doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com The pinfire game gun

Welcome to the discussion, Graybeardtmm3, on the evolutionary oddity that is the pinfire game gun. Those who bought one at the time did not know their treasured gun was going to be obsolete in record time -- no one knows such things. For a few years they were the best game guns in the world, and they were made with skill and artistry. Now they are cultural relics from another age.

Those are beautiful Dougalls, Mr. Hallquist! And the hammer work is quite impressive. I have to concede hammerless guns are a technological improvement, but... I much prefer the style of a hammergun.

Decorating one's hunting weapons is amongst the oldest expressions of human art. Colouration is believed to be the oldest, but engraving is perhaps the next-oldest form of decoration on weapons, and can be found on weapons and hunting tools dating as far back as the Stone and Bronze Ages. From the fifteenth century onwards, it has been (and continues to be) the favoured means of decorating firearms.

The pinfire game gun offered a greater potential surface area for metal engraving than the muzzle-loader, and this was often used to great effect, within the relatively constrained and conservative boundaries of British tastes. The typical British gun decoration of the day was exemplified with the subtle application of acanthus-leaf scroll, border patterns, occasional bucolic hunting scenes, and horn inlays on the fore-end. Some engraving motifs are bolder than others, with deftly-hidden fantastical designs that only appear upon close inspection (as we've seen in this thread), or starburst/lightning flash motifs added around the barrel pin holes, a hold-over from the decoration surrounding flint-lock priming pans. British tastes generally did not go for the chiselled relief engraving, flashy precious-metal, bone and ivory inlays, carved stocks, and other visual distractions popular on the Continent. And yet, while the British game gun was an example of artistic restraint, some clients went further in choosing or ordering guns with the most minimal decoration. Not absent of decoration, as might be expected on a working tool or martial arm, but the merest application of lines, shaped contours, and enhanced screw heads to remind the owner that skilled artisans produced the gun, but which hid nothing in the process. Was such a gun chosen to reflect one's personal philosophy? Or was it to save a few shillings? I doubt it was the latter, as it is often fine guns by respected makers that carry the least decoration. Some makers, such as W & C Scott & Son, used engraving coverage as one of the indicators of grade, but the difference in cost between grades would have largely been due to the qualities of barrels and locks employed, and the use of different action designs. Westley Richards guns are frequently encountered with minimal engraving, so it must have been an option by that maker, or maybe even promoted as a feature. And it is not like the guns were devoid of any character, with oiled or lacquered and polished stocks, case-coloured metal, and polished browned barrels displaying damascus patterns at their best. No, I presume the amount and style of engraving was part of what attracted the client to the gun in the first place -- some preferred more, some less.

Today's gun is one of the plainest I've come across, yet the construction quality is evident. It is signed E M Reilly & Co., so this is where Argo44's voluminous research comes in handy!

I would encourage readers to read Argo44's detailed history of the firm. In the broadest terms, it all started with Joseph Charles Reilly, who was born in Ireland and moved to London. In 1814 he opened a business as a jeweller at 12 Middle Row, Holborn and, typically for jewellers at the time, he also traded in guns. In about 1832 Joseph's son Edward Michael joined the firm, and in 1833 the business was entirely about guns. In 1835 the firm moved to 316 High Holborn, trading as J C Reilly until 1840, then as just Reilly, probably when Edward Michael became a partner. In 1847 the business moved to 502 New Oxford Street, and in 1857 Joseph Charles Reilly retired. The business was re-named Reilly & Co in 1858, and in 1859 was re-named again as E M Reilly & Co, moving to 315 Oxford Street, at premises formerly occupied by Joseph Manton, nearby to the premises of James Purdey.

According to Argo44's serial number timeline, today's gun, number 14672, dates from 1867, one of the 450 serial-numbered guns Reilly produced that year. How many pinfire game guns were included within that number is anyone's guess, but Reilly was, with Joseph Lang and John Blanch, a prominent London advocate of the pinfire system. If comparable to other prominent gunmakers at the time, I would fathom the annual number to be about 100 pinfire guns, or fewer.

It is a 12-bore rotary-underlever pinfire sporting gun with fine 29 7/8" barrels signed "E. M. Reilly & Co Oxford Street London" on the top rib, Both barrels are marked with London proofs, and a barrel maker's stamp "S" that I have been unable to trace. The unmarked double-bite screw grip action has London proofs, and a very slight radius at the breech/bar junction. The arcaded fences are left plain, as is the extended top strap. The back-action locks are signed "E. M. Reilly & Co London", the rounded hammers are left plain, and the metal parts have a plain border engraving only, with some detailing around the screws. Befitting a quality gun, the chequered butt has heel and toe plates, not a common feature at the time. Despite the fine condition of the gun overall, the bores are moderately pitted, and the gun weighs a light 6 lb 15 oz.