Thread: Drilling or combo in 12/12/9.3 x 74 for pigs?

Hi gents, in Australia here and considering the above really just for shooting pigs in close in heavy bush here. Regular shotguns with slugs and buckshot are popular so I figured why not add a 9.3 barrel for longer shots. (And Ive always wanted a multi barrel gun)

Im leaning more towards a Brno combo of which one is available nearby. It is the model with free floating rifle barrel too.

My thoughts are a Merkel 96k drilling is a level of coolness( and cost) higher but fact is Im going to dragging this though tropical country and occasionally firing extended strings from the rifle barrel.

Ive read the POI changing in the rifle barrel is going to upset the apple cart in a drilling. And how flimsy delicate are these guns?

Another question regards any semi decent combo rifle , is there usually a decent change some 12ga slug out there prints anywhere near the rifle barrel at 40-50 yards?

I have a brno zh 201 o/u 7x57r over 12gauge. They're switch barrel and I've got double shotgun sets as well
The rifle shotgun set has good open sights that don't interfere with wing shooting if the need arises.
Longest rapid fire string I've fired from the rifle barrel which isn't free floating is 5 rounds and that was off sandbags as a test. First three printed within 4 inches of each other at 100 yards, the last two were lower by 2 and a half inches but two inches apart. Vertical alignment was the same.
At 50 yards both rio slugs and the rifle shoot to basically the same poi a fist covers both holes.
7mm would be fine on pigs 9 3 would be a little ott unless there are water buffalo I'd have thought.

Originally Posted by sixtus

Hi gents, in Australia here and considering the above really just for shooting pigs in close in heavy bush here. Regular shotguns with slugs and buckshot are popular so I figured why not add a 9.3 barrel for longer shots. (And Ive always wanted a multi barrel gun)

Im leaning more towards a Brno combo of which one is available nearby. It is the model with free floating rifle barrel too.

My thoughts are a Merkel 96k drilling is a level of coolness( and cost) higher but fact is Im going to dragging this though tropical country and occasionally firing extended strings from the rifle barrel.

Ive read the POI changing in the rifle barrel is going to upset the apple cart in a drilling. And how flimsy delicate are these guns?

Another question regards any semi decent combo rifle , is there usually a decent change some 12ga slug out there prints anywhere near the rifle barrel at 40-50 yards?

Greetings @sixtus,
When I saw the 9.3x74 listed as your calibre choice I thought "That stuff must be as rare as rocking horse shit". Fortunately I checked and was pleasantly surprised to find I was wrong. Please keep us posted on progress.
Regards Grandpamac.

I've got a 96k in 12x12 over 7x65, and love it.

It shoots slugs to point of aim at 50m, and of course the 7x65 a long way past that. I have trouble thinking of a pig that would walk away from a 156 grain 7mm bullet, but you never know.

Walking POI is a thing, but for me it's usually case of one and done, so no sweat. It does make shooting groups a pain, but no big deal if you're not in a hurry.







It doesn't look new any longer, but there are lots of memories in the dings.

great photos mate. so they will handle a bit of dragging through the bush then?

So far, so good. It is carrying the usual dings you'd expect from a wooden stocked gun, but that is the way of it so no big deal to my mind.

I've had or used a couple BRNO O/U cape guns, some sxs cape guns, and some drillings. Basically you aren't going to go wrong on any combo gun that's czech or german, and you'll be pleasantly surprised by their accuracy even when not free floated. Valmet guns seem interesting, but I haven't had a chance to try them, so can't speak to them.

I absolutely love drillings, but the ones I've had tend to be very light on all three barrel profiles to keep the overall weight down, so easy to dent in theory. I've come across several with dented rifle and shotgun barrels, but fortunately never caused any dents myself. This slightly put me off using a drilling for really all-out hunting, but you can get more utilitarian ones for a reasonable price and just accept they may need some dents raised at some point. Some drillings can be pretty complex internally, so keeping them dirt/dust free, and free of rust can be a little bit of a challenge depending on the climate you're hunting in and how you hunt.
Drillings were definitely built with the idea that you were going to be sleeping somewhere civilized at the end of every day, that you (or a game keeper) would be wiping down and oiling the gun before putting it somewhere warm and dry for the evening, and that you would have no issue taking the rifle to your local Bavarian gunsmith who has no issues at all pulling apart a drilling to service it at the start and end of every hunting season.

One benefit of combination guns is that you can get a 8 inch, free floating, Krieghoff .22 cal sub calibre insert that locks into one of the shotgun barrels and can be adjusted to the point of aim for rifle sights. In a drilling this effectively gives you a medium/large rifle, shotgun, and .22 all loaded and ready to fire at a moment's notice in the same gun, depending on your barrel selection.

For O/U cape guns, the BRNO guns are great. Definitely accurate enough for hunting out to 200 easily. They can be had in typical rimmed calibres, but also in modern rimless calibres.

For SxS cape guns, they're fun, but I don't consider them on the same level as O/U or drillings. I think it's just that SxS cape guns tend to be much older designs meant for a much more utilitarian market, and the sights don't seem to ever regulate well. They're definitely a lot simpler than O/U or drillings, so that makes them a lot less difficult to maintain and look after.

All the combo guns I've shot have had the rifle barrel joined to the shotgun barrel with a solid rib, but I've never found that to cause any issues with accuracy - all the drillings and O/U's have shot well. There is definitely stringing if shooting more than 2 shots in short succession, but the stringing is only significant at distance, and I've never needed to make more than 2 repeated shots at distance, and the stringing isn't significant enough to affect shots at shorter ranges, so it's something of a moot point.

If you're thinking of mounting a scope, either get a gun with a conventional rail, or make sure the gun comes with the appropriate mounts. It if uses claw mounts but doesn't come with a matched set you can be in for a big job finding the right claw rings and getting them fitted to the gun.