Stephen Grant, 67a St James's Street, London
12 bore Bar Action, Sidelock Ejector
No. 5800, No 2 of pair


Date of manufacture: 1888

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Heritage Guns' Comment

This is a superb example of a Best London sidelock ejector from this highly respected gunmaker, made in the heyday of the British gun trade. This gun may well have been made originally as a non-ejector, converted in the 1890's, very probably in John Robertson's workshops (later the owner of Boss & Co). It should be remembered that Grant SLE's made up to 1900 often have a very delicate ejector trip mechanism that may need occasional maintenance.
A skilled stocker has professionally replaced the stock at some time and although not exotic in its figure, it has excellent dimensions. The 30 1/4" barrels appear to have been originally proofed for 2 3/4" nitro cartridges and although still in proof, we have re-proofed them to ensure their safety. This all adds up to a strong gun that is a joy to shoot and should give many years of service on game or clays with normal maintenance.

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

 

The action is of traditional bar action sidelock design and features:
Side lever opening, operating a 'Purdey Bolt',
Double triggers bolted by an automatic top tang safety slide,
Bar action locks, Roger's cocking levers,
Disk set strikers,
Coil spring ejectors tripped by slides in the bar of action
and Anson's push rod forend catch.
Gun weight 7lb
Engraving style
Best fine foliate scroll. Finely carved action bar.
Trigger pulls measure approximately: Front trigger 3 1/2lbs Rear trigger 4lbs
The Damascus barrels are 30 1/4" in length, chambered for 2 3/4" (70mm) cartridges and are of brazed 'through' lump construction with soft soldered ribs.
Top rib
is of the smooth, concave game type.
London reproof for 70mm nitro powder cartridges in 2011.

Approximate barrel measurements at date of publication:

 
Nominal Proof Size
Bore Diameter 9" from Breech
Minimum Wall Thickness
Choke Constriction
Right Barrel
18.7mm (0.736")
0.737"
0.023" Minimum
0.002" (Skeet)
Left Barrel
18.7mm (0.736")
0.739"
0.023" Minimum
0.020" (Mod)

The Replacement Straight Hand Stock and Splinter Forend are crafted from figured walnut. The stock is cast off for a right-handed shot; features well defined drop points, a vacant white metal oval and a crosscut butt. The forend has one inlet repair to its edge and has an engraved diamond and steel tip.

Figured walnut

The approximately 20 lines per inch chequering has been freshened to a normal bordered sidelock 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 3/8"
14 7/16"
14 1/2"
15 1/8"
Drop at Comb
Drop at Face
Drop at Heel
1 3/8"
1 9/16"
2 1/16"
Cast at Comb
Cast at Heel
Negligible
1/4" (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:
Roger's cocking levers patent no 397 of 1882,
'Purdey Bolt' patent no. 1104 of 1863,
Holland & Robertson's ejector patents 5834 and 11623 of 1887,
Anson's forend fastener patent no. 3791 of 1872.