Holland & Holland,
98 New Bond Street, London
12 bore Bar Action Hammergun
No. 8667, No. 2 of Pair


Date of manufacture: 1885

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Heritage Guns' Comment

This gun is a gorgeous example of a sporting hammergun from this illustrious gunmaker. Retaining its original wood and barrels, it is in remarkably fine condition for its age and we were delighted when we acquired it as a restoration project. The engraving is as fine an example of 'Bouquet and Scroll' as you will find anywhere, the wood has lots of dark figure and the damascus exhibits a lovely pattern of brown and silver. The gun can be opened when the right lock is cocked. All this coupled with our sensitive restoration makes it a very pretty, safe and highly 'shootable' gun.

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

The action is of normal bar action design and features:
Double triggers,
Bar action locks, Rebounding 'Dolphin' hammers,
'4 Pin' bridles, Sprung strikers,
Top lever opening, operating a 'Purdey Bolt' via a 'Scott Spindle',
Deeley forend catch, Engraved metal forend tip, Percussion fences.
One hammer is a very well matched, antique replacement.
Gun weight 6 lb 2 1/2 oz
Engraving style
Best Bouquet & Scroll.
Top rib engraved 'WINNER OF ALL THE 'FIELD' RIFLE TRIALS, LONDON 1883'.
No. '2' engraved on top rib and trigger guard.
Trigger pulls measure approximately: Front trigger 3 1/2lbs Rear trigger 4 lbs
The Damascus barrels are 28" in length, chambered for 2 ¾" (70mm) cartridges and are of brazed 'dovetail' lump construction with soft soldered ribs. Some vestigial pitting remains just forward of the RH chamber forcing cone, otherwise the bores are clean.
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
18.7 mm (0.736")
0.737"
0.024"
0.004" (Skeet)
Left Barrel
18.7 mm (0.736")
0.737"
0.023"
0.025" (Imp Mod)

The Straight Hand Stock and Splinter Forend are crafted from highly figured walnut. The stock is lightly cast-off for a right-handed shot, features a vacant white metal oval, well defined drop-points and a horn butt plate secured with engraved screws. There are 2 small inlet repairs to the forend's edge and it features an engraved metal tip.

Highly 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 1/4"
14 1/2"
14 3/8"
14 3/4"
Drop at Comb
Drop at Face
Drop at Heel
1 7/16"
1 9/16"
2"
Cast at Comb
Cast at Heel
Negligible
1/16" (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:
Stanton's rebounding lock patent no. 367 of 1867,
'Purdey Bolt' patent no. 1104 of 1863,
Deeley's forend fastener patent no. 1422 of 1873,
'Scott Spindle' patent no. 2752 of 1865.