for sale | Dogs and Doubles

Great gun alert: 28-bore Watson best-quality OU shotgun …

December 29, 2020 by Gregg

Watsons Bros 28 BORE / OVER AND UNDER / SIDELOCK / SHOTGUN

Here’s a gun you don’t see every day. It’s a British 28g sidelock OU. In the past, twenty-eights weren’t popular with British makers. Up until the 1980s or so, they built very few 28g over-unders. But in the last 40 years or so, this gauge has caught gained popularity with shooters and the makers in the UK have responded.

This gun was made by Watson Bros in1995. It doesn’t look like it was used very much. It’s a beautifully proportioned gun with a couple unique features (watch the video below to see them).

Watson Bros was founded in 1885. In 1989 the company was bought by a Purdey-trained gunmaker named Michael Louca. You can read more about all this here.

“Watson Bros. guns are made almost entirely by hand insuring individually and attention to detail, which no machine can equal.”

Here’s more about the gun from Watson Bros:

Watsons Bros 28 BORE / OVER AND UNDER / SIDELOCK / SHOTGUN: Made for the purist in our classical style with double beaded back and adorned with best small scroll and gold name all set off with colour case hardening.

This 27″ barreled 2 3/4″ chambered tight choked single trigger gun is complemented with a 15 1/4″ straight hand stock. Fitted with fine ebony heel and toe pieces and also ebony bottom horns. Wrapped in a best London French blocked case with all tools and accessories.

Genuine Woodward gun cases – perfect for your vintage O/U…

August 15, 2013 by Gregg

Genuine James Woodward & Sons leather Over Under Shotgun Case

Old gun cases fascinate me as much as old firearms. The dings in the leather, the name embossed on the lid, the oil and powder stains in the baize lining, and the musty smell when you first lift the lid — that’s the tease before you get to the main show of the gun itself.

The two cases you see here are from James Woodward & Sons. Ones all leather and the other is an oak & leather. Both were made for O/Us, and they contain a mix of accessories. They’ve never been recovered or relined, and the labels are 100% original.

Genuine James Woodward & Sons oak & leather Over Under Shotgun Case

Woodward opened his shop in 1874, and he made all sorts of guns until his name and designs to Purdey in 1948. In 1913, Woodward introduced his most beautiful shotguns – the Woodward-patent Under & Over gun. You can see on the labels that these cases you see here were made to hold two of those famous shotguns.

Both of these cases are for sale. If you’re interested in them, drop me a note for full details & prices.

Last week’s good guns, powered by Gunsinternational.com…

January 21, 2013January 21, 2013 by Gregg

Westley Richards Droplock Explora Side by Side Double Barrel

A bunch of nice guns came on the market last week through Gunsinternational.com. Here are a few that caught my eye.

Westley Richards Explora Droplock SXS , 12 gauge, 28” & 26” bbls: 28” Paradox bbls with flips sights for 100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 yards. 26″ shotguns bbls with 2 ¾” chambers. Single trigger, ejectors. English grip, excellent original condition. Belonged to famous hunter Tony Makris, 7lb 11oz with rifle bbls. 2 1/4 X 1 1/2 X 14 ½. $22,500

20 gauge Piotti King Double Barrel Side by Side Shotgun

Piotti King 20 gauge SXS: 27″ bbls, 3″ chambers , double triggers, ejectors, straight English grip, in maker’s case. Excellent condition. 6lb 5oz. 2 3/8 X 1 1/2 X 14 ½. $19,900

L.C. Smith Eagle Grade 20ga: 26″ barrels. IC/Mod. 5 1/2lbs. Ejectors. Bold bas-relief engraving with frosted background. Mid and front ivory beads. Barrels 97%. Wood 97%. Case coloring 30%. 14″ LOP. 1 5/8 DAC. Bores are bright and shinney. No pits or dents. Gun has a rubber pad of the period. 1 of 581 in all gauges. 1 of 111 in 20 gauge. $16,000

Pre-war Krieghoff Combination Gun: Made in 1925.16 gauge over 8×57 jrs.Beautiful game scene engraving and very nicely figured wood.Bores on both barrels are bright and clean.Marked on the rifle barrel “H.Krieghoff”. An outstanding piece of German craftsmanship.All original. $4900

16 gauge Manufrance Side by Side Double Barrel Shotgun

Manufrance sxs 16ga: Very nice light Manufrance with both top and bottom sunken rib, straight grip, sling swivels. Light engraving. It features double triggers, side clips and extractors. Bbls are 27.5″, choked full and mod. The drop at the comb is 1.75, and 2.75 at the heel. LOP is 15″ to a pad. $1750

Krieghoff Combination Over Under Shotgun/Rifle

20 gauge L.C. Smith Eagle Grade Double Barrel Side by Side Shotgun

This week’s good guns: powered by Gunsinternational.com…

January 6, 2013January 6, 2013 by Gregg

Alexander Henry .450 BPE hammer double rifle

Alexander Henry 450 3 1/4: Alex Henry 450 3 1/4″ BPE, Hammer underlever, recent rebrown, 1 standing 2 folding sights, in makers case. Case is marked with a crown and “S” reportedly built for the Earl of Scarborough. $9,500

