doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Got a bar wood Wesley Richards hammer gun today

The bores are over my skeet gauge and the seller said they are .780 which I trust is correct.The wall thickness is .042
minimum and close to .100 9 inches out or some were near that I forgot the number forgot.But I cannot tell that the gun has ever been shot.Please I know I'm stupid but firing pin looks new no dents or flat spots.. underneath the goose looking hammers they don't ever look like they have struck a pin.What confuses me is the bores are mirror but .780. Woods a little beat up like it has bounced around the back of a closet.No screw has been turned until I took the locks off today to oil.Top lever engraving is very sharp checkering is very good as is it had no use..none...Stock is 13 7/8..was it cut? screw on the back of it looks like it has been turned.

anyway .780 is that normal?
13 7/8 is that cut.

serial puts it 1875 Crab knuckle top lever?

10 gauge? Photos?

Nominal 10 gauge is .770"-.775", so bores could be original 10 ga because a lot of vintage guns were somewhat overbored. Don't know if that applied to Westley Richards.



Is that a typo on "Wesley" or is that what's on the gun? I think there were Belgian guns sold as "W. Richards," no relation to the Brits.

What is it proofed as, 10, 10/1? Sometimes the proofs are the real answers.

jeweler,
FYI - The Westley Richards top lever,"crab knuckle" was still being advertised in their 1909 catalog. It was described as "Steel Action Body enclosed in the Stock."

Sorry in a hurry Westley. the proof is 10. [img:center]http://www.picturetrail.com/members/edit?p=8&imgid=410101419[/img] [img:center]http://[/img] [img:center]http://[/img] [img:center][/img]

Congratulations on your bar in wood Westley. Mine is a 34" eight gauge, cylinder bores, made in 1872. They are wonderful guns when in high condition. I don't think mine has ever spent a day outdoors. Strange that someone would own such a gun and never take it hunting. I bought mine the month I came home from the Army in 1969 to a growing family. I don't remember where the money came from. Murphy

At the time that your gun was made the 1868 rules of proof were in effect. A Gun marked 10 would be deemed in proof if it had a bore size in the range.752-.802 proof diameter.[Measured 9 inches from breech]
In 1887 the rules of proof were upgrade to indicate diameter at proof. From this time on we see proof marks that indicate nominal bore size at proof in thousandths of an inch for example a 10G could be marked 10[.775] ,10/1[.784] 10/2 [.793] a gun was not considered out of proof until the bore diameter entered the max limit of the next bore group. For example, In the case of 10/2 the max in proof bore diameter would be.802,.001 below 9 bore.

I'm a happy camper so far. I wish it had choke but I can keep wishing.I do see a turned screw on the face but this gun saw very little use.Still has the bluing on the hammers and lock.
Dang Murphy you have been collecting hammers that long...I need to come to Maryland and dig in your safe and help you get rid of some of your junk.
Monty [img:center][/img] [img:center][/img]

The locks drop out and go back in like they were put in yesterday. I'm not sure I wouldn't put Westley Richards side by side with any London firm..... Maybe my London guns have more use but it took a hell of a carpenter to inlet this gun.I couldn't imagine the hours it took.The wood is pretty scratched up.