doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Re- case color an English Best

I have a HJ Hussey that I have talked about on this board before. I have tried to sell the gun but seems no one is interested. So I have decided to see what I can do to improve and keep the gun. I would like to re-case color the action and maybe have the stock refinished into the more natural look of the wood.It has a red stain that seems to be hiding a nice piece of wood.
Who do you guys recomend and what kind of cost would I expect?

Forget it. Too expensive to have it done right - at least the metal. And I wouldn't trust anyone in the US to get the metal right.

You will not increase the value of the gun, either.

The wood may just need to be cleaned up. It's probably French walnut.


OWD

Recolor a Hussey? It brings to mind a turd on a collard leaf. The new color will stand out a bit, maybe more than a bit.

The red color of the wood is traditional and proper. Re-hardening will probably not look right, and may damage the gun if done improperly. You could pay a lot of money and damage and de-value your gun. In my mind, vintage guns look "correct" with worn colors.JMHO.

Ray st Ledger is the main man over here for case colour beware as some will do it and it will wash off in the rain!! I would leave as is.

ALL OF THE ABOVE!

George

I wouldn't ever consider buying a British gun that has been through what you are proposing.

You're getting some pretty good advice here. For blacking, Johnsons Barrel Browners (I think barrel browner above might be associated with them) is the best in the British trade. They know the business, and I agree with his recommendation. St. Ledger's occupies the same position in the trade for case-hardening. The reddish tint in the wood finish (alkanet root) is correct for the gun.

Given our discussion of this gun, I think you can spend money without improving its value, and I don't think you can improve it's looks. It's a grand looker of superb quality. Leave it alone and enjoy it.

You have a tendency to write some really nutty stuff. Are you kidding me OWD? We have some of the best metal smiths in the world living in our country. Pete Mazur? Ya, I'm sure Pete couldnt get it right. I'm not even gonna name the others that come to mind.
If this gentleman chooses to have work done on his Hussey, there are wood and metal guys here in the U.S. that could have his Hussey looking like a million bucks. Dave Wolf in Waco Tx, would have that wood looking proper for around $800, if the barrels need blacked, a "best" quality job is gonna cost around $400-600, fire blue the screws and action pins for about another $50-$100. All done for the price of a new Benelli autoloader (Yuck).
If you're going to keep the gun, do with it what you please within reason, the above things will clean up the aesthetics, make it more pleasing to your eye. I agree, leave the case colors alone, older guns tend to look very classy and distinguished showing their age on the action.