doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Lang underlever?

Flychamps,
thats a lovely looking Gun mate..nice picture.
I love the Jones action..if your in no hurry ( I'v never been in the proverbial "hot Corner" lol)
..I love how you can feel the grips gripping and the tightening of the lock up thru the lever as it snicks home..feels just light tightening a screw, wich it basically is..hence Screw Grip , as some call it.
I also like the look of the pretty, often wide and ornate top tang without a top lever in the way..they are really cool old dinosaurs..& most are still pretty tight..Good man Henry Jones...
Old Ross Sigfried did a nice Mr Jones, Mr Jones article on them in the DGJ a good few years back
best to you all
franc

gunsaholic
Your gun is made to T.Webley patent 3022 of 1866,it covers a snap action version of the Jones under lever. For further info; see page 161 of Volume I of the British Shotgun, by Crudgington and Baker.
Nice find!
As a matter of interest, for many years I had in my collection a 12G pin fire gun by P. Webley & Son, built on the same patent 3022 action. The patent use #on the action was 1257 which suggests a later date of manufacture than your gun despite the Webley being a pin fire.

Roy Hebbes,
Sorry to be pedantic but its P Webley (not T), as in the famous Screw Grip.
Gunsaholic,
I have a E Woods in my stock list that incorporates the same patent.



When this gun came to me, the spring that operates the 'snap action' was broken and I had to make another which was quite a challenge.
In my gun, the spring is a V spring let in to the internal flat back of the breech. It works on a lever that operates on an 'over centre' principle: pushing the lever to fully open or fully closed but neutral in the middle of the lever movement.
Judging by the strength of the original spring it was intended to fully close the lever and as such was a major hazard to fingers positioned between trigger guard and lever on its closing movement.
The spring I replaced it with is a much lighter spring which doesn't threaten to amputate ill positioned fingers!
As another poster mentioned, guns of this age had no shot or chamber length marks: maximum load didn't come in to 1896 and chamber length wasn't mentioned until 1925.
Exception to this was the diamond mark for nominal chamber size which included a LC (as opposed to a simple C) when the chamber was longer that 2 3/4" and proofed for a heavy load. This is rarely seen and given its rarity, I suspect the criteria for this unusual mark are a bit obscure.

Toby. According to the research carried out by David Baker ,recorded in Vol;1 Of the British shot Gun, Patent #3022 was filed by T. Webley who was the oldest of the four sons of Phillip Webley. This dose not mean that Mr T.W he was in fact. the actual inventor.
Your Woods gun has been superbly restored, excellent work!

Roy, my book of British Small Arms patents shows , as you say, Patent 3022 of Nov. 17, 1866 , to be by T. W. Webley. Good find.

Thanks for the additional info gents!
Toby--that's a great looking double.

Roy,
Sorry, you are quite right. The patent was filed by TW but the patent stamp on the few of these I have seen has been P Webley as you can see in the original photos. In my laziness, I had always assumed that P filed it.
I think the truth is that TW filed the patent but it was worked under the auspices of the parent firm, P Webley & Sons.
The E Woods gun that I pictured is a real monster: 3" nitro proof and weighs in at just over 8lb. Although undoubtedly conceived as a wildfowler, it sports lovely engraving.
The stock also appears to have been converted from semi- to full-pistol grip sometime in the distant past.
Thanks to all for your kind words.
Anyway, apologies for my incorrect correction!