HI,

I am a new member that has shot SXS shotguns for over 40 years. I have always lusted after a Scottish round action and may finally be in a position where I can afford to buy a "good" used one. The older Dickson's I see that I can afford are quite old and I am leery about buying from a US dealer or auction site because I don't have anyone locally (SE MI) that I believe could thoroughly and knowingly check out one, much less fix anything that was needed.

Do you all have any suggestions about knowledgeable gunsmiths that could check out such a shotgun for me during the inspection period? And, or, do you have any additional advice regarding the purchase and inspection of an older round action?

Thank you. And, Happy New Year to all.

Dick

Dan Morgan. Paul Hodgins

Take your pick. Find the gun you want, have the seller ship it directly to either of the two listed above, have them inspect it (they charge anywhere for $50 to $200) for this service and you’ll have serious piece of mind and if it needs any tidying up (strip & clean, action adjustment, etc) or minor alterations...they can take care of it there. Yes, it’s expensive...but it’ll actually save you money in the long run. When you’re buying a gun of that quality and expense, a few bucks more for proper inspection and service is the only way to go.

Dustin

Del Whitman near Traverse City. Very knowledgeable.

https://www.facebook.com/whitmangunsmithing/

Ditto

Dan Morgan looked after the restoration of my MacNaughton and has been a good source of information and check-ins on a few others I have been interested in.

Kirk Merrington is another.

Best,
Ted

Dan Morgan. I bought mine through him. He is a getleman and a great gunsmith with lot's of knowledge of Dickson guns.

Steve Davis was a person to contact on RAs, but I don't know if he is still around.

Dan Morgan will give you an honest assessment on RAs.

Ken

Bought my 1943 Dickson RA though Dan Morgan. It came from Grahm McKinly in Scotland. Graham's Shop went through it and re-furbished it. When I received it it had a problem with the rear trigger. Sent it back up to Dan and he fixed in a couple of days and sent it back. Works great now.
Dickson RA's are nice guns but they are LIGHT!Mine weighs in at 6.0 even.
I shoot 3/4 ounce Caledonian's shells through it and it is great.
28" and choked 1/4 and full.

A very good gun-smith with experience working on doubles can figure out any of them. Steve Bertram (SKB) is a very good gun-smith...Geo

A thread about Dicksons and not one stinkin picture.

I'll tell ya.

Lots of good suggestions but for Dicksons Steve Davis is the guy!

rtw,
+1 for Del Whitman in Traverse City. I took my gun directly to him after my purchase to have it vetted and to uncover any problems. Since he knows English guns I felt very comfortable with him. I'll be picking up the gun mid February.
Welcome to this most informative forum!
Karl

Thank you all for the information!

I had a Dickson (made in 1893) that I shot for years.

Many early Dicksons were Damascus barreled - not a concern if recently nitro proofed or inspected and passed by a knowledgeable smith in the US. Many have been sleeved, but some have been rebarreled, which reduces the selling price but not usually the quality.

The older Dicksons usually have cocking indicators visible at the top behind the standing breech. Newer ones have an overhanging safety sear and no cocking indicators.

These guns are usually fairly lightweight and are a pleasure to shoot.

Someone requested an image of a RA:-


[img:left]http://[/img]

[img:left][/img]

I have the same problem. What the heck is going on?

I copy over so why does Photobucket say they still host?

'Cause they do, I guess.



SRH

I see, you have to pay them. Is there any way we can download pics directly form our computers to this site?

I pay them nothing. Never have, and never will. What makes you think that I do?

SRH

I went on their web site and its said if you want third party hosting you have to pay them a monthly fee.

That's what it said. I won't pay them either.

I guess I misunderstood "you". My bad.

But, it's pretty obvious that they do not always have to be paid. I don't, and I'm still posting pictures from their site.

SRH

Stan, I think they must be going about it in phases. When people first started talking about it I didn't have an issue and couldn't figure out what was going on. Figured it was because I was a small fish that didn't host too much there. Caught up with eventually. Maybe you'll continue to fly under their radar.

