doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Gye & Moncrieff A.G. Parker Dbl Rifle 38-55 Help

Holy Cow!





That rifle was a good piece of 'security deposit'
Today it's worth thousands.
Wish it was sitting on MY kitchen table right now!

As for a re-barrel - you're going to have to get the proof marks up for us to see - and show them clearly.
That's the markings on the barrel flats and the action flats.
All of them.

That and it'll be important to take a chamber casting and also to slug the bores.
If you haven't done either before, speak up now and you'll get a little walk-through on the process.
The objective is to get a positive example of the chamber cavities and a positive example of the bore/groove from which to take measurements.
That's necessary - and whether or not one thinks their double rifle has or hasn't been screwed with, it's the best first step to take before attempting to load for it or to fire it.

On the 38-55 VS the 360BlackPowderExpress, they're different cartridges, and it's just not likely that you're going to find a British express double rifle like this one originally set up for the 38-55
Not likely at all.



I wish I were in the position to stick my foot in the door of a negotiation to buy that rifle.
It's a sweet looking light express rifle, and someone's going to have a great affair with it as soon as it gets set up to run again!





Cheers
Tinker

darn double post...

Also - the rib




On the rib cuts, you might find a set of original scope mounts, you might find an original set of 'other sights'
Look at that other linked thread from above here.
That rifle has a neat looking special rear sight blade.
Perhaps something like that -- but I don't expect to find a rear sight on an express rifle so close to the breech (the rear cut) and that's why I say that you might find a scope mount.
The compartment in that rifle case that's in the front left corner -- it looks like it might have held a scope.






Cheers
Tinker

Pete, Thanks again. I'm sorry if I'm being dense. The main difference I can see is shown below.

Is the difference between the two areas what you are keying in on?

Wow. Thanks for all of the great feedback. I was kind of hoping that it wasn't worth "thousands", because I'd really like to buy it. I'm still kicking myself a bit for not buying a Springfield trapdoor that a friend of mine had from his father's estate. Really a neat gun, but after I bought a Model 29, 36, 66 and 686, plus several hundred rounds of 44 rem mag, 357, and 7.62x39, I just didn't have the funds to buy it or the "blunderbuss" that received many spontaneous inquiries from dealers when we took it to a gun show to get some idea of value.

This particular gun struck me as something quite nice immediately, but I confess that I like a lot of older guns, even if they aren't particularly valuable.

I'll admit that I'm aware of the practice of slugging rifles, but I've never had to get it done. In the rare event that I end up with this, I'll ask for some tips on that and who might be able to get this piece up and running.

Thanks again!

There are quite a few differences between those two rifles -- and rifles don't always have engraving on the breech end of the barrels.
Not to say that means I think it hasn't been rebarreled, but I'm not convinced that they are - simply by way of a comparison of engraving patterns.


Look at the proof marks.
Pete brings up some evidence that would/could date the *lettering and text* on the tops of the barrels.
Proof marks are a very important indicator of where/when the rifle was built and proofed - which can (almost always does) indicate when it was sold.
To get the final proof, the rifle needs to be chambered and fired with proof loads.
I'm looking forward to seeing what's stamped in the metal 'where the sun don't shine'




Great looking rifle!
I would very much love to get it between my hands and in the field on game!




Cheers
Tinker

Admittedly not a great photo, but I was able to crop and lighten this detail from one of the full length photos. I not sure I see a fine line, but its a small crop.

I may have some more that I need to upload to Flickr.
If so, I'll post those later.

Typically If I see something like that "38" stamped on a set of rifle barrels, my first thought is
*thirty-eight bore, small for a .500 rifle, just the right size before final reaming and rifling...*
...but those muzzles don't look to have an obvious ring seam like you'd see on a re-line job.

Hm.

Gotta do some proof-mark homework.
One of our forum members here, (400NitroExpress) is a proof-mark encyclopedia on two feet.
Perhaps we need to get him on this one.

Are there any other proof marks, anywhere else on the metal?




Cheers
Tinker

That is all I have in pictures for now. There could be more, but I certainly intended to get everything I thought might be useful.

I assumed that "38" might be the mark for the individual conducting the proof test.

Thanks again.