Westley Richards, 170 New Bond Street, London
12 bore Bar in Wood,
'Crab Jointed' Bar action hammer gun
No. 5587.
Year of production:
pre-1887.
Click on these images for more detail.
Heritage
Guns' Comment
This gun represents is a beautiful example of the very
individual hammerguns that Westley Richard became famous for
in the last quarter of the 19th Century. Their trade mark
style was the use of 'bar-in-wood' stocking combined with a
'crab joint', and a testament to their highly skilled stockers
was that they used the same skills to produce every quality of
gun. With its simple border engraving, this gun was never
intended to represent their very best quality but even so, the
finishing is to a very high standard and no effort has been
spared in the construction and finish of the gun’s internal
workings. The gun action and locks have suffered some internal
corrosion damage which has been passivated and cleaned off and
with reasonable precautions, should not cause further
problems. The stock has been bedded to the action. This
coupled with the sensitive restoration makes it a very
individual and highly 'shootable' gun for either game or
clays.
WE REGRET THAT THIS GUN IS NOW
SOLD. IF YOU ARE SEARCHING FOR A SIMILAR GUN, PLEASE CONTACT
US.
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The
action is of Westley Richards' patented design and features:
Top lever opening, operating the famous Westley Richards patented
single bolt, engaging a 'Doll's Head' top extension;
Bar-in-wood
stock with 'crab joint';
Double triggers;
Bar action, rebounding
locks;
High level ‘Hare’s Ear’ transitionally shaped hammers;
Patent, 2-part strikers;
'Deeley' forend catch.
Gun
weight 6lb 10oz
Engraving style Border.
Toplever engraved ‘WESTLEY RICHARDS PATENT’
Trigger pulls
measure approximately: Front trigger 4lbs Rear trigger 4lbs
The damascus barrels are 30" in length, chambered for 2 ½ "
(65mm) cartridges and are of brazed 'dovetail' lump construction with
soft soldered ribs.
Top rib is of the smooth,
concave, game type.
The bores are essentially clean
but retain a few small vestigial pits, left in to maintain wall
thicknesses.
Birmingham
reproof for 2 ½” nitro powder cartridges in 1925-54.
Approximate barrel measurements
at date of publication:
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Nominal Proof Size
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Bore Diameter 9"
from Breech
|
Minimum Wall Thickness
|
Choke Constriction
|
Right Barrel
|
0.729"
|
0.736"
|
0.030"
|
0.005"
(Skeet)
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Left Barrel
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0.729"
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0.735+"
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0.028+"
|
0.005"
(Skeet)
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The original Straight Hand Stock and replacement Splinter Forend
are crafted from highly figured walnut. The stock is cast-off for a
right-handed shot, features a vacant, white metal, rectangular oval
and is finished with a blued steel butt plate and engraved screws.
This is the original butt plate, stamped WR and ‘5587’ internally, but
has suffered some corrosion damage and repairs.
The
replacement forend features a 'Deeley' catch and carved horn
tip.
The 16 (approx) lines per inch chequering is refreshed
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
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Pull to Bump
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Pull to Centre
|
Pull to Toe
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14
1/4"
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14
3/8"
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14
3/8"
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14
3/4"
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Drop at Comb
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Drop at Face
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Drop at Heel
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1
11/16"
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1
7/8"
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2 3/8"
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Cast-off at Comb
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Cast-off at Heel
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1/8" (approximate)
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1/4" (approximate)
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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,
Westley Richards's bolting patent no. 1572 of
1871 and striker patent no. 1960 of 1866,
Deeley & Edge forend
fastener patent no. 1422 of 1873.