black powder | Dogs and Doubles

See this week’s 5 doubles you don’t want to miss…

June 28, 2020 by Gregg

W. J. Jeffrey ~ Side-by-Side ~ Double Rifle ~ .475 NE: Metal Condition: Excellent with light mark, Wood Condition: Very good with handling marks, Bore Condition: Clean with no pitting or wear, Barrels: 24″, Stock: Checkered walnut, Stock Dimensions: 14.5″ LOP, Fore End: Checkered walnut, Butt Pad: Leather recoil pad, Weight: 11lbs 8ozs, Sights: Notch and blade sight with adjustable rear leafs. Price: $21,499.97

Parker VH 28ga 28” SxS for sale: All original gun that has never been fooled with. These are very hard to find and super rare in original condition. Bright, shiny, 28″ bores choked f/f.Serial Number: 165290, Barrel Length: 28”, Barrels: 28”, Gauge: 28ga, Stock Dimensions: 14”, Stock Comb: 1 1/2”, Stock Heel: 2 1/2″ Price: $14,500

JOSEPH LANG & SONS BACK ACTION SIDELOCK REBOUNDING HAMMER DBL RIFLE , 450 BPE 3 1/4 WITH JONES UNDERLEVER: 450 BPE 3 1/4, SCROLL & VIVID CASE COLORED ACTION, 26″ BBL, STANDARD RIB, EXTRACTORS, DBL TRIGGERS, BEAUTIFUL HIGHLY FIGURED WALNUT, PISTOL GRIP, ENGRAVED GRIP CAP, SPLINTER FOREND, LOP 14 1/2, 9LBS 6OZ, 1 FX 1 FOLDING, BLADE FRONT, VERY FINE ORIGINAL CONDITION, WITH MIRROR BORES. Price: $11,495

Very near mint and all original Parker VH 12ga 28″- Reference Gun: Advanced collectors always have what they call “reference guns”. A gun that they know to be all original to compare other guns to. This particular gun, a 225k SN range VH 12ga with original 28″ Vulcan Steel barrels is absolutely a reference gun. Made with capped pistol grip, splinter forend, double triggers and extractors. The gun remains in exceptional near mint original condition with more than 98% original barrel blue, virtually all of its bold original case color, and nearly all of its original stock finish. Here are the technical details on the gun: made on a 1-1/2 frame with drops of 1-1/2″ at comb and 2-3/4″ at heel and LOP of 14-1/2″ over the original DHBP. The gun weighs 6lbs 15oz and the barrels measure .730 (R) with .018(mod) and .732 (L) with .028 (imp. mod) and both barrels have .028MWT. This gun is guaranteed authentic and completely original in every respect and comes to me from one of the great Parker collections in the country. PGCA Letter included identifying the gun exactly as found today. It is very near mint and truly fantastic. I wish every Parker I owned was this fine and easy to describe. Simply put, no excuses on this gun. Price: $5995

William Powell and Son Sidelock in very nice condition in its makers case ~ This is a super deal on an extremely nice English sidelock: Serial Number: 12001. Ejectors: Yes. Barrels: 29″. Barrel Type: Steel. Action: Sidelock ejector. Gauge: 12 gauge. Stock Comb: 1 1/2″. Stock Heel: 2″. Stock Cast: 3/16″. LOP: 14 5/8″. Weight: 6 lbs. 9.5oz. Choke Left: .020″ full. Choke Right: .010″ IC. Proof: Nitro: 2 1/2″. Minimum Wall Thickness Left: .025″. Minimum Wall Thickness Right: .023″ Price: $5,800

Wow! Incredible condition on this Army & Navy 450BPE double rifle…

January 15, 2020January 14, 2020 by Gregg

Army & Navy - Webley & Scott - Deluxe 450 BPE - High Condition - All Original 1896 Rifle ! — Army & Navy – Webley & Scott – Deluxe 450 BPE – High Condition – All Original 1896 Rifle !

You don’t often you see a 100+-year-old double rifle in this kind of condition. Not only is it all original, but it also retains a ton of that original finish.

This gun was made by Webley & Scott for Army & Navy, a co-op that started in the 19th-century for military members. Army & Navy offered all kinds of firearms for its members, and Webley & Scott was one of the co-op’s biggest suppliers.

This rifle is chambered for .450 Black Powder Express (.450 3¹⁄₄-inch BPE), one of the most popular rounds of the late 19th century. Many different types of rifles were chambered for .450 BPE and these guns were used for everything from deer stalking in Scotland to elephant hunting in Africa. The round was replaced by the more potent .450 Nitro Express in 1898 (BTW: go here to see how the .450NE compares to a .470NE).

Along with the gun’s original finish and overall finish, a few things about it caught my eye, from the engraving and the ribbon fences to the wide top strap, the long top lever, and the toe-and-heel plates. While this wasn’t a best-quality gun in its day, it was a very nice one.

Army & Navy – Webley & Scott – Deluxe 450 BPE – High Condition – All Original 1896 Rifle: 26″ Steel Barrels with a Dolls Head Rib Extension Third Bite, Full-Length Rib with 1 Standing & 1 Folding Platinum Lined Rear Sights, Bushed Strikers, Lever Release Forend, Steel Engraved Grip Cap, Shadowline Cheek Piece, Sling Eyes, Double Triggers, 14 1/2″ LOP to an Engraved Steel Butt Plate, Weight 8 lbs. 7 oz. All Original Rifle – Built on the Great Webley action. Sold in 1896 for 40 Pounds Sterling! Bores look day one new. Tight and Sound in Every Regard. Lots of handling marks from being around for 123 years. Price: $9995

Comparing double rifles by Holland & Holland & James Purdey…

January 10, 2013January 10, 2013 by Gregg

A .303 side-by-side double rifle by James Purdey & Sons

Side-by-side double rifles by James Purdey & Holland & Holland

Side-by-side double rifle Holland & Holland

Extension on a James Purdey & Sons .303 Side by Side Double Rifle

Holland & Holland case label, circa 1895

H&H ammo on left, .303 Purdey ammo on right

James Purdey & Sons case label, circa 1895

Last week I put up this post about shooting a James Purdey & Sons .303 double rifle. I had a lot of questions about that rifle, and I wanted to share some more pictures of it with you.

I also snapped some pics of a Holland & Holland double rifle that I saw the same day. The H&H was made for a larger cartridge. But because the cartridge was a black-powder load that generated lower pressures, H&H made this rifle much smaller and trimmer.