Old Belgian SxS cleaned and ready to shoot.

[andy52]

Well, I got the old girl cleaned and detailed and I'm pleased with the outcome.
This is a much nicer Belgian gun than I'm used to seeing most are plain jane and heavy as a tank. This one is more refined and better built. The furniture was nickel and still retains some of the platings, the wood is a higher grade and it's nicely engraved. One thing that truly surprised me is that not one screw in the entire gun is buggered up.
I don't have a set of new nipples yet but just as soon as I get some I'm headed to the range. The barrels are in decent shape no major pitting and only one small dent on the right barrel.

 

[ML48]

My youngest soon loves to go grouse hunting with a BP shotgun.
Nice SxS!!!

 

[BigSkyRambler]

Nice!

 

[hawkeye2]

Very nice. A gunsmith can remove the dent, no problem.

 

[mustanger]

Very nice old double. You are one lucky person to have one.

 

[andy52]

Very nice old double. You are one lucky person to have one.

Thanks, I bought two of these about 2 weeks ago, I'm still working on the second one but it's not nearly as nice as this one. The second is more of your average Belgian SxS it's shootable but big, heavy, and unrefined.

 

[erhunter]

Wow! That' really nice!

 

[andy52]

Wow! That' really nice!

Thanks, It's definitely a keeper.

 

[mustanger]

You are doubly lucky. Those old Belgian guns might be on the heavy side, but they are heck for stout as they used to say. They seem to last forever and still shoot well. You'll enjoy both of them, I'm sure. Congratulations on your good luck to have two. If you might want to part with one later on, I would sure be interested in having one. Working on them and getting them back to working order is a lot of fun. It takes somebody that enjoys doing it and it sounds like you do.

 

[Eterry]

It looks very similar to my William Moore, also a Belgium double. I have shot mine, killed a few cans, but she needs new hammers, which I have been dragging my feet on. Enjoy her.

 

[andy52]

You are doubly lucky. Those old Belgian guns might be on the heavy side, but they are heck for stout as they used to say. They seem to last forever and still shoot well. You'll enjoy both of them, I'm sure. Congratulations on your good luck to have two. If you might want to part with one later on, I would sure be interested in having one. Working on them and getting them back to working order is a lot of fun. It takes somebody that enjoys doing it and it sounds like you do.

I really do like working on these old guns it's satisfying to get them cleaned up and in working order. The only ones I pass on are the ones with badly pitted bores that would be dangerous to shoot.

 

[andy52]

It looks very similar to my William Moore, also a Belgium double. I have shot mine, killed a few cans, but she needs new hammers, which I have been dragging my feet on. Enjoy her.

The locks on this gun have hexagonal lugs for the hammers fortunately the hammers are fine because I'm not sure I could find replacements for them.

 

[mustanger]

Interesting locks. I bet they are made well. Good for you that the hammers are in fine shape. Sounds like you've got two prizes. That's nice. I've always admired the old double guns. They have some pretty fine workmanship in them and tend to impress me with their natural elegance. Take good care of them and they'll last you a long time.

 

[French Colonial]

It looks very similar to my William Moore, also a Belgium double. I have shot mine, killed a few cans, but she needs new hammers, which I have been dragging my feet on. Enjoy her.

I believe William Moore was an English maker out of London

 

[andy52]

Interesting locks. I bet they are made well. Good for you that the hammers are in fine shape. Sounds like you've got two prizes. That's nice. I've always admired the old double guns. They have some pretty fine workmanship in them and tend to impress me with their natural elegance. Take good care of them and they'll last you a long time.

Every part of this old SxS is well made the furniture fits precisely in the wood with only a little shrinkage from age. When this gun left the shop new it would have been a real looker. I'm sure it would have been marketed to a more affluent clientele.

 

[jlatz]

That is a nice one. Have fun with it. Back in the mid-1960s I bought a Belgian percussion double used for hunting. Over the years I have used various British and Belgian percussion doubles and enjoyed them.

 

[Eterry]

I believe William Moore was an English maker out of London

Well, yes and no. William Moore WAS a VERY WELL respected maker of fine Bespoke English arms, even had a Warrant to provide arms to Royalty, IIRC.

The Belgians, not one to miss an opportunity, used his name on the locks, but the barrels are Definitely Belgian proof marked. They used many names of reputable houses of arms , usually with a slight change in spelling. They didn't seem concerned with Trade Mark infringements.

V.M. Starr, quite possibly the most renowned muzzleloader on this side of the pond, had Sue Betsy, a 11 gauge William Moore Belgian proofed double. He speaks fondly of her and her deeds.

So we are both right. I have posted about her numerous times on here. At first I thought as you did, I had an Actual William Moore from England, but such is not the case. However, she is a fine arm ,and the pride of my shotgun collection.

 

[Eterry]

Every part of this old SxS is well made the furniture fits precisely in the wood with only a little shrinkage from age. When this gun left the shop new it would have been a real looker. I'm sure it would have been marketed to a more affluent clientele.

The lock plates, trigger guard, entry pipe, stock, and checkering closely resemble my William Moore. Mine had spent the last 60 years or so in a basement in Kansas. Thankfully it was close to the furnace, so it only suffered light surface rust. Your's is MUCH nicer condition than mine. Again, congrats.

I didnt bother strapping it to a tire; I just started with 40grs fffg, and worked up to 60grs behind an oz of shot. No issues thus far. I need to break some clays.

 

[Eterry]

My Belgian proofed William Moore.

 

[andy52]

The lock plates, trigger guard, entry pipe, stock, and checkering closely resemble my William Moore. Mine had spent the last 60 years or so in a basement in Kansas. Thankfully it was close to the furnace, so it only suffered light surface rust. Your's is MUCH nicer condition than mine. Again, congrats.

I didnt bother strapping it to a tire; I just started with 40grs fffg, and worked up to 60grs behind an oz of shot. No issues thus far. I need to break some clays.

The gun has no maker mark of any kind so there's no way for me to say for sure who made it. It does have a set of serial numbers on all the parts but that's about it. I'm confident that it will be safe to shoot and I'll skip the tire thing also, I'll probably just go straight to the 60 gr load, I will however wear a set of heavy leather gloves and heavy duty safety glasses just to be on the safe side.