Tag Archive for 'Nitro Express'
This week’s good guns: powered by Gunsinternational.com…
Holland & Holland Royal SXS 12 GAUGE: Made 1952. #339XX, 26″ bbls, Chokes 009 and 016, 2 3/4″ chambers, self opener, leather covered pad, excellent original condition with light handling marks. 6lbs 11oz . 14 3/4 LOP. Price: $37,500.00
Army-Navy Side-by-Side Double Rifle .470 Nitro Express: No. 45921, 25″ barrels. Built on the Webley Long Bar action, perhaps the strongest double rifle action ever made. Double triggers, ejectors and intercepting sears. Bores are good to very good with rifling square and tall. Wt.- 11 lbs. Pull- 14 1/2″ from front trigger. A super classic hunting rifle! Price: $29,500.00
Fr. Wilh. Heym Side Plate 20ga: 28” barrels, IMP CYL/MOD, SG/DT Leather pad, matt rib, cocking indicators, splinter for end, AE, doll’s head extension, 2 ¾”, Krupp steel barrels, pre-war. Extreme high quality gun. In its original compact leather case. The highest grade, side plate gun with magnificent semi-relief game scenes, of pointers, setters, fox and duck scene. Balance of receiver covered in semi-relief ornamental scroll, with deep chisel breeches. Retaining most all case color, barrel blue and wood finish. We have owned 12’s and 16’s but never had the opportunity of handling a 20 ga. This gun is of superior quality over most other guns. With perfect dimensions, light weight and fast, all of the best options and configuration, side clips, third fastener. The very best pre-war quality. 14 5/8” x 1 ½” x 2 3/8” 5lbs 13oz. Price: $14,500.00
12 gauge Dumoulin Sidelock Ejector Side-by-Side Shotgun: 2 3/4″ chambers, 27 1/2″ bbls, F & IM chokes, straight grip, double triggers, 14 5/8 inches to a checkered butt, color-case hardened action, full rose & scroll engraving. Excellent overall condition. 6lb., 6oz. Price: $8999
A. H. Fox CE 12 Ga: Ser. No. 33915 12 Ga.- 2 3/4″ chambers- 30″ Chromox barrels choked M/F. DT, EJ, SF, Semi PG stock to hard butt. 14″ X 1 1/2″ X 2 1/2″. 60% CC, 95% blue and finish. A nice old Fox. Price: $6,500.00
Hemingway’s Double Rifle brings $295,000+…
James Julia auctioned this piece of firearm/literary/American history today: this Westley Richards droplock double rifle in .577 Nitro Express that was once owned by Ernest Hemingway. The gun hammered down for $295,000. That’s without the buyer’s a premium of 15%. So whoever bought Papa’s mammoth double dropped around $340,000 to get it. Those are some deep pockets.
The gun would probably be worth $70,000 – $80,000 without the provenance. And who would ever want at .577 NE double rifle with a single trigger? Facing down a charging elephant is no time to run a quality check on something like that.
You can read more about Hemignway’s monster double in this article from Garden & Gun magazine.
If you really want a .577 and you missed out on Hemingway’s gun, go to Schwandt Classic Arms and take a look under double rifles. There you’ll see a better rifle for about half the money. It’s a Holland & Hollandy Royal in .577NE. It’s a sidelock (droplocks are over rated) AND it has double triggers. I’ve seen this gun in person and it’s awesome.
I don’t know if I would want to shoot a .577 NE , though. I’ve fired a .470 NE double rifle and that gun bounced my brain around pretty well. Anything more than that is too much for me.