Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Combination Guns and Drillings Colt Sauer drilling problem

I recently inherited a 12/12/.243 Colt Sauer drilling. My brother acquired it in the late 70s. The gun has seen very little use. I was showing it to some friends the other day, and for the first time, dry fired it. The rifle barrel and left shotgun barrel went off no problem, but the right side shotgun barrel would not fire. Anybody know anything about this issue? My brother was notorious for spraying down his guns with WD-40. Several of the other guns that I got were gunked up and needed some internal cleaning. I have no idea how to take this gun apart and would not even think about trying. Anybody know if this is something simple? Or should I take it to a gunsmith?

Mackey

Mackey

The first thing I would do is make sure you opened the gun fully. Many times the other hammers will cock on a partial opening, but the right side won’t. There should be 3 “pins” sticking up that are your cocking indicators to show that all three hammers are cocked.

Also, please make sure you use snap caps when dry firing!!

I might be at risk of insulting you by stating the obvious, but are you sure the tang mounted barrel selector was in the rear position so that the right shotgun barrel could be fired? If pushed forward only the rifle barrel and left shotgun barrel will fire.

Mackay,
We live in the same town. I would be happy to clean it for you if you want. Be wary of Keith W.

Chaz

John, With all 3 cocking indicator pins up, I dry fired it. I can get the two on the left go down (left side shotgun barrel and rifle barrel) but the right side won’t fire. I just sent cotis a plea for help since he lives nearby.

BTW, I took your advice and ordered some snap caps from Amazon. Thanks for the help!

Mackey

Castnblast, I’m sure the rifle setting was correct. Or at least I think it was. I’m really not sure that I’m smart enough to hunt with this complicated of a weapon. I can definitely see myself shooting at a running rabbit with that 243. Or a nice buck standing at about 100 yards with a load of 12 gauge 6’s. Thanks for your response. Waiting on reply from cotis.

Mackey

Do you move the selector to the rear and try to fire the right hand barrel? Make sure you press the tab on the top, or it won’t move!

I think it is something minor, FWIW.

I have a German buddy, a retired forest manager for the city of Cologne. During a group hunt, he chose the wrong barrel and shot a running wild boar with a load of bird shot. Killed it later with the rifle barrel, so not a big problem, but the hunting club members required him to buy a couple rounds of beer at the banquet later! ;-)

Eureka! My new friend cotis to the rescue. After disassembling my gun, he found a broken hammer spring.
He’s going to help me locate and buy the part we need and I’m sure he’ll help me with the repair. He REALLY knows his stuff about guns. Thanks cotis! You guys have fun in Nashville this weekend!

Mackey

Glad you found the problem, and apprised us of your progress!

Mackay,
Appreciate the kind words. Headed out to Nashville soon for the weekend, should be fun. I am on the hunt for a hammer spring, below are the photos. I have checked Brownells, MidwayUSA, Midwest Gun Parts, Jack First website (haven't called them yet). Just got off the phone with Colt, naturally they don't service their old firearms anymore. They gave me the names and numbers for Interarms, Custom Shop Inc., and Jack First to try. The third photo with the screwdriver is pointing to where the hammer spring goes for the right shotgun barrel. The left shotgun barrel spring is in the white vs. the other two so I am guessing it has been replaced already sometime in the past.

I am completely open to suggestions! Making one is a LAST ditch scenario, this spring is more complicated than a normal one with the hooks at both ends.

My first stop would be Sauer USA. If they can’t help, Frankonia Jagd in Germany can probably source one for you.

Latest on this. I tried Sauer USA - now owned by Blaser. No dice, they do not support the old Sauers. They suggested Lee LeBas who I contacted. He is great to speak with but said sourcing a spring would be quite difficult if not impossible. He was reaching out to some people he knows in Germany but so far I haven’t heard back. I ordered a spring kit from Brownells that had the exact style of spring in it, but unfortunately it was about 25% too large in all dimensions. I have already sent that kit back.

I already knew this from my experience with my old German cape gun, and this rifle simply reinforces what I knew. These old German guns are not for the faint of heart if they need any repair or gunsmithing work. Finding parts is VERY difficult and finding a gunsmith who will work on them is a challenge. Even if you find the first two you better have plenty of spare change under the sofa cushions because it won’t be cheap.


I found a spring for a Zoli shotgun that dimensionally is the correct size for each leg. I ordered them from an Italian website last Friday, scheduled to be delivered Thursday via UPS which is amazingly fast coming from Italy. I hope to fit it weekend after next and get this nice drilling back up and running for Mackey.

I have also found two other spring options if needed, one for a SKB shotgun and another for an Ithaca 500-885 series shotgun.

Absolute last option is to make one from scratch, but I really do not want to do that.

Cotis, I very much appreciate your commitment to helping me with this. As I’ve said, I inherited this gun from my brother and it will mean so much to have it back fully functional again. Let me know when I need to do something!

Mackey

Cotis, If you do find one, I am also in need of one for my Colt drilling. Even if it has to be fabricating from scratch. Maybe getting two would help with spreading out the cost. Even if it is expensive. It would be nice to get it in working order.

I broke the latch spring on my German 16X16/9.3X72R, and a gunsmith friend welded it for me.
The break was not on the curve however, it was just above it.
It works great now. Maybe look at that , or have a good gunsmith fab one p?
Cat

Update on this - rifle is functional again! I received the Zoli springs from Italy quickly. Unfortunately they were not a simple drop in fit. I have a photo of original and new one side by side. The length of one leg vs. the other is critical!! The leg facing the front of the gun (facing the hammer) must be 3-5mm longer than the rear leg facing the butt of the gun. This allows the spring to “lay back” so there is clearance for the hammer as it cocks back. If the spring legs are too symmetrical in length the spring will actually tilt forward while the hammer archs back, hitting each other and not allowing the hammer to travel enough to engage with the sear lever below the spring.

I filed on the replacement spring aggressively, removing as much material as i could from the U portion of the rear leg of the spring (trying to make it shorter) and filing the large knob on the front of the spring down effectively making that portion of the leg longer. I also had to put a significant bend in the rear spring leg to lean the spring backward and also shorten the leg a bit. It was a very tight fit but I managed to get the spring to work reliably. Mack fired the shotgun several times and reported 100% function.

I also ordered the Ithaca 580 springs from EBay, which took over two weeks to arrive. I am not sure how they will fit, but I know they won’t be drop-in either. I would really like to fit these springs as I feel they will be the most reliable for the long term.

Given enough time I may find a drop in spring now that I know exactly the critical dimensions I am looking for. Mackey has the rifle, it is working, and it is turkey season in MS. I may not see it again to work on it.

Cotis, you’ll see it again.. right now I’m trying to kill a MS turkey with it! I’ve fired it enough to feel confident that I’m good to at least 50 yards with my $10.00 each, 2 3/4” TSS shells. So far I’ve been out 4 times, encountered turkeys every time, but haven’t been able to close the deal. I’m heading to BVI April 11 so I plan to drop it off before I leave.

Mackey.