doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Quail & Donaldson?

I came across a very nice custom 30-06 on a 98 Mauseer action in a gun shop today. The receiver and barrel have German proofmarks. The gun is fully engraved in English scroll with a gold inlayed quail on the grip cap and a relief chiseled stag on the floorplate. I believe , by the style of cutting, it was engraved in Germany or Austria.

The barrel is stamped Bohler Special Stainless and hand engraved "30-06 Govt." as well as "Quail & Donaldson" The barrel also has has an open rear and ramp front sights. The receiver is tapped for a mount but has no scope mount.

Something I found unusual is that the receiver had a sliding tang safety.

Can anyone tell me anything about Quail & Donaldson? Were they British or American?

Thanks

Roger

Roger: The only place I remember seeing that imprimatur was in the A&F store in N.Y. a few years before thay closed. As I recall the A&F gun guru present that day said they were imported from Austria by 2 gents, named Quayle and Dunaldsen from wee ol' Scotland. That's all I know, the gun I saw that day did not appeal to me with skipline checkering etc., though it had nice figure in the wood.HTH Jerry

Thanks Jerry. I'm going to visit the shop again and give it a closer look. Now that I think of it, I think the proofs are Austrian.

Roger

Roger: I want to make sure I have not given you the impression you were wrong on the name. Your spelling is correct, I believe they changed it according to him, to be more market friendly.BTW what are they asking for the rifle? When I saw the other one in 1974 it was $1250 Jerry

Jerry,

He's asking $1800. but I think he will do better. He's a friend and said that he's in it right. BTW, no skip line checkering on this one. I'll let you guys know if I decide to get it.

Roger

For that amount of engraving it sounds like one you ought to pursue, especially if you can get it for less. Does it have ...Classic stock style, 90 degree ebony forearm tip, gripcap, pancake cheekpiece, recoil pad? Jerry

It has a classic stock style, 90 degree ebony forearm tip, engraved gripcap with an inlayed gold quail. The cheekpiece is not a pancake. I'm not sure of the corect name for it. It may be called a Monte Carlo style but there is no hump on the comb. There is an old Pachmayer pad. It is the brown ventilated type with a white line...very ugly. The checkering is very fine. Also the bolt shank is engraved and the knob hand checkered.

Roger: If you can get them down below $1500 with that amount of engraving, it would be mighty attractive. Keep us posted. GOOD LUCK Jerry

I would like to shed some light on any questions related to Quaile and Donaldson guns.

George Quaile (my father) and Donny Donaldson were both Americans who met in Austria in the early 1960's whilst both were living in Europe. My father George in Austria where he also built and ran a hotel and Donny living in Munich, Bavaria Germany. Great friends and hunting partners, they had the guns made in Villach, Austria with the wood for the hilts brought over the border from the former Yugoslavia. They then imported there guns into America and sold them from their gun shop Quaile and Donaldson in Florida.

All their guns should have a Quail engraved on the hilt

I would like to reiterate that neither were Scottish (unless you go back another 100 years) but both very much Americans who wondered over to Europe and in my fathers case never left. He is now buried with his eldest son in the valley he made his home and brought all four of his children up in.

I do hope this is of assistance to someone. Also we are Quaile with a E not a Y.

The only Mauser I can recall, other than a custom, that came with a tang safety is a Voere. Where the guns were assembled it seems likely. --- John