Post by bluedot on Jan 15, 2018 12:29:50 GMT -5
O.K. This is not something I have to get figured out tomorrow, but here's the story.
I was at an auction yesterday. I went there to look at a side by side 20 ga. that was listed as a 19th century percussion 20 ga shotgun. It was made in Germany (Suhl) and by a gunsmith that has his name spelled almost the same. While it has a cracked stock, it looked to be in not too bad shape mechanically wise, and the gold inlays were bright and shiny. Not much if any of the finish was left on the steel. I didn't look at it really hard at the auction, it was standing room only. There were 700-800 items being auctioned in the gun ring, the other ring had taxidermy and war memorabilia. This was day 3 of the auction, each day had 2 rings going and I was bidder 97xx. I ended up leaving the auction, going home to let the dog out, got some food shoved in my face and going back to the auction. All in all, the auction went on for probably close to 12 hours there was that many guns and ammo. A vast majority of the guns went for stupid prices, but a vast majority of the guns were NIB, never fired guns all owned by one guy who didn't shoot them. Guns from the 50's. 60's and 70's still in the orig. box.
Anyway.....
This was the last of the things that I "wanted" to be auctioned off, and the other things went for more than I set my limit, so I had some extra $ to play with. I wanted it as a wall hanger, and it cost me more than what I had initially wanted to spend (but less than what I was going to spend at the auction if I got everything), but not 15 min after bidding stopped I was approached by a guy that offered me $100 more than what I paid including premium and sales tax. I declined. So after an initial buyers remorse I wasn't feeling THAT bad after all.
When I got it home I just put it in the corner and didn't look at it. I looked at it this morning. The "percussion 20 ga" turned into what I believe to be a boxlock 16 ga. It has extractors vs. ejectors, and a 20ga shell slides into the chamber about 1/16"-3/32" past the rim. The bore diameter at the muzzle is .658"-.659" for both barrels. The "Percussion" exposed hammers actually hit firing pins that are at an angle. The splinter forend, barrels and action all have the same serial number on them. The chambers measure 2 1/2" from breech to the start of the forcing cone, and they are .742" diameter. It looks to be a fluid steel, not Damascus barrel, (28 1/2" long) no dents or pitting inside or outside. There is a block that slides sideways from in the receiver to the left, which moves a pin that goes thru the locking mechanism near the top of the barrels to allow the action to open. Upon closer inspection of all the engraving on the gun, there are small traces of gold inlay in just about everything. Sideplates, trigger guard, bottom of the receiver, etc.
The double triggers work, the hammers work. Front trigger works the right barrel, rear trigger works the left barrel. The spring on one firing pin has to be broken, the spring on the locking lever is broken too, unless it isn't supposed to have one. The metal work is pretty amazing, everything fits a LOT tighter than any modern gun, even guns from the 40''s-50's. Some fitment lines are so tight you don't realize they are there until the two pieces move apart. Now I'm considering seeing about getting it refurbished and actually shooting it. It'll be a long, probably expensive process, and one that I'll have to send out to get done. Even the screws that hold the buttplate on are engraved.... By looking at the screws that are on the gun, it's either never been apart, or whoever put it back together did it perfectly so all the engraving lines up.
So, with that said, I'll need an education on 16ga shells, if it IS a 16ga gun. What shells to use, paper or brass? What to load and what to look for/where to look for components? Low pressure light loads for sure, the gun is dainty, it weighs 6 1/4 pounds.
Another project just got added to the list I guess!!!
I was at an auction yesterday. I went there to look at a side by side 20 ga. that was listed as a 19th century percussion 20 ga shotgun. It was made in Germany (Suhl) and by a gunsmith that has his name spelled almost the same. While it has a cracked stock, it looked to be in not too bad shape mechanically wise, and the gold inlays were bright and shiny. Not much if any of the finish was left on the steel. I didn't look at it really hard at the auction, it was standing room only. There were 700-800 items being auctioned in the gun ring, the other ring had taxidermy and war memorabilia. This was day 3 of the auction, each day had 2 rings going and I was bidder 97xx. I ended up leaving the auction, going home to let the dog out, got some food shoved in my face and going back to the auction. All in all, the auction went on for probably close to 12 hours there was that many guns and ammo. A vast majority of the guns went for stupid prices, but a vast majority of the guns were NIB, never fired guns all owned by one guy who didn't shoot them. Guns from the 50's. 60's and 70's still in the orig. box.
Anyway.....
This was the last of the things that I "wanted" to be auctioned off, and the other things went for more than I set my limit, so I had some extra $ to play with. I wanted it as a wall hanger, and it cost me more than what I had initially wanted to spend (but less than what I was going to spend at the auction if I got everything), but not 15 min after bidding stopped I was approached by a guy that offered me $100 more than what I paid including premium and sales tax. I declined. So after an initial buyers remorse I wasn't feeling THAT bad after all.
When I got it home I just put it in the corner and didn't look at it. I looked at it this morning. The "percussion 20 ga" turned into what I believe to be a boxlock 16 ga. It has extractors vs. ejectors, and a 20ga shell slides into the chamber about 1/16"-3/32" past the rim. The bore diameter at the muzzle is .658"-.659" for both barrels. The "Percussion" exposed hammers actually hit firing pins that are at an angle. The splinter forend, barrels and action all have the same serial number on them. The chambers measure 2 1/2" from breech to the start of the forcing cone, and they are .742" diameter. It looks to be a fluid steel, not Damascus barrel, (28 1/2" long) no dents or pitting inside or outside. There is a block that slides sideways from in the receiver to the left, which moves a pin that goes thru the locking mechanism near the top of the barrels to allow the action to open. Upon closer inspection of all the engraving on the gun, there are small traces of gold inlay in just about everything. Sideplates, trigger guard, bottom of the receiver, etc.
The double triggers work, the hammers work. Front trigger works the right barrel, rear trigger works the left barrel. The spring on one firing pin has to be broken, the spring on the locking lever is broken too, unless it isn't supposed to have one. The metal work is pretty amazing, everything fits a LOT tighter than any modern gun, even guns from the 40''s-50's. Some fitment lines are so tight you don't realize they are there until the two pieces move apart. Now I'm considering seeing about getting it refurbished and actually shooting it. It'll be a long, probably expensive process, and one that I'll have to send out to get done. Even the screws that hold the buttplate on are engraved.... By looking at the screws that are on the gun, it's either never been apart, or whoever put it back together did it perfectly so all the engraving lines up.
So, with that said, I'll need an education on 16ga shells, if it IS a 16ga gun. What shells to use, paper or brass? What to load and what to look for/where to look for components? Low pressure light loads for sure, the gun is dainty, it weighs 6 1/4 pounds.
Another project just got added to the list I guess!!!