I assume barrels are blacked or browned after the address on the rib is engraved from Bushveld's post on the Churchill above? So the barrel is made, welded, hammered, bored, honed, polished, joined, lumps added, rib cemented in...then engraved before browning? And browning doesn't take place until...??? When?

But does it make sense to put two barrels together, cement in the rib and then engrave the rib, before you know what gun it's going on? Could be but then I'm not a gun maker. But pictures of (mass production ) factories sure show a lot of bored barrels piled up and just sitting there. I don't really know diddly about gunmaking but common sense would seem to indicate the barrels are finished off for a bespoke gun as a last step...but am open to counter-arguments.

As for SN 5512 and whether the address on the rib or the bore stamp is a date marker...I'd still go with the address on the rib until proven otherwise. If anyone has pre 1855 Reillys and can check their guns (they're all posted above..) please post.





And Didier-Drevet never made more than 300 barrels a year in Saint Etienne to maintain quality throughout the last half of the 19th century.

Last edited by Argo44; 07/20/19 12:56 AM.
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