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[Pages:15]Double Gun Classics

Nov - Dec, 2005



Volume 1, No. 3

Double Gun Classics

Nov - Dec, 2005



Volume 1, No. 3

In This Issue:

7 The Vintage Cup 2005.

Editor:

John Campbell

This year it was blue skies, big tents and fun.

11 Guns of The Concours X.

Another outstanding array of the finest SxSs!

Editorial Office: Double Gun Classics, PO Box 75, Howell MI 48844 USA

15 Bosie's Gun. Part II.

Bosie goes Wilde in London society.

20 A Case For Renovation, III.

Phone: 517-552-1600 e-mail: editor@



A block for the barrels, brass corners and finis.

27 The Reilly Factor, Part III.

A look inside, a grip repair for the ages & more.

33 The Bonehill-Matthews.

A rare and complex gun reveals new facts!

42 A Very Thin Excuse, Part II.

Chokes are bored, sleeved and restored.

Departments:

3 Both Barrels. -- John Campbell 5 Classics Revisited.-- Maj. Burrard 5 Top-Bite Cusine.-- Hudsons Ribs 47 Double Talk -- Cornell Catalogs 50 Good Tools. -- Thin Bits 00 Good Shooting. -- On Sabbatical 52 Provisonal Proof. -- Kirk Merrington 56 How It works. -- Beesley's Action 63 Classified ads.

Contributing Editors: British Gunsmithing -- Kirk Merrington

Work In Progress --Steve Durren Shooting -- Pat Lieske

Metal Finishes -- John Gillette Engraving -- Ken Hurst

Double Gun Classics is copyrighted and published bi-monthly by PAC Associates, 1322 Pin Oak Bluff, Howell MI 48843.

On-line subscription, $18 per year at Please address all correspondence to Double Gun Classics, PO Box 75, Howell MI 48844. All content, advertising, products or

services reflect only the opinions or experiences of the authors, or companies, and do not constitute an endorsement by Double

Gun Classics or PAC Associates. No part of Double Gun Classics may be reproduced by any means without permission. The reader assumes all risks and responsibilities. Please, do

not attempt featured projects if you are not confident in your skills. Consult a competent gunsmith instead.

The Cover: These roosters didn't care whether this little Parker 20 ga. was a "collector grade" gun or not. They couldn't outfly a 1 oz. load of #6 from its 26" barrels. That's the brand of collectability we like. 2

The Vintage Cup

2005 World Side-by-Side Championships and Exhibition.

In a way, the Vintagers World Side-bySide Championships is like the opening day of grouse season and Christmas, all rolled into one. There's anticipation, excitement, delight, goodies, and goodwill everywhere. And the 2005 event was certainly no exception. Even the weather cooperated, which was a pleasant change from last year.

From all indications, attendance was on a par with, or just a bit lower than previous years. Perhaps hurricane disasters played a role. Nonetheless, the huge vendor tents were filled to capacity, and played host the largest concentration of fine double guns and accouterments anywhere in North America. Where else can one marvel at the corporate wares of Purdey, Holland & Holland, Atkin, Grant & Lang, Beretta, Krieghoff, and more? Or chat with legendary craftsmen like David Trevallion?

Of course, the omnipresent sound of gunfire was part of every day's environ-

ment... thank God. This year, the controversial over-and-

under was even permitted on the courses of the National Side-by-Side Championships. On that issue, opinions were mixed. But if a neophyte's O/U provides him an entr?e to the event's ambiance -- and the acquisition of a respectable side-by-side for next year -- it may be worth all the angst.

As usual, the Orvis Shooting Grounds offered the perfect setting and hospitality... all orchestrated by Ray Poudrier and The Vintagers administration. It was a fascinating and refreshing experience. And at the end of the day, one could walk away with the feeling that such fine sport and pastimes are, indeed, still the passion of gentlemen and gentlewomen. What's more, it is reaffirmed that such endeavors are wholesome, respectable and worth preserving. That alone is worth any effort toward attending the Vintagers Championships year after year.

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Classic Guns Of

The Concours X.

Lefever Collectors Award: An Optimus 10-gauge, owned by Howard Loewensteiner.

This year's Gold Medal Concours at The Vintager's Championships drew record attendance and participation, with more than 100 rare, fine and historic guns and rifles.

The centerpiece of this competition was a group of some two dozen guns from Bill McPhail's unique collection of 19th Century `best' doubles built in the United States by little-known makers such as Joseph Tonks of Boston, Charles Sneider (Baltimore), T.R. Hasdell (Chicago) and Patrick Mullin (New York).

Concours co-founder, Roger Sanger, said, "We're proud to be able to bring such significant guns to national attention. The Concours was created especially to be a venue for private collections that would otherwise rarely see the light of day."

Photographs of the winning guns are available from the GMC and will be posted on . Once again, Steve Helsley and Dan Mayers, the GMC photo crew, worked many hours to make this happen. With appreciation and thanks to the judges David Moore, Lewis Drake, Chris Batha, Jack Dudley, Roger Lake, Jock Lamont, Ray Roy, Roger Sanger, Silvio Calabi and to the sponsors: the NRA, B. Searcy & Co., Dan Walter Cases, Doug Turnbull Restoration, Ruger, James D. Julia.

