Over the holidays I was visiting a cousin and he showed me an old Belgian hammer gun that belonged to our great grandfather. It isn't anything fancy but appeard to be a well made lower grade gun. It had some marking I'm not familiar with and I was wondering if any of you might help me decipher them.
The locks read "Royal Gun Works" and "Belgium."
On the water table is says "FL" "28804" (I assume a serial number) "1786" "Belgium" and has two symbols, the first looks like a stick with a diamond on top of it and the second is a T with a star above it.
The fore end snaps on and off but appears to be missing a spring and also shows the "28804" serial number.
The right barrel flat has a "2", "18.0", "P", "33" with the two threes slightly overlapping, and another number that looks like "17.4".
The left barrel flat has the "33" overlapping again, an "L" under a star, "2", "P", and the symbol that looks like a diamond on a stick again. It also has a circle with "E L G" above a star the ELG forms a triangle with the E and L being above the G. It also has the "J" under a star again and "17.4"
On the top rib it reads "JNE 1612 ONNE" in a stylized script and then "Belgium Laminated Steel" in a more standard font.
One interesting feature is that the gun has rebouding hammers but unlike other hammer guns I've seen where the hammer rebound immediatly after hitting the striker these hammers remain down as long and the trigger is depressed. Releasing the trigger moves the trigger forward and brings the hammer off the striker, the two are mechanically linked.
I believe the gun originally had 32 inch barrels but our great grandfather once plugged one of them with mud and blew the end out trying to jump shoot some ducks, he sawed the end off and kept using the gun. The barrels are now just a hair over 31 inches so I don't think he blew much of the end of the gun out. It is a pretty famous family story.
Anyway, I know it isn't anything more than a belgian guild gun but thought you all could help with deciphering some of the proof marks etc.
Thanks in advance.
DH
Last edited by Dawson Hobbs; 01/04/10 11:29 AM.
