doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Old European(?) shotgun

Can anyone tell me about a shotgun I just picked up for $150? I know it is 16 Ga. 2-3/4. It had brown paint on the stock which I stripped off and found ugly checkering. No rust or pitting. Tubes in great shape. Metal ingraving seems to have silver inlay.Has fancy triggerguard. Has long lever to break it open.Has rabbit ear hammers.
Pic's can be seen at
http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?p=584598#post584598
Questions
Where did it come from?
How do you tell what chokes?
Any value?
Thanks for any help.

Seems one has to have a password to access. Any other sites?

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Sorry about that. I have PIC's but dont have a host site for them. Sounds like it would be a hassle trying to get them up. I would have no problem emailing them to who ever wants to see them. Thanks again for trying.

I'm sure someone here has an account or the like. If you don't mind email them to ellenbrs(at)bellsouth.net.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Sir,I have emailed them to you. Thank you in advance for any help. Ed

Ed:

It's a Belgian double built, per the Perron and inspector's mark of "*E" on the watertable, on the Casimir Lefaucheaux system, possibly with a lockup mechanism based on Frenchman Brun's 1850 patent, peddled by German firearms merchant, and possible gunsmith, H. Friese in Northeim, Germany - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeim . Very typical of the period and pretty much the same design/model for pinfires which lead to central-fire. The "WR3"?? beside the "1504" might yield a clue it that is what it is. Just a guess but probably made between 1877 & 1890 and you are going to have to measure to get the difference for the choke.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Raimey;
Does it have chamber length markings. All indications here are it should have had 65mm (2 9/16") ones. If currently 2 3/4" has likely been re-chambered.

2-piper:

No chamber markings I can see. There's one pic of the barrel flats and the stamp of "1504" with "WR3"??? inverted beside it. Since Belgium's inspector's mark was to avoid weakeness and from 1853 to 1877 was a "crown" over a letter and was changed in 1877 to a "*" over a letter due to complaints from the London proofhouse, I would say without a doubt it was a black powder gun for 65mm chambers imported/assembled from parts prior to the German proof laws. Either PeteM or revdocdrew may know the time span for the "*E" but I haven't checked their respective sites. One problem with the Lefaucheux action that it was weak and subject longarm looks to have the lower forward underlever bent. Also, there's a large "H" in the well(for want of a better term) of the recevier just forward of the lockup bolt/spindle.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Thanks revdocdrew for the effort. I can't tell if the mark on the lower tube of the lower pic is something or not.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse