doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Opinions please on hammer guns.

Got a chance to buy a real nice hammer gun with real nice wood and new 28" barrels.
Heres the deal, it is a underlever, it's sleeved and it has a stock extension. It is a well known maker and in great re-stored shape. My concern is the underlever, I know there is nothing wrong with it but I was always partial to a top or sidelever.
I have held the gun and it opens and closes really slick! And did I mention it is a top tier maker and under 5K.
So opinions please.

Without even seeing the gun, it must be special if its been sleeved and also has a stock extension and the price is still 5K. What kind of underlever does the gun have??
Personally, I like guns with underlevers. They are more practical than people give them credit for. I especially like the lines of a hammergun with tall hammers and a jones underlever..it all matches up well and just looks "right". There are lots of nice hammerguns out there for 5K. I would not pay 5K for a sleeved and stock extensioned hammergun no matter who's name was on it.

Dustin

Mike: I agree with Dustin. Based on your limited description, the gun should be about half that price. The owner is no doubt just trying to get out of the gun what he put into it, but sleeving and stock work just isn't a paying proposition, even on a Purdey, Holland, etc. TT

I disagree that this is a non-starter. Obviously a lot depends on missing information, but if it was a properly sleeved Purdey or Holland or Boss, with a properly done extension, and in very nice shape, it could easily top 5k. Wm. Larkin Moore has a sleeved underlever Boss for 18K plus. Our good friend and Board member Toby Barclay sells his restored and sleeved guns for close to or more than the 5k quoted.

It all depends on the gun, the condition, etc. and we don't have the necessary information here to pass judgement.

If you are willing to pay 5k+ for a hammergun that has been sleeved and has also had an extension done, I'm glad its your money and not mine. I can care less what the name is on the gun, that matters not. What I care about is the overrall quality of the piece. That Boss will sit at WLM for along time as will most of the sleeved guns a Vintage Doubles and other shops. The only reason I could fathom someone paying that kind of money for a gun in the described condition would be if that person had to have that particular gun in the safe to complete a collection, usually these types of people/collectors are looking for a very particular action, patent, style etc and MUST have the gun. Others who hunt and shoot their guns would be looking elsewhere to spend their hard earned 5K. A Purdey is a Purdey and sleeved Purdey is just a "SLEEVED purdey".

Dustin

PALUNC;
With all due respect to LeFusil, I take exception with the position that "[a] sleeved Purdey is just a SLEEVED Purdey."

Perhaps he is affluent enough to afford any Purdey he wants, but sleeved or not, a Purdey is a work of art. I know first hand. And I'd rather have a properly sleeved Purdey than any other "straight gun" from any other London maker. Boss included.

I hope the gun you are considering is of worthy stature. If you like it, acquire and enjoy it. That is the true reward in any of this. Not snobbery.

Best, Kensal

Kensal...re-read my post please. Read it carefully. It contains no snobbery, as a matter o' fact I plainly state that is matters not what name the gun carries, it matters only that the gun is a high quality piece in original condition (ie not sleeved or chopped off at the butt and then added back on to) to command a price of 5K.
Sounds to me as if you would buy a Purdey, a sleeved one at that rather than have a "straight" gun from a maker like Boss, Woodward, Grant just because it has the name Purdey on it. Well, I've seen, shot and owned enough guns to know that a Purdey is not the end all, do all, be all of double guns. When you get to this quality level, regardless of maker...its all apples to apples, they are ALL works of art. 5K for a hammergun sans ejectors, original barrels and original stock is nuts, regardless of maker, especially in this market.
With that said... PALUNC, if you think the gun is worth that and you just have to have it, by all means buy it, use it and enjoy it.

Dustin

The shooting magazines that I saw in the UK last week were advertising a bbl sleeving service for 450 UK Pounds.
Martin

Mike,

You haven't said what you'll use the hammer gun for. Nor do I know how much hammer gunning you have done. I'd advise starting with function: if you are going to hunt with it, can you cock both hammers in one sweep of your triggerhand thumb when the birds flush? That's really the only sensible way to hunt safely with other people (sorry, walking along with a shotgun open and the hammers cocked is never going to be right for me).

Purdey is a brilliant maker and sleeving etc. should be no problem at that price. If it fits, buy it -- if it can function nimbly and safely in the field.

Regards, Tim

What, EXACTLY, is it? If you could post pics, that would help you get useful info rather than pure speculation.