doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com What's going on with the left ball fence here?

Hello everyone, I have a used British double that I'm looking at potentially purchasing but need some help. I can't figure out what's going on with the left ball fence, on this one. Note the disk? It looks like something was cut out and repaired, but I'm not familiar enough with English doubles of this age to know if this would be something to be wary of. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. The gun is from a very reputable maker in London that would go on to helm one of the oldest and arguably best double gun makers in the city.

Are you looking at that round area which shifts when opened? That is part of the locking system. Take a look a Greeners for clear examples.

Welcome to the club. Fair warning, doubles can be addictive and costly. Buy quality, not the name or shine. Most A&D boxlocks are the same, with a majority made by a few makers not necessarily the names on the gun. Bringing in semi or completely finished gun and having your name on them, like you built them in house, is a long standing and completely acceptable thing in the trade.

tallen72,

If you are talking about the round disk it if the end of the cross bolt. It goes thru a hole in the rib extension & is most likely tapered. This locks the action closed and is controlled by the lever, when the lever is moved to the right it moves the cross bolt to the left unlocking the action allowing the barrels to drop.

Hope this helps.
WBLDon

Thank you both. I have a couple of American doubles from the 20s and then a French guild gun from the interwar period, but none of them are Greener actions, so I had not seen this before.

The gun in question is a John Robertson from Boss & Co. bearing the 41 Albemarle Street London W.1 address.

A John Robertson is nicer that your average boxlock and I think you now know what a cross-bolt is(?) and looks like. I grew up with American guns and then somebody completely ruined me by handing me a British gun. That individual (who is still around) has cost me a lot of time and money over the years. I'm not sure whether I should thank him or curse him.

I had just never seen one that popped out the left side of the fences before. So I was a bit confused. The American doubles I have aren't finer guns. I have a LeFever Nitro Special, Riverside 215, and again, that French St. Etienne guild gun. Most of my shotguns are either slide-action or semi-automatic.

I don't have this one in my hands yet, but I went ahead and bought it. Seemed like a reasonable price for the gun once I looked up the name. $720 before shipping thanks to a discount (shipping was only $30). Here's the link to it. It'll be the first British double I've ever owned. https://www.ows-ammo.com/british12-gauge-side-by-side-shotgun-made-by-j-robertson?___SID=U

In my case, this board is wholly to blame.

I have never seen a John Robertson in that style of action

I reached out to Boss & Co. Late yesterday, this is their response.

"J Robertson is a second-grade box lock gun made in Birmingham for Boss & Co, only sold by Boss & Co. There was no order book or records to view."

Seems pretty straight forward.

There you go never say never most I have looked at didn't have a rib extension and greener cross bolt .if you strip and clean it can you look if there is any marking under the bottom plate.Mark