doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com What is this?

What would you call this gun?

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"Colonial grade" is usually associated with the bottom end of original quality grade for Brit guns. SLNE? Ok. But self opening???

DDA

Your link doesn't work for me, Don.

SRH

Can I have two? Even per 300 quid? Even though the description says BLNE and so does the pic?

i wonder if this one works

Was there anything to prevent someone from ordering a self-opener in a colonial quality? I could think of some Wooster on a shooting trip to the colonies, wanting Jeeves to have a shotgun too, with Jeeves objecting to be given a 'gentleman's gun'. Or something, you know. In my (probably incorrect) understanding the time period was a "no rules" in gun ordering. One just came into a gunshop, articulated what one wanted, and was supplied with the weapon described and a bill.

Or can it be a mistake in description? There's nothing on the pics to suggest if it is a self-opener or a regular A&D.

I'll have a look at this gun when I go to the viewing. Suspect it is based on the 'Wristbreaker' action, which was originally patented for an A&D action.
Tim

Not all "Wristbreakers" with scant engraving were made for Jeeves. A shooting buddy has a cased matched pair of plain finish Wristbreakers in 16 gauge, a delightful pair of guns. I doubt that the original buyer thought he was buying a cheap gun.

I recall being told that the Colonial grade was intended for general export . There were guns marked as the Colindian and the Coladian for the Indian and Canadian markets . I dont think there was Colyanky .As to the non ejector ,if its old enough it may have been made before ejectors became standard and was one less thing to go wrong in a far off land ,Add to this the simple fact that cartridges would have been reloaded in brass cases there was no need to have ejectors and risk losing the cases.

This type of plain action devoid of vast amounts of engraving I am given to understand where very popular for sending to Africa and some other far flung Brit colony, because they where not eye catching to the local people who where extremely prone to borrowing a beautiful well engraved shiny gun with no intention of returning it to its owner.

Looks like a Charles Lancaster Body Action that I had once... it too was a self-opener.

It is a Beesley patent - mainspring acts to open the gun. Not overly complicated.

OK, you guys on the east bank (of the Alantic), do you all think this gun is a likely suspect to have been sent out to the colonies?

Dig, do you think this action can be made at the price point reasonable for the definition of "colonial grade" we seem to understand here in USA (the west bank).

Gunman, I understand the ejector "issue" much better than the self-opener "issue." I have thought of self-openers as a few notches up the food chain from colonial grade. Or, is this really the bottom of the SLNE barrel?