James Lang & Co, 18 Brook Street, New Bond Street, London
12 bore Back Action, Sidelock Ejector
no. 913
Date of manufacture: Pre-1897

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Heritage Guns' Comment

James was the middle son of the famous Joseph Lang Snr and managed his father's gunmaking company until its sale in 1886. He then went on to run his own gunmaking concern, producing a relatively small number of beautifully finished guns of all types and specifications.
Built with 9 pin, back action bar locks by Thomas Southgate, a highly respected London gunmaker, this gun is a very fine example of James's work and exhibits many features commonly found on full, bar action sidelocks from the most illustrious gunmakers.
The original damascus barrels were beautifully sleeved by Joseph Lang & Son in 1985 and reproofed for 2 3/4" nitro cartridges and the highly figured original stock and forend are in fantastic condition for their age.
This all adds up to a beautiful and 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 back action sidelock design and features:
Top lever opening;
Scott's 3rd bite engaging a top rib extension and a Purdey Bolt operated by a Scott Spindle;
Southgate's lockwork with gold lined cocking indicators;
H&H style interceptor sears;
Double triggers bolted by an automatic top tang safety slide;
Roger's cocking levers;
Anti-friction rollers on main springs;
Ross's ejector box
and Anson forend catch.
Gun weight 6lb 13oz
Engraving style Finely chiselled, beaded fences. Best Bold Foliate Scroll. Gold inlaid SAFE.
Barrels Engraved 'JOSEPH LANG & SON. 102 NEW BOND STREET. LONDON'.
Action bar engraved 'J LANG' in a banner.
Trigger pulls measure approximately: Front trigger 3 lbs Rear trigger 4 1/4 lbs.
The sleeved steel to damascus barrels are 28" 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.
London reproof for 70mm nitro powder cartridges in 1985.

Approximate barrel measurements at date of publication:

 
Nominal Proof Size
Bore Diameter 9" from Breech
Minimum Wall Thickness
Choke Constriction
Right Barrel
0.724"
0.724"
0.036"
0.016"
(Light Mod)
Left Barrel
0.724"
0.724"
0.035"
0.029"
(Imp Mod)
Straight Hand Stock and Splinter Forend are crafted from very 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 1" Silvers recoil pad.
The forend features a finely engraved forend tip and diamond.


 Highly Figured walnut

The 24 lines per inch chequering has been freshened to a normal sidelock 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 1/4"
15 5/16"
15 1/4"
15 3/4"
Drop at Comb
Drop at Face
Drop at Heel
1 5/8"
1 7/8"
2 3/8"
Cast-off at Comb
Cast-off at Heel
Negligible
1/8" (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;
Southgate's lockwork patent no 12314 of 1889;
'Purdey Bolt' patent no. 1104 of 1863;
Scott's top extension patent no. 1902 of 1875;
'Scott Spindle' patent no. 2752 of 1865;
Ross's ejector patent no. 14886 of 1890;
Anson forend fastener patent no. 3791 of 1872.