Prussian Sauer

[ed good]

well, here is another one made around 1906...12 gauge gun with 26" barrels, weighing just six pounds!

[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.

[ed good]

i too shoot 7/8 ounce loads. rst to be exact.

gun is not choked. bores are .715 as well. interestingly minimum barrel wall thicknesses are .050. cant figure out how they could have made the gun so light and still have relatively stout barrels?

[ed good]

double: i would think scottish made guns would also have under sized bores...as in tight wads?

[Dean Romig]

That's a "good" one Ed.

[Double Lab]

Oh I got it. Thanks Dean, it was a "Good" one Ed. BTW... What happened to the leaf in your photo? Did'nt recognize the gun without it.

[Bill Murphy]

Light guns with thick barrels are quite the mystery. My ten gauge Sauer grouse gun weighs 6 pounds, 4 ounces, and has barrel walls in the high thirties as I recall.

[Richard Flanders]

Ed: I have a Linder Daly of very similar design but with side clips. It appears hardly every used to me. Very nice articulated triggers. You will find this one an excellent gun that will last generations. They are very nicely put together. Safari Outfitters often has these.

Trigg once bought a 26" 12ga European gun with very stout and heavy bbls. It was too front heavy. We both shot it at birds and he took it back and returned it. Might have been a Wesley Richards. It felt like swinging a fence post.