Update 4th November 2016

 

Safely back from North Carolina

 

Dear Heritage Guns Update Registrants,

 

Now I am safely home from my little jaunt over the pond to North Carolina, I have updated the web site with current prices for all my USA located stock guns and cases.

 

My great thanks go to Bob Nay for organising the venue for my little ‘Show & Tell’, Joe & Patti Norcom for putting me up and all the like-minded souls who attended our little gathering in Charlotte on Saturday 29th October.

 

Since I left the UK, the autumnal weather has arrived with a vengeance: frosts in the morning and, as I write, lots of grey clouds and rain.

 

Tilly and I are out tomorrow for our first day of the pheasant season, picking-up on our local estate. It will be very interesting to see how she handles a return to live game after a layoff of nine months. Hopefully I will have some hair left by 4pm and not planning her retirement!

 

It is important to note that with the fall in the Stirling’s value in relation to the US$, our prices are really great value right now.

 

Furthermore, helped by the great exchange rate, our existing US stock of guns have had their prices slashed. All prices will be subject to shipping costs.

 

New stock guns to the USA:

 

William Cashmore 12g BL Pigeon Gun no 4739

This gun appeared unexpectedly in a rather dilapidated gun case and on closer inspection turned out to be a most interesting example of a special order ‘Pigeon Gun’. Complete with file cut rib and standard 2 ¾” chambers, it hid its speciality under a ‘Plain Jane’ cloak and it was only when the wood had been cleaned up and the barrels measured that the truth became apparent. It wears the most startling wood and a very unusual short rib, possibly to increase weight without affecting balance.

$2990

 

John Dickson & Son 12g Round Action Ejector no 4373

One does not have to look very hard to appreciate the loveliness of this gun. Complete with Damascus barrels and a brand new stock, both of excellent dimensions, this is a very desirable gun. What is amazing is it is actually a composition of two quite separate guns: the barrels and forend of no 4654 and the action of no 4373. These were brought together sometime in the past but the project was not really finished. We have spent 18 months making someone’s dream a reality and are most pleased with the results.

$12990

 

Holland & Holland 16g ‘Climax’ SL no 7455

Bought at auction with thin and badly pitted barrels, TIG sleeving was the only option to bring this lovely gun back into service. What is unusual is the quality and condition of the action and wood: quite considerable amounts of original hardening colour are apparent is protected areas and the 15” original one piece stock is a classic bit of old French walnut.

$6350

 

Thomas Johnson 16g Bar in Wood Hammergun no 3444

This is another lovely old gun, relegated to the back of the gun cabinet by thin original barrels. Again, TIG sleeving was the obvious course of action and we are delighted with how well the gun has come out.

Featuring the ‘modern’ top lever and Purdey’s Bolt, it also carries a grip safety so it can be said that this gun bridges the earlier muzzle-loading and the new-fangled breach loading eras.

$5990

 

James Lang 12g Back Action SLE no 913

James was only in business under his own name for a period of about 10 years but in that time was responsible for producing an impressive catalogue of beautifully finished guns. Many, like this example, were bought in from the top end of the trade in London or Birmingham and he appears to have had strong loyalties to certain trade gunmakers as similar proprietary mechanisms turn up time and again.

$4490

 

J&W Tolley 16g Bar Action Hammergun no 6404

When we took this gun in for restoration, the hammers had been radically shortened, probably with a hack saw. With careful laser welding we managed to restore them to their original size and shape, engraved and properly case hardened to match the rest of the locks’ patina. The barrels feature the original recess choke borings as indicated by the use of ‘CHOKE’, instead of ‘NOT FOR BALL’, after the bore/muzzle measurements.

$5590

 

Wilkinson & Son .410 RUL Hammergun no 7107

Normally we steer clear of double rifles converted to 410 shotguns but this little beauty was such a picture, we had to make an exception. We were won over by her full coverage of engraving, low weight (5lb 5oz - she must have kicked like a mule when in her rifle guise!) and excellent stock measurements. Nitro proofed for 3” shells, this would make a serious tool for game or clays.

$4890

 

James Woodward & Sons Hgun no 3417, Cased in Oak & Leather

I have just finished relining an oak & leather case for this lovely Woodward hammergun no 3417. I am very pleased with the dark green baize I have used, quite unusual to find this colour used on a Best London gun but we discovered traces of something similar under a poor reline job and decided to give it a try.
This gun remains something of an enigma. It uses a possibly unique bolting mechanism that no one I have approached has ever seen before. Unprotected by a patent as far as we can find, it was presumably an attempt to circumvent the Purdey Bolt patent which was still in force at the time but only for another few years. 

