Merkel Combination Gun For Sale

[rookhawk]

OK Rookhawk, you owe us a picture of your son with a turkey!
Congratulations! I think that is going to be a fine combination gun! It should work well for turkey and a night critter hunt in Africa! So when are you going?

I’m heading out tomorrow for the youth deer hunt with two kids. In order to legally supervise, I had to buy a valid license to hunt anything/something. So I got a fall Turkey tag. I’m allowed to back the kids shots on deer if necessary. So, I’m going to test the combo on a turkey for me and have a 7x65r in case the kids need a quick dispatch of their deer. (Hopefully not!)

Once the gun is through it’s paces, we’ll decide which kid owns it ongoing.

 

[rookhawk]

I’m heading out tomorrow for the youth deer hunt with two kids. In order to legally supervise, I had to buy a valid license to hunt anything/something. So I got a fall Turkey tag. I’m allowed to back the kids shots on deer if necessary. So, I’m going to test the combo on a turkey for me and have a 7x65r in case the kids need a quick dispatch of their deer. (Hopefully not!)

Once the gun is through it’s paces, we’ll decide which kid owns it ongoing.

Anyone know which 2-3/4” slug is ideal for this smoothbore gun that has a full choke?

 

[Red Leg]

Anyone know which 2-3/4” slug is ideal for this smoothbore gun that has a full choke?

The Germans regularly shoot standard velocity Brenneke slugs through full choke barrels. On drillings the left - full choke - barrel normally holds the slug on a pig hunt because the front trigger is firing the rifle. I would bet good money a standard velocity Brenneke regulates pretty closely to those sights on that rifle. The builder likely made sure they would.

 

[Ridgewalker]

I’m heading out tomorrow for the youth deer hunt with two kids. In order to legally supervise, I had to buy a valid license to hunt anything/something. So I got a fall Turkey tag. I’m allowed to back the kids shots on deer if necessary. So, I’m going to test the combo on a turkey for me and have a 7x65r in case the kids need a quick dispatch of their deer. (Hopefully not!)

Once the gun is through it’s paces, we’ll decide which kid owns it ongoing.

Sounds like a fun time to break it in!

 

[Ray B]

Anyone know which 2-3/4” slug is ideal for this smoothbore gun that has a full choke?

Not sure about that barrel but several family members in NE Iowa have found that the Brenneke slugs had the best accuracy and performance on deer, and they all shot full choke barrels, almost exclusively Rem 870s.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Are we discussing the 1 Oz slug, or the 2/3 Oz sabot? Brenneke makes both.

 

[Red Leg]

Are we discussing the 1 Oz slug, or the 2/3 Oz sabot? Brenneke makes both.

The traditional 1 ounce slug. The sabot design is pretty much an American thing.

 

[ActionBob]

I don't know much about slugs. But i did see a beautiful drilling that was originally choked roughly full and modified. Both chokes were stretched out from running the wrong slugs through it.

 

[Ridgewalker]

I don't know much about slugs. But i did see a beautiful drilling that was originally choked roughly full and modified. Both chokes were stretched out from running the wrong slugs through it.

That has always been a concern of mine with drillings and doubles. Drillings seem to always have tight chokes. Not sure why. Most of my shotguns I never use tighter than modified with the exception of a specialized Turkey gun. Even using steel for waterfowl they seem to have shot better with modified than full.

 

[John Camp]

As long as the gun has a steel barrel it can handle slugs. Either solid lead or a sabot but accuracy would be greatly degraded with a sabot.

 

[Red Leg]

That has always been a concern of mine with drillings and doubles. Drillings seem to always have tight chokes. Not sure why. Most of my shotguns I never use tighter than modified with the exception of a specialized Turkey gun. Even using steel for waterfowl they seem to have shot better with modified than full.

The drilling typically was used to shoot European hare (think jack rabbit on steroids), fox, and pheasant on drive hunts (along with the occasional wild boar) and from stands where no shots would be at flying game. The first two in particular need a tightly choked load of number 5's or 6's to kill them cleanly. The drilling was rarely used for a purely winged hunt (ducks, wood pigeon, etc) where a normal SxS or OU would be the firearm of choice.

I don't know much about slugs. But i did see a beautiful drilling that was originally choked roughly full and modified. Both chokes were stretched out from running the wrong slugs through it.

