Posted on 08/31/2015 6:09:03 AM PDT by w1n1
Towards the end of the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, the soldiers of the 506th Parachute Regiment, 101st Airborne, are sent to Hitler’s “Eagles Nest” retreat in the Bavarian Alps. There, Nazi leaders had a getaway resort where they could enjoy an opulent lifestyle away from the public eye. As depicted in the miniseries, this is where the real boys of the 101st found a treasure trove of war souvenirs, and this is where the story of our shotgun – engraved with the initials A.H. – begins.
The shotgun This style of shotgun, known as a Drilling, is uniquely German. The engraved Krieghoff Neptune variation combines a double-barrel, 12-gauge shotgun with an 8×57 JR-caliber rifle barrel. The gun metal is ornate, featuring high-relief engravings depicting woodlands with deer. The serial number, 15450, indicates that the gun was made in 1931 and then sent to a master engraver to embellish the gun to its current condition. The bottom of the trigger guard is where the initials are located.
Read the rest of Hitler's shotgun here.
Actually that belonged to my next door neighbor - Albert Henderson
I like the inlet stock reserve for 4 shells.
Yeah, I think I remember Uncle Al with that gun hunting ducks.
Pogey bait?
I’d be more interested to find one of Hitlers gold plated walther PPK’s.
CC
I remember. You loaned it to him and the SOB had his initials engraved on it, the SOB!
Drillings are not “uniquely German”, they are predominantly German. Yes the artisans at Suhl liked drillings and produced many, but a few American companies also produced drillings.
To bad he didn’t put it into his mouth after Barbarossa stalled out...
What is that?
An aroused/inspired Dr. Strangelove.
I remember that going to auction in the eighties.
My uncle was in the 101ST. Brought back Hitler’s silverware and napkins and some 30 foot flags. His wife threw it all out. My cousin managed to save a helmet.
Very high quality workmanship and engraving on a lot of the old German drillings. The rifle bullets are no longer made for a lot of the calibers used on pre-war drillings and you can pick up guns that use obsolete calibers fairly cheap in relationship the quality of gun you’re getting. Also, a lot of folks think of them as heavyweight guns, what with having 3 barrels, but some of them are pretty lightweight.
Those cartridge traps are still around in some of today's high-end gunmakers' catalogs - Blaser, for one. I've always wanted to build a custom '98 Mauser with a butterknife bolt handle, cartridge trap, express sights and other "dangerous game" features.
Since I don't fancy getting thumped by a true safari cartridge, perhaps something like W.D.M. Bell's .275 Rigby would be a fitting rifle to clone.
That was a very tricky stock to make out of one piece.....cheek rest built into it out of the single block.....nice work.
I recall reading that Hitler received many firearms as gifts but wasn’t particularly interested in them.
I’m glad people got the joke
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