Kirk

I went on their site and tried posting a picture on here and they said, Nope, you gots to pay.

Is there anyway to post a picture on this forum directly from your computer?

redgrouse's story behind his Damascus barreled Dickson is one for the ages. From 4 years ago:
"A ROUND ACTION COMES HOME:
In 1968 I bought an early Dickson Round Action non-ejector and sold it in 1972.
However after about ten years I regretted selling the gun and endeavoured to replace it, but could never quite get what I wanted.
In February 2002 a friend told me of a non-ejector Round Action for sale and quoted the serial # which I recognised immediately as the gun I once owned.
When the owner heard of my interest in the gun he was quite amenable to my buying it. Sentiment is not good thing to go shopping with, but in the end I purchased.
It is in its original oak and leather case.
So after 30 years a Round Action comes home."
Great story! Gil

I guess from the lack of responses there isn't one.

I still can't figure out how Stan is able to use photobucket without an upgrade. Every time I go to photobucket it is like 1000 attack ads. Here's a recent thread on photo hosting sites Photo Host Sites

Ken

I have switched to Imgur. So far, no charges.

I'm using postimage.org, super easy for a computer idiot like me.

Load the image, copy and paste. That's it.

No cost.

PB's still working for me as well. I keep waiting for the shoe to drop.

Must be clean living and a clear conscience...Geo

No Geo, they're just scared to piss off you southern boys since they can remember what happened the last time they pissed you off.

Pictures of some Round Actions
/750kfts8j/ & /rz8bkea83/ are the Round Action that GLS referred to earlier.


https://postimg.org/image/uuq04iqlv/
https://postimg.org/image/9xts06soj/
https://postimg.org/image/750kfts8j/
https://postimg.org/image/rz8bkea83/

Ken, I get ads galore, and pop-ups that block the screen temporarily, but I navigate around them. I've learned some ways around some of them, and ways to short-cut others. From what I understand, others have been totally blocked from posting pics, but I haven't ................yet. I know it could come at anytime. But, and for me this is the most important part, if and when I can no longer use Pb I won't be mad. I will rather be grateful that I have been able to use a site to host and post pics, at absolutely no cost to me, for all these years. I've got my photos saved in another place, so if it all goes to hell I've lost absolutely nothing. Nobody promised me anything when I signed on and opened an account. Easy come ............easy go. There's a lot bigger things for me to get mad about.

All my best, SRH

My PB experience is the same as Stan's, except that I did pay them $10 to avoid the pop-up advertisements. That was before they thought up the ransom scam. I have figured that I'm still able to use the site because of that payment...Geo

Happy New Year to all.

Redgrouse,

Who redid this gun?



Thanks,
Ken

I don't know, but I would guess St.Ledger, it was like this when I bought it.

for redgrouse

Wow! I might have mine completely restored if I thought it would look anything like that one. Anybody in the US comparable in restoration of a Dickson RA?

Thank you Skeettx!!

Here's the one I'd like to look like the restored one above......

I would not restore that one if it was mine. Looks perfect as is.

I concur

Bob, Keep it as is that remaining patina is fantastic.

Even though I occasionally entertain the possibility of having it brought back to the glory of day one, truth is that it will probably never happen and that it will be passed along in all it's present high vintage condition.

Here's one you won't see every day. A Dickson Round Action double rifle.

I am the very fortunate owner of this piece. According to Donald Dallas' recent book, Dickson only made 14 double rifles on the Round Action patent.

This rifle is chambered in the .500 3-1/4" Express. It's a real shooter.




















I am very fortunate to be the current caretaker of this fine rifle.

Curl

P.S.

Back to the original question of this thread. Steve Davis is the expert on Dickson Round Action guns and rifles.

Curl

Yes - Steve is the man for Dicksons.

Your big .500 is a wonderful rifle. One of a kind, indeed!