This "wall hanger" 16 ga. percussion sxs shotgun was my great-grandpa's. He died in 1931 at age 90. Dad found it in the attic when they tore the old house down about 35 years ago. The stock had been painted orange! Barrels are 37-1/2" long, and the stock has "modern" dimensions.
My friend John, who repairs vintage hammer guns and makes reproduction muzzle loading flintlock and percussion firearms from scratch, "boiled" the metal parts in water to form a black oxide surface, buffed them and applied Renaissance brand microcrystalline wax to protect the metal parts. John found a right hammer in his shop to replace the one that was missing. It almost matches the original left hammer.
While I was stripping off the orange paint, the stock which was was cracked almost in two, broke apart while I was working on it. I glued it back together as best I could and "pinned" the break with a 1-inch long wood screw. John said he would have used a wood pin, but I didn't think it would make any difference since it will never be shot. I then applied 3 coats of Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil. It definitely looks a lot better than it did, and I plan to hang it over the fireplace.
Interestingly, the right hammer can be half and fully cocked and fired with the front trigger. The left hammer will not stay cocked because the internal Sear detents are completely worn down. I wonder if the right hammer was lost very early in its life and GGPa and others only shot the left barrel.
There is nothing stamped on top of the barrels. The number 38428 is stamped on the bottom of the barrels and the end of the frame. According to John, the proof marks on the bottom of the barrels indicate that GGPa's barrels are Belgium. He thinks it was probably made between 1860 and 1880. Can anyone confirm that from the following photos?
