This gun has me a little puzzled so any ideas or comments would be welcome. I don't have a picture but the proof marks show it was London proofed between 1855 and 1875 as a 14 bore. It was apparently found covered by silt in the local beck (stream) and I presume that the lack of oxygen has prevented it rusting and rotting away completely. It was given to me as the owners wife found it "spooky" and did not want it hanging on their wall. He had attempted to clean the metal work up, I'm assuming with a wire brush and a dremel, which has rather spoilt it, fortunately the woodwork was left untouched. Some parts are missing, particularly the left hammer, forend cap and take down button which makes me wonder if it was in a battered condition when it was presumably thrown in the beck. The corrosion on the barrel clearly shows the Damascus twist and the top rib seems to have the same pattern too.
The first thing that struck me was the pistol grip, I think a straight hand stock was far more popular at this time?
Next, although much damage has been done over time fit and finish appear to have been pretty good and the engraving looks reasonable and the hammer seems quite elaborate taking the form of what might be a horses hoof or possibly a shaggy dog head.
Below we can see some of the better preserved engraving and the two gold bars, do they indicate it was the second gun of a pair? Finally the tip of the pistol grip has clearly been carved with a lions face and at the very least the eyes were painted in. I have heard of this on earlier guns and it's somewhat similar to the Green Man on flintlock pistols but it's not something I would expect on a gun from this time. Was it added later by the owner of would have been made that way? This looks different from the normal provincial guns I have come across so was it actually a rather high quality but slightly eccentric piece?
Well I understand this is an American forum and there may be less interest in English guns so even if nobody can shed further light on it I thought it was different enough that you might be interested to see it.
The first thing that struck me was the pistol grip, I think a straight hand stock was far more popular at this time?
Next, although much damage has been done over time fit and finish appear to have been pretty good and the engraving looks reasonable and the hammer seems quite elaborate taking the form of what might be a horses hoof or possibly a shaggy dog head.
Below we can see some of the better preserved engraving and the two gold bars, do they indicate it was the second gun of a pair? Finally the tip of the pistol grip has clearly been carved with a lions face and at the very least the eyes were painted in. I have heard of this on earlier guns and it's somewhat similar to the Green Man on flintlock pistols but it's not something I would expect on a gun from this time. Was it added later by the owner of would have been made that way? This looks different from the normal provincial guns I have come across so was it actually a rather high quality but slightly eccentric piece?
Well I understand this is an American forum and there may be less interest in English guns so even if nobody can shed further light on it I thought it was different enough that you might be interested to see it.
It has only a slight curve and a rounded pommel, while pistol grips are normally more curved and often also include a squared pommel.
