Very pretty! I love those pistol grip stocks reilly did for his rifles. Reminds me of a howda pistol with a buttstock!
E.M. Reilly wildfowler
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Gordoncourtney
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We must start the Reilly club
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J.C. and E.M. Reilly supposedly made 25,000+ serialized guns in their 90 years of gunmaking, BIG NUMBERS! -only putting serial numbers on the ones they personally made. Gene williams our u.s. expert(possibly the world expert on reilly) has found around 800 existing serialized guns. Sure they are not a big bold name like purdy, H&H,.......(insert your favorite famous london maker). But we have hundreds of examples showing the exceedingly stellar quality and craftsmanship the 2 men were capable of. Less than 1000 existing examples makes them quite rare. That rarity seems to be a central point to alot of the owners ive seen and chatted with on the forums. Dont get me wrong if i ever have the funds and the right one crossed my path id snatch up a boss or purdy but ive always had a soft spot for the the perceived underdogs. Oh boy ive grown to love reillys!
that had crossed my mind! It would be be great fun! Unfortunatly im about 4,400 miles from you! the in person club shoot would be a challenge haha!!!
Gordoncourtney
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Where. I want to meet with my gunny chum up in Maine But have you seen from London like £1300. It’s not a cheap flight. Quatar offers London to Perth WA around £650 including return, done it , but sit in a seat for 23 hours. Good sailing but no hunting
Anyway thinking of Holts UK , are you my side of the big pond It is big, the pond, j sailed it on P&O
Love to you great guys from London
Gordoncourtney
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Many great names were made by Webely Birmingham, and others The big names just added their name. So have you got a real H&H or Purdey ? If it’s black
Powder I guess it’s. Webley
My 1901??? 450/400 nitro double is signed Leon and Leon late of Purdey. But I believe it’s 1920. Look up the story
Ha! Yup ive read that many hollands were birmingham guns finished by H&H and not manufactured by them from scratch. Reilly for decades was just a couple doors down from purdy. Wonder how many potential purdy customers wound up with a reilly instead?
This is what gene williams wrote in his own words about the son E.M. Reilly. This conclusion of character was formed after he had read every word of his will, advertisments for the company, and articles by em reilly that is readily availible today.
Em Reilly even wrote a poem where he basicly gave purdey the middle finger! It is very funny! It seems he was very proud to be able to rival a company like purdey without having to charge an entire famillies fortune for a commissioned gun
E.M. Reilly appears to have been an imaginative, far-sighted, organized, ambitious businessman (based on his business record). He also worked with his father from an early age in the gun making business and had extensive hands-on experience in making guns and air guns.
-- He rationalized the Reilly serial numbers, created new trade labels, and advanced new and risky products.
-- He had some excellent political connections in the gun trade - the same group of gun makers appear repeatedly together in the late 1850-early 1860 time period - Prince, Green, Deane, Reilly, Blanche, Manton and a couple of others - and given that he manufactured well in excess of 6,000 Comblain breech loaders (presumably in Birmingham) in the 1860's, he had connections there as well. He had to have had some people skills.
-- He had a talent for recognizing promising new patents and was not afraid to build them to suit or to take technological business risks trying to anticipate market demand.
-- He was definitely a Francophile in an English world where France conjured up the image of a 1000 year old structural enemy. One must wonder if he got his dander up after being snubbed by the Royal Family; he seemed to turn mockingly towards anti-gun-making establishment; giving the proverbial finger to Purdey doesn't win friends.
-- He also at least early on was a practicing Catholic and may have had a chip on his shoulder about this. As late as the 1960's John Le Carre commented in a "Murder with Quality" about this lingering English phenomenon of religious persecution. He dreamed big dreams and the biggest was snagging a contract with Arsenal. One must wonder whether his religion played a part in his inability to obtain this.
-- He was probably not regarded as a "gentleman" by the English class conscious society. And definitely so when he took up with Mary Ann, a 20 year old and had four children out of wedlock. He was a businessman and a trader and though he tried to be royalty respected, he was insulted. He returned the insult by being successful.
-- He was perhaps a bit of a control freak and probably not easy to be around - especially if you were his son. (The Victorian age was not a "huggy-feely" one) (this only from interpreting the wording in his will).
Em Reilly even wrote a poem where he basicly gave purdey the middle finger! It is very funny! It seems he was very proud to be able to rival a company like purdey without having to charge an entire famillies fortune for a commissioned gun
E.M. Reilly appears to have been an imaginative, far-sighted, organized, ambitious businessman (based on his business record). He also worked with his father from an early age in the gun making business and had extensive hands-on experience in making guns and air guns.
-- He rationalized the Reilly serial numbers, created new trade labels, and advanced new and risky products.
-- He had some excellent political connections in the gun trade - the same group of gun makers appear repeatedly together in the late 1850-early 1860 time period - Prince, Green, Deane, Reilly, Blanche, Manton and a couple of others - and given that he manufactured well in excess of 6,000 Comblain breech loaders (presumably in Birmingham) in the 1860's, he had connections there as well. He had to have had some people skills.
-- He had a talent for recognizing promising new patents and was not afraid to build them to suit or to take technological business risks trying to anticipate market demand.
-- He was definitely a Francophile in an English world where France conjured up the image of a 1000 year old structural enemy. One must wonder if he got his dander up after being snubbed by the Royal Family; he seemed to turn mockingly towards anti-gun-making establishment; giving the proverbial finger to Purdey doesn't win friends.
-- He also at least early on was a practicing Catholic and may have had a chip on his shoulder about this. As late as the 1960's John Le Carre commented in a "Murder with Quality" about this lingering English phenomenon of religious persecution. He dreamed big dreams and the biggest was snagging a contract with Arsenal. One must wonder whether his religion played a part in his inability to obtain this.
-- He was probably not regarded as a "gentleman" by the English class conscious society. And definitely so when he took up with Mary Ann, a 20 year old and had four children out of wedlock. He was a businessman and a trader and though he tried to be royalty respected, he was insulted. He returned the insult by being successful.
-- He was perhaps a bit of a control freak and probably not easy to be around - especially if you were his son. (The Victorian age was not a "huggy-feely" one) (this only from interpreting the wording in his will).
WOW. I have a small collection of Original 12gauge and 14-gauge double barrels that I hunt with and shoot regularly but none are as nice as yours. I really want a 11 gauge in a Moore or Mortimer. Yours with the travel case is really special...
Gordoncourtney
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As our gentleman above shows they’re a lot on google about Reilly . Very well documented EM Reilly took over from his father around 1848 and he went over to using French walnut . My cape rifle is 1853 and on google all his serial numbers date the gun precisely A great gunmaker .
My cape rifle by Reilly both barrels .6” bore, right hand barrel rifled
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Gordoncourtney
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I should have read the whole string on this Rielly , shall we say Rielly club , the walnut on the shotgun , french of course, is to die for, beautiful, far better than most Purdey guns I have handled
All I can say is BEAUTIFULL.
Yes the wood is fantastic. Funny enough it's exactly what I like in a piece of walnut. Really this gun just spoke to me. the engraving is larger scroll which I prefer over the later real fine scroll work from reilly. Of course it has a game rib which I preferI should have read the whole string on this Rielly , shall we say Rielly club , the walnut on the shotgun , french of course, is to die for, beautiful, far better than most Purdey guns I have handled
All I can say is BEAUTIFULL.
The gun shoots great 7.5lbs so recoil is pretty tame
Patterned pretty well with 2.5 dram and 2.75 dram square loads
Even better with 2.5-2.75 of powder and 3 drams of shot
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