doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Ward & Sons ????

Picked up another one at an estate auction. Fully engraved DB 12ga marked Ward & Sons. Looks like english proofs. Anyone have any info?

Thanks

Ernie

Ernie: I have two of them. J. Ward & Sons were established in 1859. Their premises was known as the Central Gun Works located at 24/27 Bath Street, Snow Hill, Birmingham where they made muzzleloaders, mainly for overseas markets, until after WW I.
By 1913 they had moved to #2 St. Mary's Row, Birmingham until they combined with Arthur Ilsley & the Warwickshire Gun & Mfg. Co.

Hope This Helps, Best Regards, George

Ernie,
Ward and sons was a Birmingham gunworks from 1859 till 1935.It is listed in Boothroyd's directory,and mentioned in Nigel Brown's big book of Birmingham gunmakers.
,

Wards most interesting gun is their "Target hammerless Gun". The action of these guns featured the Ryland patents which covered the period 1904-1918. The main feature of these patents was the use of coil springs rather than leaf springs. These guns have unusual, almost conical fences.In many cases the action body has a curved back.The gun has a top lever to open. The guns sold in three grades, priced in the mid, 1920,s at 11,12,and 13 pounds stirling. They are readily identified by the "target" trade mark stamped on the action.

Roy is right, Ward & Sons 'Target' coil-spring gun is their best known product. It is a clear indication that the British gun trade was catering to the cheap, machine produced no-frills end of the market as far back as the start of the 20th century.

The BSA boxlock, machine-produced and plain is a better gun and another indication of this trend. Makes it all the more sad that the British trade died after WW2. It also indicated the falehood of the myth that the British gun trade failed because it would only produce hand-finished quality guns at a time when foreign firms were going over to machine production.

In fact, the boxlock made it possible to largely machine produce a shotgun as far back as the late 1870s and firms like Bonehill proved exactly that with the 'Interchangeable', which could be assembled from parts without any special hand-fitting or shaping needed.

Unfortunately, after WW2, Italy, Spain and Germany and Japan set to work investing heavily in their industrial sector and building modern factories, whie we sat down, flat broke after an expensive war and set about the costly business of dismantling the Empire.

Guns like the Ward 'Target ' and the BSA and the Bonehill 'Belmont Interchangeable' show us what we should have been selling successfully at the time when British shops were swamped with AYA boxlock and sidelock copies of British designs at low prices.

Wards of course made other than the Target model. I have only ever seen one fully engraved 'Target' as most were made down to a price. You will come across these Target guns with all different 'Maker's' names on. Can you post a picture of your particular Ward and someone may be able to identify the model and give you more information? Lagopus.....