What do you get when one of England’s most inventive gunsmiths takes on the O/U? The gun shown here – a Frederick Beesley “Shotover”.
In 1880, Frederick Beesley created the Beesley-Purdey Self Opener, one of England’s most successful shotgun actions- the Beesley-Purdey Self Opener. He invented the Shotover in 1913, four years after Boss & Co. created came out with their revolutionary over under. While the Shotover shares some similarities with Boss’s design, it’s really a much different gun. To learn about what makes it so special, check out this article by Morris L. Hallowell IV. I have a feeling the gun you see here is the same 12g featured in that piece.
FREDERICK BEESLEY SHOTOVER 12 GAUGE OVER UNDER: EXTREMELY RARE BRITISH OVER UNDER 30″ BARRELS 011 AND 020 2 3/4 SINGLE TRIGGER EJECTORS FIELD FOREARM PISTOL GRIP MAKERS CASE EXCELLENT ORIGINAL CONDITION WITH REBLACKED BARRELS AND VIVID ORIGINAL CASE COLORS 6LBS 14 OZ X 2 X 1 1/4 X 14 1/2. Price: $35,000.
Every inch of that gun reeks “insanely hard to build.” What a very cool and interesting OU but no wonder they are so rare. Of course, now I really want one.
Is it me or is there a slight reverse curve on the bottom edge of the stock?
Yeah – it was difficult and expensive to build. That’s why they made so few of them. I’ve heard they can be bit finicky, too.
Good eye – there is a reverse curve to the stock. I bet the maker did this to thin out the than and to make the gun look a bit sleeker. The action on the gun is a bit thick, so this was one way to keep the gun from being cumbersome.
BTW: Boss did the same thing on their straight-gripped O/Us.
Gregg
I’ve examined this gun and it is a rebounding-lock or self opening version. One could order the gun as a regular “barrel cocking” version or a self-opener akin to the Beesley Patent 31 of 1880. The nice thing is the self-opener works only when the gun has been fired. It has a Beesley patent single trigger which are quite reliable. I believe this gun sat is a cabinet for a long time – look at the recoil par and case colours.
Yeah – it’s a beauty, and I don’t think it has been used much. Thanks for the info on it. They are so scarce, you just don’t get to see them very often.
Gregg