doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com You ever have a simple gun spellbind you?

That isn't writing, per say, it is marketing, and you have taken the bait, hook, line and sinker.

The boxlock is an improvement over the sidelock. A sidelock is no more than a hammergun with the hammers moved inside, upsetting the beautiful, narrow frame that makes a hammergun so perfect in the hand.

I'm not a hammergun guy, but, any gauge hammergun by an English maker, compared side by side with the same makers hammerless sidelock is far more graceful and beautiful. The boxlock is everyman's gun, built to a level we can all afford, and frustrating Murphy's law to a level unapproached by the sidelock design.

Many of us prefer a boxlock. The good ones are great.

Best,
Ted

The boxlock is simpler, therefore easier to regulate than the sidelock with its 19 bits per side.

The Model 21 Winchester simplified the boxlock even further, doing away with the V springs, using coils instead. The V springs in the boxlock are A- hard to make and fit, and B- they drag on the top of their slot when firing and cocking.

However, to return to the original posting. There are simple sidelocks, like the Chech BRNO. A gunsmith friend has one that has been used hard. The greying edges and the dulled barrels give that gun a soft overall look that would qualify as a simple gun with plenty of character.

Here's an example somewhat similar to my project:

http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/LotDetailsPrintable.aspx?intObjectID=1367600

Again, nothing special or deluxe, by far the simplest of the dozen boxlocks I own but I'm smitten by its lines. I don't have a knockabout gun for rough shooting or bad weather and I thought this gun has a lot of "soul", the perfect candidate. Mine is getting the full treatment because it is a candidate for remanufacturing to as-new as opposed to most vintage guns that are treated with thoughtful, subtle conservation. Nope, this one of mine is going to have zero patina when I'm done with it. For the price of a browning Citori I'll have a brand new side by side that looks the way it did 125 years ago when it came off the shelf at Westley Richards in London, likely sold to an estates' gamekeeper.

The way the action was filed and continued into the styling of the stock head (no drop points) just moves me. The unique WR top lever is cool too. Once it has case colors again I feel the contrast will be as it should be.

This is an E&G Higham I picked up last October. There is just something good about a 6 pound, 6 ounce 12-g with 28-inch barrels.

Nice

When I traded off my LC Smith 5E 20ga while retaining a less valuable Louis Christophe by Jules Bury some of my friends thought I was crazy.

Some guns simple sing to you in look and feel while a more valuable gun does not.

Some of those guns look ideal for the Russian kleptocracy. Whew, they were making my eyes ache.

Some of the others are pretty spectacular, though. Loved the break action single barrel rifles, both the round action and the sidelock.

Rookhawk, good luck with the project. Not all guns demand absolute adherence to the rule of don't mess with it. I've done some of mine, my favorite being a non collectible early A grade Fox. When I look at it I can imagine it on the rack in the store in 1909 when my great grandfather picked it out. I usually only use it for turkey now. 12 gauge, 30" barrels full & full. May not be to everyone's taste but I like it.

Please post pics when its done.

I love this gun, just the way it is...too short and lacking finish on the frame.

I think it has more to do with how the gun has served you in the field as opposed to any aesthetics. Shotguns regardless of action tend to look that much brighter and carry that much better after you make a sweet shot on a fast crossing bird.

Like the old pick-up truck that has dug you out of a snow bank or a mud hole or has fired up on a cold winter morning and people look at it saying why do you keep that old �thing� around why don�t you just get rid of it and get a new one. Some, will never understand the bond that grows between a man and his machine.