Of special note for this 2005 Concours is the outstanding collection of Bill McPhail, of Greenville, SC. He has amassed a truly historic breadth of elite American double guns. Many were on view at the Concours.

The following are the Special Award and class winners at GMC X:

11

Bosie's Gun.

By

John Campbell

Part II.

Lord Alfred Puts Shooting Aside As Oscar Wilde Rises, Then Falls In British Society.

On balance, the internet is one of the greatest boons to ever befall mankind. In my view, it ranks right alongside Johann Gutenberg's printing press and Marconi's radio. Mostly because each of them resulted in explosions of information.

In fact, never before in history has so much information been so instantly accessible and retrievable as with the internet. As a result, I was able to discover a great deal about the previous owner of my Westley Richards 20 Ga. double in a matter of minutes... not months.

All I did was enter "Lord Douglas" into a Google search box and hit "go." Seconds later, I was presented with scores of options. It was like opening the lid to a buccaneer's treasure box. I clicked my heart out

for hours, becoming ever more fascinated with the story that was unfolding before me on the screen.

Incredible people soon became the key players: Oscar Wilde, The Marquess of Queensberry, George Bernard Shaw and Winston Churchill.

What's more, the story had everything: Literature, drama, intrigue, passion, international scandal, tragedy, crime & punishment, redemption... and sport. Shooting sport. And the Westley Richards in my gunroom undoubtedly played a role in it. At least the shooting part.

From a purely biographical perspective, I first discovered that I was really dealing with someone known as Lord Alfred Douglas. He was born October 22, 1870 at

Cover of Bosie used with permission. Copyright (c) 2000 by Douglas Murray. Published In the U.S. by Hyperion.

15

A Case For Renovation, III.

Maybe it's just me, but I keep moving old guns around into different old gun cases. As I acquire another old case, or finish the work of getting one back into service, I start thinking: Which of my old doubles would look better in this case than the one it happens to reside in now?

I suppose I'm trying to achieve some elusive symbiosis between the gun and the container it comes in. That's because I just don't believe that an old gun looks right in a new case, even if the new case is a reproduction of an old design. In short, I believe a classic gun deserves a classic case.

This was on my mind as I worked through the last stages of Colonel Bertram's case. Such a vessel could simply not contain an ordinary gun. It just wouldn't be proper. One would expect that a British officer's trunk case would have a bloody good gun inside. And a perusal of my shelves came up

with just the item. It was a William Powell sidelock. As

you'd expect from the "Purdey of Birmingham," this gun is impressive. It has absolutely spectacular wood, ejectors, gorgeous engraving and 28" barrels. Unfortunately, the old Bertram case was sized for 30" barrels. But that was okay. It's a lot easier to shorten a barrel compartment than to make one longer.

All you need to do is make a new filler/support block for the muzzle end of the barrels. This is not a particularly difficult job, but it does take some patience, care and a few specialized materials.

The first step is to determine the dimensions of the block. This is best done by inserting the barrels in question into the case compartment and measuring where you need to go. There's a bit more to it than meets the eye. The muzzle end of the barrels should rest on a section of block that's

20

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Send Us Your Gun For: Rebluing (hot or rust) ? Color case hardening Refinish (oil or urethane) ? Rebarreling ? Choke work Trigger jobs ? Custom action work ? Stockmaking

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26

The Reilly Factor. Part III.

By John Campbell

A Look Inside Reveals Wonders and Challenges.

With my conscience cleared of any trepidation, the E. M. Reilly 16 Ga. was now ready for its entry into coordinated restoration.

And as with any such project, its final success rests primarily on thinking things through before you start acting things out. With the gun already broken down into primary pieces, I pulled up a stool and pondered the parts and situation before me. This is where "coordination" comes into the picture.

Since I didn't have the equipment, or the experience to remove the dent in the right barrel or test the lug for a potential crack, I decided to hand that work off to a pro. In this case it would be master gunsmith Steve Durren of Johnson's Sporting Goods in Adrian, Michigan. Like the great artisans of the 19th century, Steve can do just about anything... including create beautiful guns from squared-up blocks of steel and wood. A barrel dent was no problem for him to fix. But the work would take time for Steve to get to and to complete. So I delivered the tubes to Steve the next day.

In the meantime, I could be doing other things. One possibility was to completely disassemble the Reilly and clean out a

century's worth of gunk and dirt. The only problem with that was there was very little dirt inside the action. And, since I am a firm adherent to the axiom "if it isn't broke, don't fix it," I decided to simply dunk the opened action into some solvent, let it soak, then toothbrush out anything nasty that remained.

The one concession that I did make to access was that I very carefully removed the highly polished sears and sear springs. This allowed me to get down into the "box" and hammers for a more thorough cleaning with a GI action brush. I should point out here that the first step in this process is to find a perfectly fitting screwdriver bit and back out the sear spring retention screws about half way to relieve the spring tension on the sears. As soon as you feel the sears go limp, stop. At this point it's appropriate to drift out the sear pin and remove both left and right sears. As you do, place them into small marked envelopes (zip-lock sandwich bags work well) so that each group of parts goes back into exactly the same location upon reassembly.

Work hint: It is inherent to handcrafted British guns that virtually no two parts are exactly alike and that each part ? even

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