doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com What is a John Wilkes 28ga worth

It is a boxlock silver reciever scroll engraving 50% Nice english stock 26" bbls turning brown bores are nice locks up tight. serial # 4734 no case F/F choke

No one can say unless, a. they can see the gun in person or b. they can see photos.

What Mike said... Alot is going to depend on age, condition, barrels still in proof, etc.

As a general rule, vintage English small bores will typically be worth more than say a 12 bore of similar configuration because there were never a large quantity of small bores made. Bigger was better back then.

Wilks is a Brand Value level 2 (BV2) maker's name. The gun sounds like Original Quality grade six (OQ6 = Plain SLNE/2nd quality BLE). Is it an ejector gun? And, it sounds like Current Condition level five (CC5) per the following table.

Current
Condition Definition
1 Pristine = top one gun of one hundred like guns
2 Limited use - slight finish wear, little shooting
3 Significent use
4 Heavy use, but no abuse
5 Minor repairs needed or restoration accomplished
6 Shootable but needs some repairs and refinishing
7 Shootable but needs repairs or restoration
8 Marginally shootable, significent repairs required soon
9 Unshootable without major repairs/wallhanger

So, BV2-OQ6-CC5 = $2,000 for a 12 gauge SXS of 1890ish to 1960ish vintage at USA retail. The 28 gauge will add a premium of say 1.25 to 1.75 ; the price should fall into the $2,500 to $3,500 range. Post photos and I should be able to narrow down this range. BTW, I imagine it is a 2 1/2" chambered gun.

Try going here for pics http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=308706

Camo the link does not work for me.

I just tried it worked for me. Try going to http://www.canadiangunnutz.com scroll down to shotguns forsale it's about half way down the page. You migth have to join to veiw the site.

I can get there, but it requires me to log in.

Rocketman, there are so few Brit 28's on the market that it's hard to establish a price. However, from the few I've seen listed, I think you're way low on the smallbore premium--which is even higher on a 28 than it is a 16 or 20. There was also no mention of ejectors, which would make a significant difference.

I wonder if the fellows in Ottawa force the websites to require a signup to get a line on gun owners? Someone on here must have the Wilkes serial number chart to determine whether this gun is a vintage gun or new manufacture.

Larry, you are right. I checked the three 28's in the Dec Holt's and Bonham's auctions and gota 2.3 premium on average. just multiply the $ value by 2.3 for the price estimate; $2,000 X 2.3 = $4,600.