doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Army & Navy restoration process and pictures

First class, C.J.

Congratulations upon it's successful completion. It must convey a deep sense of satisfaction, to have reached this level of work.

John

To say that I'm pleased with all your comments would be an understatement, I guess this is why I like doing this, I get a great sense of satisfaction when a finished project is well received, it also makes me feel a lot more optimistic when I think about the next project on the list,..... so I say thank you once again.
I will try to answer all your questions on one paragraph and I hope I don't forget anything.
The reason there are no before photos is because I didn't own a digital camera when I started this project, I usually do all the work on the guns I restore, but I have two very good local craftsmen with whom I deal with and we work on an exchange basis, we trade work for work, on this particular gun I traded the A&N's bore polishing for a bluing job,...I like trading work for work because when there is no money involved we trade pride for pride, and since we are always trying to outdo each other the work is good from both ends,...besides I don't own a bore honing machine.
I like NH but if we had to move my wife would prefer the warmer climates, although she had a good time when we were in Portsmouth

PS : the leather is pig skin

CJ

The July 1929 edition of the British magazine "Game and Gun," carries A pictorial advertisement by; Army and Navy, featuring your gun. At the time, it was priced at 90 pounds stirling. If you would like a copy of same, please send me a PM.

CJ, I was planning to take a shot at this one. I agree with "reincarnation." I've seen good restoration work, but don't recall having seen better and rarely this good. I'd call this "best" work and have absolutely no difficult to believe that the hours expended number in the hundreds.

A & N is a Brand Value level three name; that is the easy part. The gun is a flatback SLE, back action with the lump through the floor. Along with the engraving and wood grade, this leads me to believe that this gun "C" grade. It is not an exact match for any of the guns in the 1914 W&S wholesale catalogue (reprint). It comes closest to the W&R 4th Quality, but lacking a third fastener, can't be a Screw Grip. The serial leads me to guess it is a just pre-WW I gun; anyone have an A&N dated from the books in this (#57555) serial range? If I have my facts straight, the base gun would have sold for something like £36, the ejectors were an £8 option, and the Whitworth barrels (it does have Whitworth barrels, doesn't it?) were an additional £8 for a total of £52. The Premier, W&S's "best grade" gun, was £90 with Whitworth barrels; the Premier Imperial, the extra finish gun, would have been £120. So, we have BV3-OQ4 at this point. Looking at Current Condition of "pristine," BV3-OQ4-CC1 = $7959; BV3-OQ3-CC1 = $10,458. This seems to be a reasonable range for the value of this gun if it were in OE pristine condition.

Current Condition is better than new, but still restored as it is not OE. Restored is CC5. BV3-OQ4-CC5 = $2396 --- somehow, I don't think that is right. So, what is CJ offered? If he got the gun for "near nuttin'," and has 500 hours into it (I'd suspect more), an offer of $10,000 would put his time at $20/hour!!! Boy, I dunnno!!! Are gunmakers allowed such an extravagant wage???

CJ, my one wish is that your next project will start with a gun of higher OQ grade. Really a skillful job. It is uplifting to see all these skills concentrated in one individual. I suspect you are the embodyment of the vision of the handwork gunmaker.

Army & Navy Co-Operative Store, Limited (A&N CSL)was started as a private (think club) co-operative store for Brit military officers to buy wine at fair prices before heading out into the empire. The idea was successful and soon the store was handling all kinds of goods that appealed to officers. Sporting guns appeal to officers!! So, the store opened a gun department. They seem to have bought heavily from W&S, the reprint of the W&S 1914 wholesale catalog is handy in id'ing various models. Most of the gun department records are held at the archives of Glasgow Univ. and are available for a modest archivest fee; they send you a photocopy of the page your gun is on, which means you get a whole bunch of guns.

Fantastic!!!! Who did you get that leather case from?

Regards,

Max

C.J., yes, I would like to know how you brought back the drop points and all the other wood around the receiver. Daryl

I know, I know, who cares what a lurker/learner thinks, but geez that's beautiful! I can't imagine the care and attention it must take to make every detail so perfect. You obviously have the "finisher" mindset mentioned in another thread.
I must confess a bit of sadness, though. I'll never have a gun that nice, nor would I be able to buy a project gun and turn it into something so perfect!

Jeff Loth

(p.s. I'd love to do more than lurk/learn, but I am so outta my league...)

Jeff, welcome. Join in. Questions are just as valuable as answers. I think there is room for all. A point to ponder; the Brits who made guns didn't shoot 'em, that was the job of another class. So, there is room for all here. I am building a virtual gun collection - easy and interesting to do with all the information available. Frankly, the learning can be just as, or more, satisfying as the buying. And, good things tend to come to those who work toward a goal. I'll never order a new Purdey, but that doesn't keep me from enjoying the bejebbers out of an old boxlock.

This is as near work as I have seen out of Britain's best. Truly, I think you have made this gun better than it was. I'll add my voice to those asking for a narrative on the wood work. While those in Britain might have restocked the gun, what you did has more appeal and probably has helped retain handling characteristics. If, as I suspect, you reworked original materials, this is not a remanufactured gun as that term is currently used but maybe it ought to fit as a definition. This is beyond restoration I think. Good job.