Update 9th June 2015

 

Welcome to my June 2015 Update.

 

Now a month back from the Southern S/S Spring Classic at Deep River Sporting Clays, Sanford NC and deep into restorations for my next show in September.

 

It looks increasingly likely that we will attend the ‘North American Shotgun Classic’ at the Beretta Shooting Grounds, Dover Furnace, NY on 24th-27th September. Accommodation is booked and I just need to confirm our booth space before the end of August.

 

Bottle necks with my long-term outworkers have held me up somewhat and I don’t really know which guns are going to make it through in time but, over the next couple of weeks, hopefully things will become clearer and I will have a (nearly) definitive list of projects to concentrate on.

 

At this stage it looks to be a selection from the following:

 

H&H 16b 30” TIG-sleeved SL (most recent project from our Accipiter Series);

 

GE Lewis 16b 29” Damascus Hammergun;

 

Henry Atkin 12b Toplever 28” TIG-sleeved SLE;

 

J Williamson RUL 12b 30” Damascus Hammergun;

 

John Dickson 12b 30” TIG-sleeved Round Action;

 

H&H 16b 30” Damascus Climax SLNE;

 

W Powell 20b 29” Damascus Lift-up toplever Hammergun;

 

Another Henry Atkin 12b 30” TIG-sleeved SLE, with sidelever;

 

J Purdey 12b BiW 28” TIG-sleeved Hammergun;

 

A Maloch 12b RUL 30” Damascus Hammergun;

 

Wilkinson & Son .410 RUL Hammergun (converted from a double rifle);

 

Charles Lancaster 12b 30” Damascus self-opening SLE;

 

And last but not least a sleeved 20b Hammergun by S Allport (the novel bolting and lever-work featured recently on my Facebook page).

 

All the above are pre-1897 and nitro reproofed for 2 ¾”.

 

The top H&H gun listed above references the ‘Accipiter Series’. As you will find if you follow the link, this is a series of projects which has grown sort of organically from a few individual projects into something more!

 

Starting as a mixture of a solution to a customer’s needs, a pragmatic way of increasing the Value Added for a border-line project and an experiment ‘because I could’, these eight or so guns have turned out to be quite an eye-opener for those lucky enough to shoot or own one.

 

The series borrows its name from the genus of ‘True Hawks’ which include the Northern Goshawk and European Sparrowhawk, and having hawked with both these beautiful, powerful and fast predatory species in my younger days, I felt the parallel was appropriate.

 

 

Their defining characteristic is that the original gun was made as a gauge at least one size larger than it is now.

 

The benefits are an increased weight from the gauge norm resulting in less perceived recoil, superb balance, better swing and less punishment for antique wood; modern steel barrel internals capable of handling most modern shot materials; modern chambering and chokes and the possibility of interchangeable chokes for maximum adaptability.

 

If the idea appeals, watch this space as I intend to produce further guns in this series built on both hammered and hammerless actions.

 

The UK is enjoying a high pressure system with sunny days and pleasant temperatures albeit pretty windy in East Anglia where we reside. However the mornings have swung from fresh to muggy and back again: for walking Tilly and Moss Barbour, flat cap and wellies alternate with shorts and shirt sleeves! Today was somewhere in between and as I write it is bright yet overcast and threatening rain in a rather half-hearted way.

 

Tilly is still continuing to be torn between growing up and remaining a puppy! Today, coming out of her kennel mid-morning, she took off like a hare and, before I could get her under control, had streaked through one of Chrissy’s favourite borders. Minimal damage was done but if her precious peonies had been hit, I think my Pocket Rocket would have been grounded for the whole summer!

 

Due to further internal bleeding, Moss has gone back on the Metronidazol antibiotics with immediate effect. It seems to have sorted the problem for the time being but it does beg the question of just how much longer we will have him for. I am firmly against keeping old pets going longer than one should simply to cater to one’s feelings but in all other respects he is happy and healthy: eyes, joints, appetite all healthy so I am not giving up on him yet.

 

Finally, Chrissy and discovered a use for the dogs while gardening on a windy day. Question: How do you fold up a large tarpaulin? Answer: Take two Labradors….!

 

 

 

As usual I have left several guns behind in North Carolina and these include:

 

 

Watson Bros 28b Hammergun no 4606

 

 

Boss & Co 12b RUL hammergun no 2717

 

 

Boss & Co 16b RUL Hammergun no 1692

 

 


A spectacular FT Baker Needham patent 12b SLE, a real sleeper;

 

 

 

A very beautiful cased, toplever 12b SLE by Henry Atkin with ‘makers replacement steel barrels;

 

 

A Stephen Grant sidelever 12b SLE with lovely replacement wood;

 

 

 

 

A Murcott 12b hammergun with 30” damascus barrels;

 

 

 

And last but very much not least

 

A damascus barrelled BLE by Perkes Adams & Co in wonderful condition with some CH remaining:

 

 

Full details can be found via links on the Stock Page.

 

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

 

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.