just got a new old shotgun

[rebel727]

I've got a 12 gauge just like it sans cap box. Was told mine was made in the 1840's by the guy I got it from.

7/shotgun/08df84bc.jpg[/IMG]

 

[shmrck1]

54Mountain,
From the looks of it you have yourself
a fine SxS. Let me know if you get tired of it :rotf:
snake-eyes:hatsoff:

 

[54mountain]

Yea, I've already got some strange looks when I tell people It's a 14 ga. The first ML shotgun I ever shot was a little French made 18ga that he dated to 1856.

 

[54mountain]

Rebel,
nice lookin' gun the engraving is identical to that on mine. But your wood looks nicer,I like the engraving on the stock, Mine's just got smooth wood, also mine has back action locks but they are engraved with the same design as yours.

I LIKE IT :thumbsup: !!

 

[PeterV]

I bought a similar 14 gauge shotgun at a gun show many years ago. It has checkering on the forestock and wrist area rather than the carving your pictures show, and no parts box.

When the orange colored finished was removed we found a nice piece of walnut underneath. The checkering was filled with old varnish, oil and dirt, etc. Cleaning it with solvent like acetone and an old tooth brush helped to define the original edges.

The barrels had similar makings to yours, but the left is choked closer to full than cylinder bore. It is fun to shoot. I had a chance to shoot in a a small match in Illinois last year with my brother Paul. The wind was blowing straight at us. When you broke the clays, you had to duck to keep from being hit with the bits of clay pigeon being blown back at you. I hit my first two targets, the first time I had shot this SXS since having it restored in the 1980's, and I was so happy, I did not care whether I hit another bird the whole day. I think my score was 7/15. That was a fun shoot. I hope you will enjoy shooting yours. Try 2 1/2 drams or about 70 grains of powder, 1 or 1 1/8 oz of shot. Your groups may be better with less powder, particularly with two cylinder bored barrels.

 

[rebel727]

Rebel,
nice lookin' gun the engraving is identical to that on mine. But your wood looks nicer,I like the engraving on the stock, Mine's just got smooth wood, also mine has back action locks but they are engraved with the same design as yours.

I LIKE IT :thumbsup: !!

Yours is prolly in better shape than mine. Got a couple of hairline cracks in the stock, one was pinned with a brass pin so don't guess there's any way of properly fixing it now. One of the hammers was repaired with brass and one of the ramrod pipes is missing. It's a good shooter tho. Funny I didn't notice your locks were back action. From the overall look and the trigger guard, engraving, etc. they might have been made by the same company. Mine was made by Ancion Arms Co. In Liege. The name is mixed in with the scroll work on the rib. Barrels are brazed together, not soldered.

 

[matt denison]

And here I thought that I was the only guy out there who was nutty enoough to love these "cheap" old shotguns. I recently picked up a Manton in 15 gage. It's in about 80 percent condition, NO CRACKS! I know that they aren't valuable (yet) but I love it. Only paid $100 for it. It's amazing the quality of these guns considering that they were inexpensive hardware store guns. Anybody else got one?

L.Dog

 

[Todd Rickard]

When I was 15yrs old I bought a 12ga. damascuss barreled double cartridge gun. I loaded BP shells for it and had lots of fun.
I've just purchased an antique 10ga. muzzleloader, and can't wait to get it in hand.

 

[54mountain]

PETERV
Just wonderin' what size wad punch do you use for your 14, 11/16 is a little under sized and 3/4 looks like it would be awfully tight, HELP!!

Thanks ahead of time
Galen,

 

[khwils]

I don't get the value of these old doubles either. I purchased a 12 ga rabbit-eared BP cartridge double for litteraly $30! I have a 14ga(I think) perc that I paid about $300. I have a 16 ga BP cart that I paid $250. All of these guns are shooters. Modern perc double guns are going for $600 - $900 - go figure?? The old guns are much more graceful and usually have better engraving. I won't tell anyone what a great deal these things are if you guys don't! Kurt/IL

 

[paulvallandigham]

I think Pete gets his wads from Circle Fly. I don't know any punch made for general sale that would provde the right size wads for a 14 gauge.

