Jules, that is a wonderful Fuller, with the 280 Strand address no less -- what a find. Thank you for sharing your photos; I have never seen any reference to a Fuller pin-fire that wasn't a conversion. Glad to see it is still in the field! It would have been a very desirable gun in its day, from one of London's most admired makers (though the Fuller name is mostly forgotten now).
I don't think the "6 5 2" refers to a date; makers at the time did not date their guns, why would they? They weren't marking their guns for the benefit of future admirers of their work. Numbering systems were far from standardized or consistent, and they were mostly for the maker's benefit in efforts to keep parts together during the building process and keep track of orders. Many small-scale makers didn't bother with serial numbers at all. Fuller would have had a small but elite clientele, helped by his royal patron. As Prince Albert died in December 1861, your gun would date after this, from the rib inscription mention of "the late Prince Consort." One aspect of your gun intrigues me, and I can't tell from your photos: is the action a single-bite or double-bite design? If it is a double-bite and lacks a mention of Henry Jones's patent, it will likely date from after 1862. Beautiful!
Lagopus, I look forward to hearing more about a Henry Drew pin-fire.
As to this thread, I have a few more guns of interest to add over the next weeks, which fill a few gaps not yet covered here. I have been occupied these past months with a complete review of The Field for the period 1853 to 1870, or 914 weeks' worth of this interesting periodical. Nothing beats contemporary sources for piecing together the full story.
