doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Vickers 12g SxS "Australian Special" NP, Pics

I was at a local gun shop yesterday and as I always do I asked about any side by side shotguns. The owner showed me this side by side. The only downside to the gun is that is has been shortened. It has about 28 inches of Barrel but they are cylinder and cylinder (lopped off) Someone has re done the butt stock, but the fore end is still black. The bores are very good, and the metal work looks OK. I bought it anyway, just because I havent seen one before. I plan to use it for field and game as all my other sxs's are tightly choked.

Any info on age, history etc... appreciated.

Did you not notice the fit of the butt stock ?

I'd get it glass bedded before I shot it much.

Yep, I did see that. I figured it was the skills of whoever re did the stock? The is without movement in the back of the receiver, Do you think I could do it with a catalyst compound like "knead - it" it sets very hard?

I don't think I would use the 'knead' stuff. Acra Glass Gel and its release agent would be the ticket. You don't have a huge gap, but enough to cause damage with repeated firing. Acra Glas would be an easy repair. The small kit would last for years doing small gun and home repairs.

Thanks mate.

I am having trouble finding history on the early Vickers. Any one have a link or something?

dude, that is just cool!

I don't know of one specifically for sporting arms. They were huge and had several facilities that could produce something for every need. I think that they also imported steel and melted it down, adding elements to make their own brew. I would guess the steel came from the River Don Works, Sheffield but that's just a guess. They also had a Birmingham facility and I could dig up the other locations if need be(Barrow, Birmingham, Erith(other machine guns), North Kent(Crayford???(Maxium guns), Sheffield). The only mark I can find is on the tubes just forward of the flats. A better image capture may not be possible and the tube forger's mark may be that of Vickers or note the 1st pass thru the Birmingham proofhouse???:



Pfeil & co. may have been an steel agent or peddled Vicker's wares.



Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Re history, I think that gun would date from 1925-54, as indicated by the chamber length which was not required under the earlier 1904 rules.

Post WWI they were deep into Aluminium/"Duralumin" and were in the dirigibles by 1920/1921:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/forgottenfutures/vickers/vickers.htm

Some Crayford history: http://www.crayfordhistory.co.uk/index/history-of-vickers-crayford/

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Here's a 1924 Vicker's Reprint(maybe one of the 1st years of Vicker's Sporting offerings??) at Cornell Pubs:

http://www.cornellpubs.com/old-guns/item_desc.php?item_id=769

So with the Crayford history and the 1924 catalogue(looks like Crayford-North Kent was the sporting weapons manufacturing facilities), and considering the Crayford facility was closed in the late 1920s, if only for a time, this might date the longarm between 1921 and say 1927?? That is if Crayford was the only facility churning out sporting guns or if stooped to sourcing weapons with their name roll stamped on them.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse