John Dickson & Son, 63 Princes Street, Edinburgh
12 bore Round Action Ejector
no. 4658 (No 2 of pair)
Year of production: 1893

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Heritage Guns' Comment

Gun number 4658 started life as No.1 of a pair in 1893 and is a lovely example of the round action shotguns that Dickson is famed for.
Exhibiting all the normal features of this highly desirable design, the gun has survived the last 125 years particularly well: still carrying its original, highly figured wood, beautifully crisp engraving and considerable hardening colour. The gun was soft solder sleeved in 1967 and because of the excellent quality of the work we decided not to TIG weld the sleeving joint. Unfortunately there is a small area of joint 'bleaching' on the LH tube near the top rib.
The 'new' sleeved barrels coupled with excellent stock dimensions makes it a very pretty and safe gun for either game or clays.

WE REGRET THAT THIS GUN IS NOW SOLD. IF YOU ARE SEARCHING FOR A SIMILAR GUN, PLEASE CONTACT US.

The action is of Dickson's design and features:
Considerable traces of original hardening colour;
Double triggers bolted by top tang mounted, automatic safety slide;
Rounded action bar with Dickson's patent cocking slide, use no. 473;
Gold washed cocking indicators and finely chiselled fences;
Top lever opening, operating a 'Purdey Bolt' by way of a 'Scott Spindle';
Top rib extension with third bite;
Dickson's patent ejectors;
Anson forend catch.
Engraving style Best Foliate Scroll; 'JOHN DICKSON & SON PATENT' in scrolling banner on action bar; Gold inlayed SAFE on top tang; '2' engraved on toplever, forend iron and top rib.
Gun weight 6lb 10oz
Trigger pulls measure approximately: Front trigger 3 lbs Rear trigger 4 ¼ lb
The soft solder sleeved, steel to damascus barrels are 28" in length, chambered for 2 ¾" (70mm) cartridges and are of brazed through-lump construction with soft soldered ribs.
Top rib is of smooth, concave game type.
Birmingham reproof for 70mm nitro powder cartridges in 2017.

Approximate barrel measurements at date of publication:

 
Nominal Proof Size
Bore Diameter 9"
from Breech
Minimum Wall Thickness
Choke Constriction

Right Barrel
18.6mm (0.732")
0.734"
0.029"
0.012" (IC)

Left Barrel
18.6mm (0.732")
0.733+"
0.026"
0.017" (Mod)

The original Straight-hand Grip Stock and possibly replacement Splinter Forend are crafted from highly figured walnut. The forend features a finely engraved steel tip, an inlaid white metal '2' and bears a stocker's mark of '2915' on its barrel recess. The stock is finished with a 3/4" leather covered recoil pad and features a yellow metal oval engraved 'R.C.M.'. The stock is cast-off for a right-handed shot and the triggerplate is a little proud of the wood due to shrinkage and historic refinishing.

 Highly Figured walnut

The 22 lines per inch chequering has been refreshed to its original pattern.
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
15"
15 1/8"
15 1/4"
15 3/4"
Drop at Comb
Drop at Face
Drop at Heel
1 5/8"
1 11/16"
2"
Cast-off at Comb
Cast-off at Heel
1/8" (approximate)
5/16" (approximate)

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:
Dickson's cocking patent no. 294 of 1880;
Dickson's ejector patent 10621 of 1887;
'Purdey Bolt' patent no. 1104 of 1863;
'Scott Spindle' patent no. 2752 of 1865;
Scott's top extension patent no. 1902 of 1875;
Anson's forend fastener patent no. 3791 of 1872.