Wood - Stunning

Remove post if necessary as it’s post 1865 by a decade.
Picked this 15b up, probably the most beautiful piece of wood I’ve ever seen in a percussion arm.

wow…. that is pretty

Still a pre-1865 design, so it's good. And gorgeous!

Beautiful. Burl is extravagant. That is beyond burl.

Probably the most interesting, and beautiful piece of wood I’ve ever seen in a percussion gun either, and maybe not just percussion.
Could we, please, have some more photos, particularly the whole piece?

wow! and the best part is it has been used!

Another photo..
The inside is as well done as the outside.
Doesn’t get any better than 4-screw bridle locks.

Burled wood like that is absolutely gorgeous to look at. Shaping and finishing can be a royal pain in the butt. The grain goes off in wildly unpredictable ways and can hide splits that cause big problems. You will notice that the grain on this stock straightens out right where the inletting for the action begins. The craftsman who made this really knew his business. What a treasure!

fubar22 said:

Burled wood like that is absolutely gorgeous to look at. Shaping and finishing can be a royal pain in the butt. The grain goes off in wildly unpredictable ways and can hide splits that cause big problems. You will notice that the grain on this stock straightens out right where the inletting for the action begins. The craftsman who made this really knew his business. What a treasure!

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Yes, the wood grain flows as it should thru the wrist and forward.

Who is the maker? That is a nice gun.

OldMaineWoodsman said:

Who is the maker? That is a nice gun.

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Henry Ward

Only time I ever saw similar burled wood was in the Queen's gun room on a tour of her Sandringham estate when I visited England. Priceless weapons gifted by Czars and Kings.

Your gun walks in elite company.

Wow. Just, wow.

I would hunt with that.

yellowhammer said:

Only time I ever saw similar burled wood was in the Queen's gun room on a tour of her Sandringham estate when I visited England. Priceless weapons gifted by Czars and Kings.

Your gun walks in elite company.

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Thanks
Read about Sandingham recently- how the Prince of Whales turned into a hunting paradise.. astonishing number of birds shot at the lavish events..money had no limit.

Fantastic

52Bore said:

Thanks
Read about Sandingham recently- how the Prince of Whales turned into a hunting paradise.. astonishing number of birds shot at the lavish events..money had no limit...

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Yep. A 20,000 acre botanical garden of Eden. Royal opulence.

The Royal gun collection shocked me to the point that my tarrying forced the tour director to say "Please sir , mind the others, we must proceed". Impeccably maintained - some hundreds of years old yet appearing brand new - like I said earlier gifts from czars, rajas and kings, etc.

I asked about the prevalence of muzzleloaders vs modern cartridge guns in the collection, and the tour director rolled his eyes and tersely stated "The Queens attendants load".

yellowhammer said:

I asked about the prevalence of muzzleloaders vs modern cartridge guns in the collection, and the tour director rolled his eyes and tersely stated "The Queens attendants load".

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In the book The Big Shots of Edwardian Shooting Parties, all the elites quickly converted to BL and only 1-2 stayed with hammers after the introduction to Hammerless. Understandable as all this started in the early 1860’s and ended by 1920.
ML barely referenced.
Primetime was 1880-1920.

Never ever seen anything like that gun stock. Absolutely incredible and amazing. Thanks for posting pics.