$7790

 

Two gun cases are being stored in NC and their prices have been slashed:

 

Oak & Leather Single Guncase by WR Pape ref 281442

A lovely old WR Pape case, lined with original green baize and fitted with an original Pape paper trade label. Some small internal repairs

Web site price $1190 Now $1090 Save $100

 

 

Leg of Mutton Guncase, suitable for barrel lengths up to 36”, ref 221050

This beautiful old LoM guncase is very unusual in its barrel length and we are sure that someone out there must have a use for it.

Web site price $390 Now $290 Save $100

 

 

The discounted guns are as follows:

 

Holland & Holland 20g SLE with TIG sleeved 26” barrels no 11971
Web site price $9750
Now $8590 Save over $1100

Lovely, early Royal gun with bar action locks. This gun has had an eventful life and now sports a well figured replacement stock and completely new forend equipped with Southgate ejectors.

 

Henry Clarke & Son 16g Backaction SLE with 30” TIG sleeved barrels. 4th in our ‘Accipiter’ series.
Web site price $6350
Now $5490 Save over $850
Originally built as a 12g, this has been my very own ‘go-to’ gun for game and clays in 2015 while I explored the proposition of having my late father’s Blanch SLE rebarrelled as a 16b. I have to say I have been won over by the delightful, steady handling of this gun and my clay scores and game shooting averages have been a revelation. There is no doubt now that I will get the work done on the Blanch to mimic the Clarke.

 

Henry Atkin 12g SLE no 397

Web site price $8350 Now $7490 Save over $800

We know is that this was made for a 'Lord Cremorne’ as a sidelock ejector circa 1883 although the form of ejector featured was not invented until some years later and is probably a later improvement. The gun has been restocked and given new forend wood to a very high standard. The locks exhibit the interceptor sear most commonly used by John Robertson of Boss & Co fame and are of fabulous quality so it is reasonable to assume that the gun was at least actioned in John Robertson's Soho workshops. What sets this gun aside from many Best shotguns of the era is the truly lovely engraving: not too fine to be almost invisible, not too bold to be ostentatious. 

 

Henry Atkin 12g SLE no 434 Cased

Web site price $9195 Now $8490 Save over $700

We know is that this was made for a 'Walter Peake' in 1883 and that it was rebarrelled by Henry Atkin Ltd between 1960 and 1971 when they were at the Bury Street address. The gun has also been restocked to a very high standard and it has been suggested that this might have been gone at the same time as the rebarrelling. We are fairly certain that the gun was not made originally as an ejector and was converted to the very reliable 'Southgate' system, probably around the turn of the C19th. The locks exhibit the interceptor sear most commonly used by John Robertson of Boss & Co fame and are of fabulous quality. 

 

T Murcott 16g Mousetrap SLNE no 2446
Web site price $6695 Now $5490 Save over $1200

This gun is a fine and rare example of an historic design which looks so normal today but in its time was truly ground breaking. It was the first commercially successful hammerless shotgun and many of the features that we see in modern double-barrelled guns are present here. Theophilus Murcott was well known in his day for innovation and the quality of his work and his gun's success was helped by copious advertising in the sporting periodicals of the period and much editorial copy. 

 

R Roper 12g SLNE no 30540

Web site price $ 4995 Now $4370 save over $600

This gun is built on the highly successful Gibbs and Pitt design of lever cocking action, one of the first hammerless designs to be welcomed by the shooting public in the gradual changeover from hammerguns. Use of this action by Roper reflects the high esteem the Gibbs & Pitt action design was held in by the buying public at the time. It was well designed, solidly built and retailed by nearly all gunmakers of the period. 2 ¾” nitro proof and choked Full/Full as original! A real game getter!

 

AJ Russell 12g BLE no 29701

Web site price $4350 Now $3990 Save over $350

This otherwise 'normal' A&D boxlock action is profusely covered with fine border, scroll and foliate detail and this coupled with the grip safety, interceptor sears, excellent barrel measurements and sensitive restoration makes it a pretty and interesting gun for either game or clays.

 

Details of all the guns can be found on our stock pages with links to the person usually holding the gun on consignment.

 

Most of the guns mentioned above are nitro proofed for a minimum of 2 3/4" cartridges and all are pre-1897 unless otherwise described.

 

Lastly a reminder that we now have a Facebook page at

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Heritage-Guns/1456166597974211.

Facebook is not everybody’s cup of tea but we will post photos and news there that are not relevant to our main web site pages.

 

Enjoy your guns and shooting wherever you are!


Toby Barclay

 

Links to our show venues can be found on our Home page.