Some Birmingham made "sidelocks" were just as rough and ready as as any boxlock .The Rogers as a good example with a two piece lock and coil spring.
First gun I ever stocked was a cheap Williams sidelock non ejector .Quality it was not .
The nugget of grain in all the chaff.....
...as to why the gun was built sans ejectors, who the hell knows? It is likely older than all of us ('cept, maybe, Larry Brown, and he didn't order it, or won't confess if he did) but, here is an actual English gunmaker warning us that simply because a sidelock came from Blighty, it isn't automatically a great, or even good gun.
You guys be careful out there. That name thing is over-rated.
I know guys love 'em, but, one of the funniest events in double gunning is watching a guy on his first outing with his new ejector, after the shot. Gun opens, one or more spent emptys head over his shoulders, guy sets gun down, vacates peg, and retrieves spent cartridges, returns to peg, and reloads gun. Guy repeats above, as many times as it takes to figure out to hold hand over breech at opening, to defeat purpose of ejectors.
Hilarious. Almost as much fun as watching husband wife teams at the boat launch.
Best,
Ted
