Boss & Co, 73 St James's Street,
London
16b Bar Action RUL Hammergun no. 1692
Year of production: 1859
Click on these images for more detail.
Heritage
Guns' Comment
This gun started life as one of
a pair of 14b muzzleloaders, ordered by Thomas L Fitzhugh in 1859.
According to Donald Dallas's book on Boss & Co, Boss converted
them to centrefire in 1870. At some point after this the pair
were separated and then sometime between 1904 and 1925 this gun
was rebarrelled with 26" 16b barrels by F Reece of Price
Street, Birmingham. Another interesting feature of the gun is
that the stock and forend are chequered at different LPI: stock
at 18, forend at 23. This is most unusual but appears to be original,
at least dating back to the rebarrelling.
As a result of all these changes, we think that the only parts
that remain of the original muzzleloader are the lock and trigger
plates with some of their component parts. The wood, RUL action
and forend obviously date from the 1870's so the gun remains an
antique by any definition but the serial number is somewhat misleading
being something of a 'Grandfather's Axe'!
Regardless, this gun is a very attractive example of this illustrious
'Maker's work and with the modern barrels would make an excellent
gun for shooting game over dogs.
WE REGRET THAT
THIS GUN IS NOW SOLD. IF YOU ARE SEARCHING FOR A SIMILAR GUN,
PLEASE CONTACT US.
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The action is of traditional
design and features:
Double triggers;
Stanton Patent rebounding bar action locks;
Jones Patent rotary double bite underlever and 'Grip' forend fastener.
The breech can of course be opened with the RH hammer at full cock.
Engraving style Best Open Foliate Scroll with Ornate Borders.
Gun weight 5lb 14oz
Trigger pulls measure approximately: Front trigger 3 1/2lbs Rear
trigger 3 1/2lb
The replacement steel barrels are 26" in length, chambered
for 2 3/4 " (70mm) cartridges and are of brazed 'dovetail' lump
construction with soft soldered ribs.
Top rib is of the smooth, concave, game type and is engraved 'NEW
BARRELS BY F. REECE, PRICE ST, BIRMINGHAM'
London reproof for 70mm nitro powder cartridges in 2012.
Approximate barrel measurements
at date of publication:
|
Nominal Proof Size
|
Bore Diameter 9" from Breech
|
Minimum Wall Thickness
|
Choke Constriction
|
Right Barrel |
16.9mm (0.655")
|
0.662"
|
0.024"
|
0.004" (Skeet)
|
Left Barrel |
16.9mm (0.655")
|
0.660"
|
0.028"
|
0.016" (Mod)
|
Straight hand grip Stock and Splinter
Forend are crafted from highly figured walnut.
The stock features a vacant white metal oval, well defined drop points
and is finished with engraved iron heal & toe plates secured with
engraved screws. The stock is very lightly cast-off for a right-handed
shot.
The 18/23 (approx) lines per inch chequering has
been refreshed to its original design.
The stock is finished with a traditional linseed oil based preparation
as used on best guns by one of the top English makers. This finish uses
no grain fillers to achieve its deep, smooth lustre, only many hours
of alternate build and flatting off of the surface.
Approximate stock
measurements at date of publication:
Pull to Heel
|
Pull to Bump
|
Pull to Centre
|
Pull to Toe
|
14"
|
14 1/8"
|
14 1/8"
|
14 3/4"
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Drop at Comb
|
Drop at Face
|
Drop at Heel
|
1 1/2"
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1 3/4"
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2 3/8"
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Cast at Comb
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Cast at Heel
|
Negligible
|
1/8" (approximate)
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For the purposes of these measurements,
'Drop at Face' is the 'drop' measurement taken on a line perpendicular
to the
line joining the trigger and centre of the butt at approximately 8"
from the trigger (front trigger on a double trigger gun).
Patents Exhibited include:
Jones rotary underlever patent no. 2040 of 1859;
Stanton's rebounding lock patent no. 367 of 1867.