JULES GERVAIS BEST SIDELOCK SXS 12 GAUGE: 29 3/4 ” 012 AND 049 2 3/4 DOUBLE TRIGGER EJECTOR SPLINTER FOREARM ENGLISH GRIP EXCELLENT CONDITION WITH LIGHT HANDLING MARKS 7LB 4 OZ X 2 1/2 X 1 1/2 X 14. $7,500

12 gauge Jules Bervais side-by-side double barrel sidelock shotgun

BEAUTIFUL WESTLEY RICHARDS 20GA — STRAIGHT STOCK — ALL ORIGINAL: 27 1/2 ‘ IC/FULL — 2 TRIGGERS — EJECTOR — EXCEPTIONAL ORIGINAL CONDITION WITH APPROX 60% ORIGINAL FADED COLOR — EJECTORS — 5LB 13 OZ. $5,950

E.J. Churchill ‘REGAL’ Side By Side 12g. Shotgun: Vibrant Case Colored Reciever, 28″ Barrell, Splinter Forend, Push Button Release, Automatic ejectors. $3,495.00

L. C . SMITH – CROWN GRADE TRAP – VENT RIB SINGLE BARREL: CROWN GRADE -32″ VENT RIB – CHOKE FULL9 .030 ) – WEIGHT 8 LBS. – DROPS 1 3/8′ x 1 11/16″ – lop 13 7/8″ OVER HAWKINS PAD -CASE COLORS 98% – BLUE 99% – WOOD 98% – THIS GUN COULD HARDLY BE ANY BETTER. A REAL COLLECTORS PIECE. – $10,000.

My 5 favorite doubles, powered by Gunsinternational.com…

December 2, 2012 by Gregg

It was a good week for double-barrel shotguns. Several nice O/U and side-by-sides hit the market, including the ones listed below.

Boss, 20 ga, O/U: 26” barrels, Choked M/F, single selective trigger, ventilated top rib, 2 ¾” chamber, straight grip, checkered butt, 95% original, case color hardening, 98% blue, wood finish and checkering. Even though I’ll never be able to afford a Boss O/U, I sure like looking at them. The workmanship on them is usually outstanding.

WESTLEY RICHARDS SIDELOCK 20g. OVERALL a 95% ORIG GUN- 26″ EJECT- 98% ORIG CASE COLORS- 98% ENGRAVED- 5 Lbs. 9 Oz: Made in 1965, 26″ Ejector Dovetail Lump barrels, original 2 3/4″ chambers. 14 3/4 LOP. Even though this Westly is expensive ($25,900), it’s still a great deal at.

John Dickson & Son Round Action Trigger Plate Side by Side 12 Bore Ejector: Circa 1949, double triggers, 6 pounds 8 ounces. Best bouquet and scroll engraving, 60-70% original case color. 14 7/8″ LOP. 28 inch chopper lump barrels. Some guys really love Dickson. It you’re one of them, you should jump on this one.

FRANZ SODIA FERLACH 12ga. SxS: Chambered for 2 1/2″ & 2 3/4″ shells. Automatic safety, ejectors, double triggers, weight 6lbs. LOP is 14 1/2″, barrels are 27 1/2″. Sodia made some very nice shotguns. If you’re into high quality and low prices, I would check this one out.

12 gauge Beretta 686 O/U, straight stock

BERETTA – 686 Onyx – RARE Factory English Stock: 1989 – Beretta – 686 Onyx – 12ga, 26-1/2″, 3″ Chambers, Vent Rib, English Stock, LOP 14-3/4″ over the Factory pad, Drop 1-1/2″ to 2-1/4″ Weight 7 lbs. 2 oz. Condition 98+% – Clearly used very little. Includes: Three Chokes – IC / M / F and Choke Wrench. This is just a great pheasant gun.

And just for fun, check out these awesome percussion pistols:

Fantastic Purdey Dueling Pistol, 1 of a pair

James Purdey .51 Dueling Pistols: Pair of James Purdey Dueling pistols. Barrels have 98% of their original Damascus pattern finish. Locks, hammers and buttcaps have 100% original case colors. Stocks are excellent to near mint with crisp checkering. Trigger guards have 90% original blue. Simply awesome. Check out the pics of these guns to see just how well made are. As good as it gets.

This video gives me that feeling…

June 26, 2012 by Gregg

That achey, I-need-another-dog-now feeling. Check out the video to see a great looking Springer at a great price. If I wasn’t in between things right now, I’d think about buying him

Passing on a 16 gauge Lefever FE shotgun…

March 15, 2012 by Gregg

Sixteen gauge Lefevers are hard to find. Real hard. All together, the Lefever Arms Co. made fewer than 7500 of them (Fox made 30,000+ double barrel shotguns in 16 gauge, Parker and L.C. Smith cranked out far more).

16 gauge Lefever FE double barrel shotgun

So I get excited when I see a 16 gauge Lefever like this one. At first glance, all that color and original finish gets my heart is racing. But then I take a closer look and my enthusiasm fades…

The problem is the stock. And the price. While the rest of the gun is original and least 100 years old, that butt stock is pretty darn new. The gun has been restocked, and while this isn’t a tragedy (the wood is nice, and the dimsnions are a shootable 14” x 1 5/8” x 2 ½”), it does kill the collectibility of the gun.

If the asking price was right, I would still like the gun. But at $7,300, I’m just not interested. That much would be OK if the stock was original. But since it’s not, the asking price is just too much.