries."