doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com W J Jeffery 410 side by side

I found a few years ago a very sweet little 410 side by side boxlock ne by WJ Jeffery. It was obviously built as a best gun with very high quality wood, extensive engraving, silver oval etc. and it has a 15 inch stock with 27inch barrels and weights 4lbs 6 oz.

Sadly at some point in its life it was not looked after - the hand of the stock has been broken, but expertly repaired with pins hidden under an inlaid oval, hidden by the checkering, with it totally off the face, and the bores pretty pitted. When I got it the woodwork was about black wit age old grime. Friend who is a gun dealer had taken it in as consignment of guns as part of an estate and passed it to me on the understandig that I would bring some sort of order.

Woodwork I have cleaned up, risen most of the dents and scratches out of and have applied a new oil finish. It still has a small chip out of one side, but thats part of its charachter. The action I have cleaned up - soft cloth with lighter fluid and time to remove grime. In terms of the barrels and jointing, I sent it away to a London trained barrel smith. He has rejointed the action so it is now tight and measured up the barrels. Whilst there is plenty of thickness there and safe to shoot, they are somewhat pitted and he fears to lap them out would take out too much metal to get pristine bores.

So have been shooting it - little 2 inch cartridges on clays and 2 1/2 inch cartridges in the field. Am amazed at a 410 can do. I am regularly connecting with tall clays off the top of a tower - OK a bit more difficult than with a 12, but my average is well over 50%. In the field I have shot a few pigeons and phaesants and if I connect they crumple. It is becoming my gun of choice for walked up rough shooting - But fully appreciate 410's have their limitations.

Toying with the idea of having the barrels sleeved - on the plus side it would give me nice smooth pristine bores that look pretty and are easily cleaned, but on the negative, it would become unoriginal and unless done properly would uspet the balance etc. Would I be better keeping it as it is and enjoying it, but use the funds instead to find a better 28 bore that would be a bit more versitile?

My favorite double is a little 20 gauge Jeffery. It was sleeved and proofed in London in 2002. It was well done, joints are invisible and it balances properly and still weighs 5 1/4 pound. I bought it after it was sleeved for probably much less then what the job cost. I'm really glad someone had the work done but not sure it is worth doing.

I would not sleeve the Jeffrey. I would be shooting it without regard to the pits except to clean the barrels after every use.

HeymSR20:
My hats off to you. This sounds like a remarkable 410 that just about any member here would like to own. Just a suggestion: How about sending it to one of the really good gunsmiths we know and see if it could be brought back to some semblence of it former glory?
Jim

I can once recall being shown a little .410 boxlock John Fry shotgun by an old Farmer. It was at that point where any more neglect would set it on the path to ruin. It was still tight but in need of a good clean and some t.l.c. Being nosey I took the barrels off to look at the proof marks and exclaimed it a pity that it only had the 2 inch chambers. 'But I always use 2 1/2 inch ones', came the reply ' I wondered why they didn't open at the ends properly'. I did make an offer for the gun but it was not for sale. Oh the despair! Lagopus.....

Thanks for your comments. To some extent decision has just been made for me - been quoted anywhere from £500 up to over £1,000 to have the barrels sleeved. The £500 was from a smith who said he doesn't weld / solder the new tubes but just peens them in tightly - mmmmmmmmm.

Will just keep shooting it and enjoying it, but one day will have the barrels redone. Only current niggle is that there is a bit of roughness at the end of the chambers and with 2 1/2 inch cartridges this does cause a bit of stickiness in extracting the cartridges.

To be honest part of its beauty are its war wounds and worn engraving etc. New sleeved barrels pristinly reblued would look wrong.

There is a very similar gun by Pape on the Holts auction - Lot no 1516 - http://auctions.holtsauctioneers.com/asp...8&saletype=

I believe most of these were built in Birmingham and then sold into the trade for final finishing - I have seen a few with different names on them, but that all look very similar.

Alternatively can always hope that one day I will be able to afford lot 1495

http://auctions.holtsauctioneers.com/asp...5&saletype=