Thanks again to all for the continuing education.
This world of cartridges, metric and non-metric, rimless and rim is new to me. So I really do appreciate all the advice.
In terms of game and such, I plan to use the drilling for my "backyard" hunts in Hawaii when I get back there (now working in Singapore). The idea is mainly that I'm used to carrying my two piece longbow + arrows + quiver in a neat 36 inch long package on my back. I'd put it together for the final stalk. So the idea of carrying a heavy Drilling in two pieces then putting it together when needed appeals a lot.
I would mostly be using the shotgun for a range of birds from quail up to turkey size (maybe Canada goose in New Zealand) as well as buck shot for deer, goat, and boar. Slugs for boar, feral bison or cow are helpful when a situation pops up (and one never knows when an invitation to do a cull hunt for water buffalo in Australia comes up! Ha! Ha!). But it's good to have a rifle when a goat, pig, feral bull or bison, etc. appears accross a valley (hence the 30-06 or 8 x 57R). It's also fun to have a longish range varmint round for the rabbits, hares, rats, mongooses, etc. (for which perhaps a .22 Hornet would be better than a .223?)
So far, based on your advice, my thoughts are drifting to a short barrel 12 x 12 with choke tubes (ungainly yes, but beautiful in its own chunky way! Ha! I weigh around 275 pounds and am very top heavy [fat head?] so I haven't had too many problems with recoil so far) over a 8 x 57R (where does one get cheap practice ammo?) plus removable scope with inserts for a .22 Hornet (or .223?). But please do feel free to offer more advice. I'm still not really confident on what I'm doing.
Another two insert questions:
a) I notice that makers like Krieghoff advertise factory inserts which convert one of the shotgun barrels into a big caliber rifle barrel matching the drilling rifle barrel. They claim this creates a sort of bock drilling / "double rifle" plus. They seem pretty confident of the accuracy of the big caliber insert. Is this confidence warranted? Can a big caliber rifle insert into a shotgun barrel shoot about as well as the drilling rifle barrel? If so, how about a high power, light caliber like the .223?
b) when using a rifle insert in a shotgun barrel, do the shot shell extractors extract the insert when opened? Or is there some way that the extractors grab the smaller rifle shell?
Hope to be contacting dealers like Bob Jones soon!
Any and all comments would be welcome!
