Interesting Turner mark on bottom of barrel


https://www.proxibid.com/Custom-Hof...olt-Action-Rifle/lotInformation/67466231

I'm not sure about post WW1 but marking the barrel in that location to show who put the barrel is has been common recently.
Mike

I don't know Turner, but I like the gun, been watching it for weeks. Who bought it and the Owen?

I think that’s a “put together” gun. Too many things there don’t go together for a Cleveland Hoffman. At least the buyer didn’t pay too much.

I bid on the Owen but dropped out at $2750 as I don't know enough about these. And I was worried if the brown in the engraving could be cleaned without impacting the engraving. Looked to have been improperly stored. Stock sure was pretty.

Did/does the sale price include the 25% "Internet Premium" ?

it would be 3,000 before premium, shipping and taxes etc. A rather high premium at least for gun auctioneers aswell.


I thought the floorplate engraving was fairly odd and not at all typical. I have not seen anything about a turner working for Hoffman does anyone know turner?

The witness marks on the left side of the bbl/recv'r don't quite line up. Like the bbl has been off and then put back on. Or the bbl was marked to match the recv'r.

The front sight ramp looks like the ramp has been cut off/shortened. Maybe it's just the pic,,or me,,. It just looks short and subby with a thick end to the ramp on the breech end.
Maybe a shadow of it's former length in an old polish under the blue on the top of the bbl just behind it.
Does the front sight hood look too smll in diameter? The front sight bead doesn't any where near centered in it. (Too picky??)

The hand engraved lettering on the bbl, both the caliber marking on the left side at the breech and the Hoffman marking on top are very nicely done.
Who ever did the work certainly was a good engraver. Lettering is not an easy thing for most engravers to do.

Compare that with the 'scroll' engraving. The scroll is very simplistic, done with minimum work and cutting. Some areas of work don't match others, but that can't always be a sign
of anything being wrong. Some like to mix styles on the same project. But it has to be done with some care.

That pattern on the floor plate, I have seen before but can't recall where. It was on a floor plate though.
The gold inlayed monogram looks really well done. Lots of talent there as well. Just like the fine lettering.
Again compared with the very simple scroll, some things don't seem 'right'. But who knows..

The Safety is a nicely contructed custom piece with it's curled/rounded contour and serrated edges. The bolt body itself including the bolt handle looks kind of shabby. Maybe the shroud, striker and safety were from an orig custom and bolt body a replacement with it's bolt handle modified for the scope.

The flimsey scroll engraving on the (alloy?) scope rings doesn't look quite 'Hoffman' either.

Perhaps the gun was an iron sighted sporter when it left Cleveland and the scope and some other details added later.

The 'Turner' marking,,All I know is Mr Turner had trouble finding the correct stamps to print his name.
What 18 (19?) / 78 means I have no idea. Maybe the 18th rework in 1978,,,,or Work done in 1978.
I don't think it's a Hoffman era mark, but again my guess.

Just some observations,,,can't prove or disprove any of them of course..

The G&H mount is the double lever and aluminum ring which would not have been around at the time I believe and that's a fairly normal addition

The Gradel was my choice in that auction.
Ended up being high loser. Planned to watch the live auction but was away from the computer.

I was told the name stamped on barrel was the client name. The six digit number on this one is the serial.