Soft lead slugs of standard velocity will not damage a 70mm chambered drilling regardless of choke. There are 67mm guns out there that were proofed for lighter loads, and nothing about them would respond well to a standard 70mm diet. Are you sure they are stretched out? If so, the bulge in the last few inches of the barrel would be very visible if looking down the side of the barrel from the breach. On the other hand, a lot of these older guns had the attention of gunsmiths trying to bore out what were perceived to be chokes that were too tight.

 

[ActionBob]

the bulge in the last few inches of the barrel would be very visible if looking down the side of the barrel from the breach.

Yes this! I didn't measure it but one side was about 2 to 2.5 inches of length, the other more like 1.5 or a little more. This I assumed was from different chokes, originally.

The gun was at the Tusla show and the guy trying to sell it claimed he had not noticed the problem. He even let me take to another booth for an opinion on repairing it. It was not a cost effective repair when added to what the guy wanted for it. And he was stuck on a bottom price that was unrealistic. He was really just trying to sell it as is claiming it shot fine

If I remember correctly it was a very cool, older gun, as you mentioned it likely to be Joe.

I just posted to make people aware that irreversible damage can be done to some choked barrels using the wrong slugs.

 

[Red Leg]

Yes this! I didn't measure it but one side was about 2 to 2.5 inches of length, the other more like 1.5 or a little more. This I assumed was from different chokes, originally.

The gun was at the Tusla show and the guy trying to sell it claimed he had not noticed the problem. He even let me take to another booth for an opinion on repairing it. It was not a cost effective repair when added to what the guy wanted for it. And he was stuck on a bottom price that was unrealistic. He was really just trying to sell it as is claiming it shot fine

If I remember correctly it was a very cool, older gun, as you mentioned it likely to be Joe.

I just posted to make people aware that irreversible damage can be done to some choked barrels using the wrong slugs.

Yep, probably an older gun and probably a modern, high pressure/velocity hard alloy slug of some sort. And you are correct, impossible to economically repair. You can bet the barrel solder was cracked as well.

 

[rookhawk]

Epilogue:

the gun arrived in time for this weekend’s Wisconsin youth deer season.

in order for my kids to participate, I have to be their “mentor” which is a fancy way to say I had to buy some sort of hunting license as a non-resident so they could hunt deer. The cheapest license was a non-resident first-time buyer fall turkey tag...so I bought a pretty much useless tag so I could legally let my kids hunt deer.

I brought the combination gun loaded with a 2-1/2” 1 ounce 16 gauge Kent tungsten matrix #6 load and a 7x65r 140gr Austrian load I had lying around. (The mentor is expected to back a child’s shot on deer if things go poorly)

my kids had a great tune, my son got a doe at 100 yards with his 7x64 Brenneke. I didn’t need to back the shot. As luck would have it, a jake with 1” spurs and an 8” beard waltzed in at 41 yards and I popped him with the combo gun! Maybe that useless tag wasn’t such a waste of money for me after all?

I’ve called many turkey over the years each springtime, my kids have hunted them the past two years, but I’d actually never killed a turkey before!

It was a great weekend and the combo gun was perfect for my application as standby dad/guide/hunter!

One of my kids will inherit this gun once I’m done having so much fun with it!

 

[Ridgewalker]

Sounds like a grand time! Sorry your son is such a good shot that you didn’t get to back him! Maybe next hunt?

 

[Ray B]

THAT'S GREAT!!!

It's good to have also purchased what will become a family heirloom. The Kent TM loads are my GO-TO loads for my 16 & 12 ga's since they are pre-steel. Kent TM is really good stuff however its use is limited to hunting. Nice to hear that things went so well.

 

[John Camp]

Now that is a good weekend

 

[rookhawk]

Ask of @AfricaHunting.com and @BRICKBURN . The great thing about these friendly forums is that topics evolve over time. In lieu of clogging up the for-sale forum with back and forth, could we migrate these classified items to another forum after they've run their financial course but the threads still remain to discuss things like brenneke slugs, kids shooting deer, and the history of german guns?

Latest update on this thread for today:

Just dressed the turkey! The breast is brining for cherry wood quick smoking this evening! The thighs are in the fridge until the Mrs braises them for her amazing wild turkey Risotto later this week! The grill is warming up for sirloin cap / tri-tip / filet mignon venison for the herd's dinner this evening! My son made Merchant de Vin sauce last week which will go atop the venison this fine evening!

 

[IvW]

Anyone know which 2-3/4” slug is ideal for this smoothbore gun that has a full choke?

Original Brenneke with the felt screwed on the back

 

[rookhawk]

Original Brenneke with the felt screwed on the back

Is this the one? https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1002073737?pid=861864