doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com sauer drilling rifle barrel caliber

the rifle barrel is marked 108/49 is this the caliber?? i believe it may be 9.3x 72r.??

108/49 is the "Gauge" of the bore of the rifle. Same criteria as for a 12, 16 20 Etc This marking is normally found on guns made prior to 1912 & it may or may not be nitro proofed. The 108/49 gauge translates to a bore dia of .350". This could well be for lead 9.3 bullets. There should also be a case length marking, the 9.3 came in several different case lengths besides the 72 one.
A chamber cast is always a very good idea on these guns.

thanx

As I understand it these were not actual measurements but simply denoted the largest size plug gage which would enter the bore to the required distance. Thus the 108/49 indicates it would accept that size (.350") but not the 99/7 (.360") gage. As noted in the above link some 9.3mm guns of this era will be found with the 118/35 (.340") mark but most likely these were just a little small to accept the more common 118/49 gage.
I have a pre 1912 junker drilling in 8x58 Sauer which carries a 172,28 mark. It would appear thar / , or . are all used interchangably for these fractions.

Great to have you around, Miller, great to have you around!