doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com UNUSUAL 10 BORE TOLLEY--WITH ARTICULATED STRIKERS

Wondering if anyone here can shed some light on English guns with articulated firing pins? Was there a patent for this? The only other gun I have seen with this set up was a Swedish double with a horn underlever.

The J.W. Tolley 10 bore seen here also has a trap door in the butt that stores a vintage pull thru. German guns sometimes have trap doors that hold ammo etc. Has anyone seen one on an English gun? I would love to see pictures and info. Thanks!

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You might find this thread interesting on a similarly configured Beattie I was interested in:

http://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbt...true#Post443133

12boreman,
I remember seeing something similar, somewhere...sometime ago
I will try to remember where...though the brain ain't what it used to be,
cheers
franc

I owned one of that patent once upon a time. Interesting stuff......

Thanks for your posts. I think the trap door in the butt is very unusual for an English gun. Looking forward to more info and pictures from everyone.

It appears to me the Beattie gun linked by Dan does not have the firing pins actually attached to the hammers. This gun has a stud on the hammers which retract the pins but the hammer still Hits them in falling.

On the Tolley the pins are actually pinned to the hammers. One would assume the hole in the Flat portion which fits the hammer has to be slotted as the hammer travels in an arc rather than a straight line. Much like the rammer on a Colt 1860 revolver.

My personal belief is this would be a less efficient arrangement for firing a gun than the normal arrangement of the hammer hitting the firing pin. I will have to say though it is a very nice looking gun & one I would be proud to own just for its uniqueness.

Thanks Dewey for the Patent information. I would think with the strikers already attached to the hammers, that the ignition timing would be quicker maybe by just a few thousandths of a second. Not enough to make a real difference but interesting to say the least.

The original thread was a victim of a loss of shared photos. Here is the Beattie in question:

In the early days of breechloading guns primers had not been perfected and often they were quite soft. Sometimes strikers would stick in a fired primer and not retract. Several maker's solutions to eliminating stuck strikers was to design a mechanical means to force the striker back when cocking the hammers. Your Tolley is one variation. I own a W W Greener non retracting hammer gun with his solution which he called his "self acting striker", patented in 1868.

For many years I had in my collection Tolley 10 G ball and shot gun #1749.The action of this gun was identical to your gun. in the case of my gun it was made for the Philadelphia International exhibition of 1876 and was of exhibition quality.It featured engravings of the Victorians era depicting the old West. For example on the under side of the action a settler is seen in hand to hand combat with a First Nation warrior.
The firing pin extractors are I believe Gastines patent # 2744 of1862
The locks on my gun were marked joint patent Stanton and Co and P Wilson #4824.The butt plate on my gun was identical to yours.The trigger guard on my gun was extended to provide a pistol grip effect as seen on many rifles of the period.
The exhibitors at this exhibition included W&C Scott, Greener,Alex Henry,Rigby,Purdey,Lancaster,Lang Webley,Green,Williams and Powell,Needham and of course Tolley!
I have often wondered what happened to all of the other fine guns that must have been present a the exhibition.
28 Countries participated including, Japan and China.More than 8 million visitors attended this exhibition!