doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Daw Daily Double

Of course it has been sleeved! Who cares? Is this the first English gun anyone has ever seen that has been sleeved?

Good grief, what sleeving has to do with the gun is only part of the history, I guess I don’t see what the urgency is to keep questioning that aspect of the gun’s pedigree…

Interesting, to me at least, is that this Daw has survived over 150 years of use with its single cylindrical bolt lock up. There is no complicated Purdey underbolt and no apparent "fitting on the circle". The semi circular cut on the underside probably mates with a transverse pin, but the major locking of the action is via the single bolt. This locking system seems to offer easy manufacture and a more shallow and graceful action. I have seen it on a Belgian Darry hammer gun. I wonder if it was used by other makers.

I care. I meant nothing defamatory about it having been sleeved, I was just curious as I knew that it was a very early gun to have been made with fluid steel barrels originally. It certainly was not meant by me as a put-down.

Agreed ,I didn`t see need for the questions when you had provided such good quality pics of the gun showing the excellent job done on it ! Better to have it in sound useable order than a wallhanger with scrap barrels .......

Anyone with more than a passing interest in good double guns cares if a gun is sleeved. Who did the work, and the quality of said work are often the only remaining qualifier of whether a “fine, old, gun” remains, a fine old gun.

Best,
Ted

“who did the work?” This in NOT Shrapnel’s lovely Daw hammer gun, but the only sleeving job I have seen (other than early Westley Richards sleeving jobs where they emblazoned their name above the Proof House mandated SLEEVED on the exterior of the breeches) that has been signed by the craftsman who did the job.

Note the tiny E.COOKE stamped over the joint.

Once a sleeved gun has changed hands the information as to who did the work is likely to be lost in the mists of time.

The quality, whether replacement or sleeved barrels has to be judged by straightness, striking down , bore finish and liveliness of the re-barrelled gun.

Here is another Daw of the same decade:

https://www.holtsauctioneers.com/as...123+++1800+&refno=203889&image=3

GEORGE H. DAW
A 12-BORE 1862 PATENT 'DAW'S PATENT CENTRAL FIRE' PUSH-FORWARD UNDERLEVER HAMMERGUN, serial no. 237,
circa 1865, 30in. lined nitro damascus barrels (in 2007, slightly loose), the rib engraved 'GEORGE H. DAW'S PATENT CENTRAL FIRE, 57 THREADNEEDLE ST. LONDON. NO. 237.', 2 1/2in. chambers, bored approx. 1/4 choke in both, G.H. Daw patent action, patent no. 1594 of 1862, use no. 237, carved percussion fences, elongated topstrap, non-rebounding back-action locks, permanently attached fore-end with horn finial and crosspin release, best bolt acanthus scroll engraving with feathered bordering, bright finish, 14 1/4in. well-figured stock with engraved steel heel and toe plates, weight 7lb. 9oz.

Thanks Stephen: an interesting advertisement. This part of the ad is super interesting. "G.H. Daw patent action, patent no. 1594 of 1862, use no. 237." Apparently Daw stamped a patent use number for his own patent onto his own guns; Wonder is this was the normal arrangement for all patent holders or just Daw? Is there a Daw patent use number on Shrapnel's gun?

And 1/4 chokes in both barrels??? 12 years before choke boring became popularized? Barrels must have been honed. Oh wait - I missed the "slightly loose" "lined barrels" part of the ad. Holt's really should publish photos of the barrel and action flats of their guns.

Shotgunlover: There are a shocking number of guns out there that do not have the Scott spindle and the Purdy double underbite. Many of them are even well-made guns and some of them are actually English guns of good quality. I know you already know that because, like you, I had this realization myself several years ago. I don't know about you, but it was actually something of an epiphany for me as well. "Good" is evidently not the enemy of "best" in guns either it seems.

Here is the series from "Shooting Sportsman"