Belgium Drilling

[Soothsayer]

This is about as far removed from Smith & Wesson as possible but I recently traded for a Belgium drilling in .38-55 over 12 gauge apparently proofed only for blackpowder with damascus twist barrels. It is a Leader brand from the St. Louis Hardware Company, both of which were Crescent brands. I have been unable to find any reference to drillings from this source. My dilemma is whether to assume no collector value and refurbish it as a shooter thereby reducing or eliminating any collector value or not. Some two and a half Crescent shotguns were made but I find no reference to Crescent made drillings.

Would appreciate any guidance, specific or general.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

A black powder drilling say "High Class" all by itself. Refurbishing is a choice only you can make. The Country of Origin and time frame just about remove additional collector value. In other words, It is what it is! In Belgium, they already have all the guns the want, and dumped their surplus military and excess sporting guns in this fine land! Spend as much as you want, you will do good to get that money back when selling. As for your enjoyment, let you abilities and your wallet be your guide!

38-55 is one of my favorite rounds (all my favorites are the same shape just different sizes 22 Hornet, 32-20, 38-55, & 45-70), and some sort of 12 gauge (it probably was made for 2 1/2" or 2 9/16" shells!) is a great classic combo. Enjoy!

Ivan

 

[Rudi]

Can't help with your gun, but drillings are really cool. Sounds like a beauty!

 

[M E Morrison]

The damascus part makes me nervous.....

 

[6string]

38-55...That's a very unusual chambering for a European drilling.
Is it so marked?
I'd personally do a chamber cast and examine it very closely. There's the possibility that it may have originally been something else, like a 9,3 x 74R, or similar.

For shooting purposes, it's always good policy to have a drilling closely examined too for lockup and headspace. They can be easy to tighten up, but for safety's sake it's worth considering.

Any pics??

Jim

 

[smoothshooter]

Are you sure it's a drilling?

You said it is a 38-55 over 12 gauge.

A drilling would almost always have 2 shotgun barrels side-by-side with a rifle barrel centered below the shotgun barrels.

As for the Damascus barrels, depending on condition, they may be okay with light smokeless loads, but I would get a couple of Briley full-length 20 gauge insert tubes for the shotgun barrels and shoot the gun to my heart's content.