Condor, your fun post is not really silly. If you begin replacing various parts of a gun with another maker's work, when has it gone far enough to no longer be the work of the original maker? In days long past the answer was often the barrels. The barrels were so highly thought of they were considered to be the heart of the gun. Greener recorded it not unusual for a customer to bring in a set of barrels they refused to discard and ask for a new gun to be built around them. I have a friend who has a Purdey that began life in the 1840's as a muzzleloader but is now a breechloader. Valuing the barrels so much Purdey built a one-off action to save the barrels! I can't imagine the work that was involved in a project such as this. I believe it was Greener again who said some barrels were so worn there were gas leaks but the customer insisted on saving them! So, I will continue the tradition and believe the gun is whoever made the barrels. A carpenter hammer with a nail can fire a cartridge but it is the barrels alone that determine the outcome of the shot. Now, everyone can start throwing rocks at me........ smile

Last edited by Joe Wood; 07/16/13 06:46 PM.

When an old man dies a library burns to the ground. (Old African proverb)