In dire need of TLC

[OrenT]

I have a Prussian Charles Daly drilling in dire need of TLC. The upper rib is damaged, the stock needs work and the rear sight is broken off. Could any members suggest places to look for parts?

Also, it has a flip up sight in the tang but it is difficult to grab and raise. Is there supposed to be some sort of spring mechanism for raising it?

[mike ford]

Oren T,
I believe Recknagle (ERA) can provide a rear sight that can be fit to your drilling. As far as stockwork is concerned, there are many competent stockmakers(they also do repair) in the country. There may be fewer people that do work on ribs,but there are some avaliable. It sounds as if the tang sight may just need 80 years of "crud"cleaned out and oil applied.These are usually let into the tang pretty closely and only a little bit will make it hard to raise to the upright position.They usually don't have a spring to raise them, but often have a flat spring that acts on a "lug" or corner at the bottom, to keep it either up or down. There is usually a small cut to allow a thumbnail to raise it. Since you have several issues with the drilling, I suggest you talk to one of the gunsmiths that advertise in the Trade Directory of WAIDMANNSHEIL.Any one of them will understand what is necessary and will do excellent work. Since all of them understand drillings, they can completely check it over at the same time. At the end, you can have a very nice and useful drilling you can be proud of.
Mike

[OrenT]

Thanks for all the information. I had completely forgotten about making the post here and just stumbled across it. The drilling has been languishing well oiled in the back of my vault until I have time to really get into it. Meanwhile I've recently picked up 2 drillings, both 16 ga over 9.3x72R One is a hammer gun in need of a new buttstock, other is a box lock gun in need of both shotgun barrels being replaced. Now looking for a source for new 16 ga shotgun tubes.

[mike ford]

Oren T, I think I addressed the barrels under another thread. This is to advise that you should keep the stock that needs to be replaced, and all the broken parts. There are people that can almost perform magic in stock repair. If nothing else, a repaired stock can be used as a pattern for a pantograph, to make a new one.
Mike