 

[rebel727]

I don't get the value of these old doubles either. I purchased a 12 ga rabbit-eared BP cartridge double for litteraly $30! I have a 14ga(I think) perc that I paid about $300. I have a 16 ga BP cart that I paid $250. All of these guns are shooters. Modern perc double guns are going for $600 - $900 - go figure?? The old guns are much more graceful and usually have better engraving. I won't tell anyone what a great deal these things are if you guys don't! Kurt/IL

They're not collectible because they're not name brand and nobody wants them for shooters because they don't trust the damascus barrels. :youcrazy:

 

[PeterV]

I use 14 gauge wads from Circle Fly or Butler or any of the ones sold by Track of the Wolf, etc. They seem to work fine. As far as diameter, I bought them so many years ago I don't remember the size , but I can probably measure them. They measure about 23/32 (0.71875) of an inch.

I hope that helps.

Peter

 

[54mountain]

Thanks I think I can come up with a drill bit that size and make my own punch, I just needed some where to start. I could buy them precut but I'm a bit of a tightwad(pun intended) :haha: :haha:

 

[Todd Rickard]

Wads are cheap too...lol :haha: . Less than $10.00 per 1000 for over shot cards. ( no offence, just saw my chance to poke a little fun atcha)

 

[PeterV]

There are ways to repair old splits, including forcing some of the new super glues into the crack or using some of the epoxies. If the crack is not growing, you might finding leaving it alone is sufficient.

If the crack is in the weak part of the stock, such as at the rear of the tang, you might want to carve a little space under and behind, but below the stock surface, the tang to put some glass bedding into it. That should keep the crack for seeing the loads that may have been responsible for some of the original crack.

Good luck with your shooting.

 

[rebel727]

There are ways to repair old splits, including forcing some of the new super glues into the crack or using some of the epoxies. If the crack is not growing, you might finding leaving it alone is sufficient.

If the crack is in the weak part of the stock, such as at the rear of the tang, you might want to carve a little space under and behind, but below the stock surface, the tang to put some glass bedding into it. That should keep the crack for seeing the loads that may have been responsible for some of the original crack.

Good luck with your shooting.

I fixed one crack but there's one that was pinned and it didn't pull together right. It's not going to spread but don't look cool. It's a blind pin and the only way to get it out is drive it on thru which I'm kinda scared to do.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Sometimes, you can use a chisel to dig under the wood next to such a pin, and cut into the pin, so that you can grab it and pull it out. The small cut will not damage much wood, considering the problem you are trying to fix, and if you are careful to save the small piece cut out by the chisel, you can glue it back when you glue the split properly. This always involve a judgment call by both the owner, and by the restorer, if someone does it for you. If the pin is large enough, you can simply use a smaller sized drill to drill into the pin, and then use an " eazy out " to pull the pin, or screw. With a hole drilled into it, you can use a cold chisel to cut a slot for a small screw driver to turn it, and that will often allow you to take it out.

If you don't have a workshop with tools to use, don't ever feel reluctant to approach people at a local machine shop. They have the tools, and most of them love guns. Helping you get that pin out of that old stock would be a great project for them to help you will. Just promise them a chance to shoot the gun when you get it restored, and you can probably get someone to pull that pin for you for free.

 

[rebel727]

Thanks for the advise but I guess I'll leave it as is. The pin is too small to drill and it's countersunk. It's not like it's perfect otherwise. It's in good shape mechanically and shoots good, just has more character than most. :grin:

 

[paulvallandigham]

I understand. its like trying to dig out an broken nail buried in the wood. The only way you can do that is to cut around the pin a little to give you room to grab it with a needle nose plyers, and then pull it out. The wood can then be repaired a number of way, uisng a filler made of wood sawdust, to blend the patch to the rest of the stock, or simply cover the patch with an inlay. I have done the former, but I like the looks of the latter, better.