doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Henry Atkin

A friend has just purchased this Henry Atkin 12 bore sidelock. I am trying to find out as much of it's history as I can to help in his research
It is a No 2 of a pair
I don't know where No1 is
There is a name of Hodges on the action flats is this the engraver?
The choke is cyl and 1/2. 30inch barrels

Wow what a beautiful sleek looking gun with outstanding walnut! Bobby

Hodges was an actioner for the most part. There is a fellow who is a Hodges relative who is doing a lot of work compiling info. on Hodges. Hopefully, he'll come by.

Atkin was a top tier maker. The stock is amazing. It might be a replacement. If you look at the transition from the stock to the checkering, it goes from used and dark at the checkering to clean and fresh going aft. It makes me think a new stock was mated to an old. It is a common repair to mate the head to new wood (fitting the head is the most expensive part of restocking). I lean to that opinion because the stock has no extension or pad.

Americans don't like that repair. Shooters and everyone else think it makes a gun ready for another 100 years.

The other point of view is the stock was refinished and the finisher stopped at the checkering. I would stop there too.

No matter how you feel about my comments, I'd have bought it and gone shooting.

Joe

Lovely example of Atkin's work.
EC Hodges was a very high grade actioner to the London guntrade and so may have been the actioner who put the basic gun together for Atkins or it may refer to the ejector mechanism that Atkin favoured at one time.
If the latter, it is unlikely to still be the Hodges ejector mechanism which is famous for its unreliability and was almost universally replaced with a something more mainstream and reliable.
Atkin Grant & Lang will supply you with a copy of the ledger page that refers to the gun but don't hold your breath, the information is often very scant.

B Bob,
that looks like a fine gun, lovely timber on it!
Good old Gough Thomas, English Gun authority ordered an Atkin #3510 in 1948, and loved it....I wonder when this # 1733 was built?
Sure looks like a beautiful Gun
Franc

As noted above, AG&L may be able to give you an accurate date of production and other info on the gun. As best I can tell from the proofmarks, it looks like it falls in the 1896-1904 period. I see a faint "MAX" on the barrel flats, and there's no chamber length, so it has to be earlier than 1925.

Yes, AGL should have the records. It looks like it was proofed under 1904-25 Rules?

I believe Hodges was an actioner in the trade and worked for Atkins and executed Atkin's variation of the self opening Beesley action in 1909.

The letters H. S. on the underside of the barrels may stand for Henry Squires a barrel maker to the trade who worked for Boss and Hussey amongst others. The barrels appear to be of dovetail type, as are the barrels on my pair of Husseys.

The stock is certainly beautiful and the gun has fantastic lines- long and light, I'm sure it handles exceptionally well. Your friend is fortunate indeed to own such a fine gun.

And he is in good company. John Pierpont Morgan "aka- The Nose" owned a matched pair of these "Steinways"-- Just as good as the Boss, and a notch above the Purdey and Holland & Holland, IMO. If Gough Thomas had one, that says it all, for me. Very nice!!

AGL will be able to give the date, barrel length, chokes, action type and who it was made for. I was able to obtain the above on my Atkin boxlock by email. A letter will cost. Check http://www.matchedpairs.com/double_rifles.htm
to see if someone has the other gun.
Good luck and beautiful gun. Gil