doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Help identifying Spanish SXS

Good morning this is my first time posting on this platform but hoping to gain a little knowledge. I've got what I believe to be a late 20s to early 30's Eibar shotgun I'm looking to source a barrel for and I'm having trouble verifying the original gauge. 12 gauge is too big so I would assume it's either a .410 bore or maybe a 28 gauge? Hoping somebody on here is well versed in these old Spanish guns, I've attached pictures of the makers marks and some measurements.

Mr google says : The "JB" is the maker mark of 'Armas Bost', formerly under the name of 'Jose Bolumburu'.

There is a date code on the barrel flats and the bore in mm just forward of the flats; and possibly stars indicating the choke
.410 = 10.4 mm; 28 gauge = 13.84 mm

1965 catalog repro
https://cornellpubs.com/product/379...sTqM6UfPMSz39-LEtXUOqO6eDjYWKLPOtNbRcOJk

I would take it that the c.410.50 on the action flat indicates it was a .410ga chambered for 2 inch (50mm) shells.

Or an odd way of expressing the barrel weight at the time of proof
1.41050 Kg = 3.1096#

Having a hard time sourcing a .410 barrel with 2 inch chambers. Anyone know if a barrel assembly with 3” chambers would work? Also are all the Spanish guns under different importer names compatible? American arms, zabala,kessnar etc….

A good one-stop information post on the different shell lengths and the Babylonic name quandary (the same calibre going by .410, 36gauge, 12 millimetres, depending upon time and country) might be found here, too:
https://www.fourten.org.uk/36gauge.html

Carcano

Welcome to the Forum!

I can’t help but wonder if Senor Jose Bolumburu chase Bost as a trade-name, appart from its alliteration with “Best” , in the hope that the less discerning customer might confuse him with Thames Boss, purveyors of best guns only.

Nevertheless it is s neat little action, and I wish you well in your search for an orphaned pair of barrels to fit to it.

If you find a set (and fore-end?) be sure to buy a lottery ticket as your luck must be in that day!

I would tell you to start at Numrich Gun Parts, and when they tell you they don’t have barrels for it, sell whatever is left of the gun to them. At that point, take whatever they give you, and if the notion of a Spanish .410 intrigues you, begin the search for a functional gun.

You’ll have a couple bucks head start.

.410 double gun barrels would be difficult to source for that gun.

Best,
Ted

Entirely correct. Spanish artisanal shotguns are not composed of interchangeable parts.

Good to see you posting, Kyrie.

Best,
Ted

Are the original barrels unusable or missing?
If you have the originals, are they marked in mm, and if so, what are they marked?
Do the chambers measure 2" and how did you measure them?
What is the date code on the barrel flats?
Does the catalog repro show the grade?

Kyrie: during what period was the chamber marked c.410.50 ? Thank you.
Shotgun chamber in Spanish is recámara; in Basque ganbera
Barrels in Spanish cañones

What happened to the original barrels?

I'm not aware of any period during which that style of marking was customary. But then this is Spanish shotguns; hang around long enough and one can see just about anything.

The original barrels are long gone, trying to help revive this old gun for a customer of mine that had it passed down from grandparents. I do have a matching 12 gauge to compare but no original .410 barrels. I’m assuming it’s 2” chambers purely by the 410. 50 stamped on the receiver which I believe to be 50mm? Would an identical style barrel chambered 3” possibly be usable?

Even better. This, technically, is not your problem.

The chambers issue is irrelevant. The relevant point, as Kyrie has duly noted, is parts are not interchangeable on Spanish artisanal shotguns.

Full stop. Go back and read it again.

There is no warehouse full of fully fitted spare parts for old Spanish double guns. They were typically built to order, with the internals fitted by skilled labor. A gun fitted up on Monday would have no interchangeable parts with one finished on Friday. This was a cottage industry, with suppliers turning out rough parts for a manufacturer that then fitted them by hand. In later years, some of the manufacturers might have had higher production of models that featured production machining, but, your gun is not in that group.

Noted by no one at this point in the discussion is that barrels are literally the heart and soul of the gun. If they aren’t there, you are facing a huge, uphill battle to get even a machine made gun (think Beretta, SKB, Savage, etc) up and running, more so if the gun is obsolete. An artisanal gun, from a small, long gone maker will be close to impossible. Were you to find a set of compatible barrels you would need to enlist the services of a good double gunsmith. This guy is not the same as the guy who blows chokes open from the front of Mossberg 500 barrels, and replaces parts on similar guns. He has a skill set that doesn’t come cheap.

All that said, good luck. Impossible might be too strong a word, but, you are pretty close to it.

Best,
Ted

If you have to replace both barrels and fore-end it woild be far easier, and probably much cheaper (even if you have to pay top dollar for it) to find an buy a complete example of a similar gun.

If you find its twin it is improbable that the barrels would interchange without a great deal of work.