Capt. Curl, what do you think about that flat edged sideplate? Have you seen one before? I don't have a picture of the early hammerless that was sold at Greg Martin some time back, but it's as early a hammerless Purdey I had seen at that time. I wonder if that gun has the unusual sideplate?
Bill, you know that even on my best day I'm meerly a dabbler in shotguns. When I first looked at the gun we're talking about I took note of the flat edges. Somewhere in the back of my mind I thought maybe I had seen one before. I can't say for sure either way, but I'll look through my archives and try to round it up.
I'll also note that this gun, though unmistakeably a Beesley lock, has fewer pins than the later Purdey locks. There was a discussion on NitroExpress.com a while back about design changes to the Beesley system that resulted in more pins. Some of the far more knowledgable members here ought to be able to shed light on this.
Curl
![[Linked Image from rbsiii.com]](http://www.rbsiii.com/Guns/Purdey_500_top_360.jpg)
