Prussian Sauer

[Ed Blake]

Thank you all for your kind remarks.

Ed, I'm not sure of the weight becauSe I don't have a good scale, but I would estimate it weighs between 7.5 and 8 pounds. Someone must have ordered it as a duck gun. The bore diameter of .715 really puzzles me though. The owner wanted a good seal for fibre wads, I guess.

[Double Play]

Originally Posted by Ed Blake

The bore diameter of .715 really puzzles me though. The owner wanted a good seal for fibre wads, I guess.

Ed,
The condition of your new gun is outstanding. I have a chart that shows minimum and maximum bore diameters of all gauges from various countries. The German 12 gauge standard bore for 1939 was .716-.732. As your gun is on the tighter side I would be curious if the felt recoil would be greater with the tight bores versus a gun of similar weight and larger bores shooting the same shells. English guns ranged from.710-.750 in 1954 according to this chart.

[Ed Blake]

Larry - I shoot 7/8 oz. at about 6,500 psi in everything, and I did not notice any increase in the felt recoil. That may change with 3dram trap loads. the 2 3/4" chambers may make the difference, however.

Ed - Do you know the bores and chokes on your gun?

[Double Lab]

Tight bores and sharp forcing cones definitely increase actual recoil. Felt recoil is a different issue. Most if not all European shotgun bores from that period up until just recently were always on the tight side. The Germans and the Italians were noted for tight bores. Kreighof was the first manufacturer to break tradition with their .740 bores. Back in the early 80's on the old PA. pigeon shooting circuit the old timers would say that a Kreighof would'nt kill a pigeon because of the overboring. They were wrong. Old traditions die hard. Relieving the forcing cones and overboring improve patterns and felt recoil.