Gallion magnum cape gun. 12 ga.

[Kentuckywindage]

I found one of these but was wondering what they are worth?

Barrel has been choked to M-IM , Bore is in great condition, a small chip by the lock

 

[satx78247]

PLEASE post photo(s). - I tried "googling" Gallion firearms, cape-guns, double-barrels, etc. & got ZILCH.

yours, satx

 

[Patocazador]

I thought a cape gun was a smooth barrel and a rifled barrel. It sounds as if this is a SxS shotgun.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Single barrel 12g smoothie

 

[Wes/Tex]

The gun is the one made by Euroarms (called the Magnum Cape Gun), and has been imported through their American office since at least the 80's. It's a standard 12 gauge and can be used with shot or .690" ball. They were popular for a good while, especially with the upland bird crowd. Some preferred the double for the follow up shot.

 

[satx78247]

So it was a RIFLED 12bore x 12bore shotgun?
(As you know, I'm a cape-gun NUT.)

yours, satx

 

[Kentuckywindage]

12g smooth bore.

Guess getting a guess on value is out of the question :haha:

 

[Wes/Tex]

this one was called "Magnum Cape Gun" but was a single shot percussion smoohtbore shotgun. Marketing gimmick I suppose...seeing as how "shotgun: was already taken! :wink: :haha:

 

[satx78247]

Well, that gives new meaning to "BRAINLESS". = By commonly accepted definition for 150 years, "cape-gun" means a combination of a shot & a rifle barreled firearm.

yours, satx

 

[Dphar]

And. The smoothbores intended for hunting with a RB were generally shorter in the barrel and had hind sights.
This is a shotgun by barrel length and sighting arrangement.
In Greener's "The Gun and its Development" 1896 there is no mention of the "Cape Gun" in the index or in a relatively quick page through. At least not as we think of it today. There is a mention of a "Cape Rifle" being a 2 groove double rifle shooting a fitted bullet (wings that fit the grooves using a patch). Nor is there any mention in John Taylor's "African Rifles and Cartridges" at least its not in the index. Considering this and Georges "English Guns and Rifles" not mentioning it makes me question how long the "Cape Gun" moniker has been in use. From what I can find it may have been a named coined by T Bland apparently a Birmingham maker in the 1870s. I have seen people stating that the term appears in Greener but its apparently not in my 1896 version.
The German's called a one rifled one shotgun side by side a Büchsflinte.
Dan

 

[satx78247]

FIRST: WELCOME HOME, Brother-in-Arms.

I'm away from my "book storage site" (at our family farm in NE TX), so I cannot give you an exact reference, but the term "cape-gun" (one rifle/one smoothbore) appears in an English language book of circa 1840 & states that those weapons were FIRST intended for "The Cape Trade" (Union of South Africa) & that those arms were "becoming commonplace" among "gentleman travelers" & serving (UK) officers, who are enroute/assigned to South African postings or to India.

How early were the "capeguns" made? - I simply don't know that answer but it was PROBABLY some English/Irish gunmaker who simply copied the German rifle/shotgun combination weapon & "named" what he made.
(The memoirs of Lord Robert S. Baden Powell describe a similar 14 gauge "combination gun" that he took to SA, when he was a LT in 1876-78.)

There ARE some European flinters that are rifled/smooth.

SORRY, I just don't know more than that.

yours, satx

 

[satx78247]

Btw, I collect hammer combination guns & have an Austrian & a German Buchsflinte.

My favorite is a .52x14bore caplock (that I was told at The National Firearms Museum that was PROBABLY "bored out" from a 16 bore, to "clean up the bore". - Mr. George Knight said that, "I wouldn't be surprised if both barrels haven't been "freshed".) with 24.25" tubes.
(It's REALLY "plain-vanilla" & was obviously a "using gun" of someone who was NOT well-to-do, as it shows a great deal of "honest wear" to metal/wood. - Forstmeister's weapon, perhaps???)

yours, satx

 

[Black Jack]

The gun is the one made by Euroarms (called the Magnum Cape Gun), and has been imported through their American office since at least the 80's. It's a standard 12 gauge and can be used with shot or .690" ball.

I have one of these guns that I purchased from Dixon's several years ago. I got it for a very reasonable price due to the fact that the previous owner had spray-painted the entire gun olive drab to "camouflage" it for turkey hunting. Go figure. I've never fired the gun and it is in my queue for future refinishing projects (I'm running a little behind on this).

 

[nwtradegun]

http://www.investarm.com/eng-avancarica.html.
check out this investarms site. you have there shotgun / rifle. comes in 12 ga. sb or rifle 45 cal.

 

[nwtradegun]

added note they have sold on auction sites 350 to 500. depends on condition

 

[Captjoel]

Thanks for the Investarm site RJ. From looking at all of their offerings I see that I have a model #150 rifle in 54 caliber. Never really knew what to call it! ff

 

[Black Jack]

Thanks rj....that's it, the model 410. Except no rear sight that they state even for shotgun. Just goes to show that there is a lot of interesting stuff made in Europe that does not get imported to the US.

 

[sootmonkey]

I have what looks to be the same gun. It is marked "Gallyon." I bought it off of Gunbroker about a year ago. I want to say it cost me about 400.00 after shipping.

 

[nwtradegun]

so ur the one who won it from me. last bid was 350 for me. congrats

 

[sootmonkey]

I bought it without knowing or being able to find out anything about it. The seller said it was a Bondi.(sp) The wood is what sold me. Nobody would put a piece of wood like that on a junker. I did have to buy a wedge and the plates and do a little fitting work to get it fixed. That was not shown on GB. Absolutely love the gun. Bought a Pietia (sp) 12ga sxs to join it. The Beretta 686 ou is getting some safe time.