VINTAGE SHOTGUNS
An old shotgun can tug at your heartstrings the moment you set eyes on it, but there are a few things to look out for before parting with your cash.
Most reasonablysized gunshops in South Africa usually have a vintage shotgun or two lurking on the shelves. These guns are almost invariably of side-byside configuration and are often considerably older than the owners of the shops themselves. It therefore goes without saying that condition, and not necessarily only general condition, but the issue of whether a particular gun is safe to shoot or not, can be of paramount importance for the would-be buyer.
As I have done a fair bit of trading in vintage shotguns over the years (and have very knowledgeable friends) I can give some pointers on how to evaluate a gun before taking out the cheque book. These pointers have often come in handy when evaluating a vintage gun and it is usually not too difficult to stave off potential disaster or a bad investment, provided you know what to look for, that is.
POINTERS
The first and foremost consideration should be the barrels – study them very closely! There should be no serious dents or pits, and excessive looseness or play between barrels and action is more often than not a serious no-no. The problem with corrosion, and pitting especially, is that it is often impossible to determine the depth of the damage. The laws of physics being what they are, a pit mark is therefore the ideal place for a disastrous breach of the integrity of the barrels to occur, so seriously pitted barrels should in my opinion be avoided. The same goes for seriously dented barrels. A good gunsmith can, with the help of a dent raiser, repair minor dents relatively easy but really deep dongas pose a more serious challenge. Again, the big question here is whether the integrity of the barrels has been compromised or not, and whether the gun is still safe to shoot. A deep dent can cause a wad to get stuck in the barrel – with disastrous consequences if another shell is chambered and fired in that same barrel again. My advice is therefore to look not only through the barrels of your potential acquisition, but inspect their outsides closely as well.
If a gun has been shot off the face it may very well be possible to have the gun rejointed. In Britain today, the most common modus operandi in this regard is to have a new hinge-pin made or, in the case of a gun with a non-removable hinge-pin, have the lumps built up again and thus bring the gun back into action once more. A gun thus rejointed will be good again for many years of shooting but such a repair is expensive and definitely not run-of-the-mill gunsmithing. Many not-so-competent gunsmiths revert to other practices in order to tighten up old guns. These include peening the lumps and even squeezing the action in a vice. Avoid such “repairs” like the plague! They not only cause damage to the gun but also don’t last for much long- er than a box or two of ammo.
The ribs should be firmly attached to the barrels. The test for loose ribs is a simple one: Remove the fore-end of the gun and detach the barrels. Hold the barrels by the lumps and lightly tap each barrel with a hard object such as a wooden mallet or even a fingernail. If they chime like a bell, the ribs are still firmly attached and you have one less worry.
Another aspect that, rather surprisingly, often goes unmentioned is the question of barrel wall thickness. Many vintage guns, especially English game guns, were made with barrels that were relatively thin to begin with in order to save weight. Some makers, Boss especially, made a speciality of building ultra-lightweight guns and filed their barrels even thinner to save more weight. The corrosive primers of old caused rusting and pitting, and many of these damaged barrels were honed out to get rid of the damage. This practice, if done right, is a perfectly acceptable repair but as it involves the removal of steel virtually throughout the length of the barrel, the inevitable result is thinner barrel walls. In the UK, such an alteration also sometimes requires reproofing from a proof house.
When is a barrel wall “thin” and when is it “thick” or thick enough? Although there is no legally-established minimum requirement in the UK, it is generally accepted that barrel walls should be at least .20-inches thick at a point a few inches in front of the forcing cones, exactly where the pressure is highest. Barrels thinner than this are not necessarily dangerous if they are otherwise in good condition and used with ammunition loaded to a pressure level that the gun was made for. Barrels thinner than .20” are, however, difficult to repair if dented. When all is said and done, a few thou of extra steel in the right place goes a long way, and it is remarkable how few dealers in this country possess a barrelthickness gauge, not to mention bore and chamber gauges.
DAMASCUS BARRELS
Another subject that regularly sends shivers through the shotgun community is that of Damascus steel barrels. Damascus steel was created by rolling, twisting and hammering layers of heated, low-carbon steel and iron around a mandrel. Removing the mandrel afterwards »
» left you with a perfectly formed barrel. The use of Damascus barrels was common from the late 1700s to the early 1900s when thousands upon thousands were made in Britain, Germany, France and Belgium. Many of these guns are still with us today. Some maintain t ha ta Damascus-barrelled gun i smere ly a na cc iden t waiting t o hap pen, whilst others think that they are fine when used properly.
In 1891 the Birmingham Proof House carried out exhaustive tests on a number of different barrels including Damascus and fluid steel barrels of varying qualities. Their experiments showed clearly that there was virtually nothing to choose between good fluid steel and Damascus barrels and both are fine for use at the pressure levels generated by shotguns. In recent times, Sherman Bell in the US basically replicated these tests with modern proof ammunition and came to the same conclusions. Having owned several Damascus-barrelled shotguns, I think that vintage Damascus barrels in good, undamaged condition are as safe to use as vintage fluid steel barrels in similar condition. I go to great pains to ensure that the ammunition used in my vintage guns is of the correct length and that it generates the same chamber pressures that the guns were proofed for. I have never had any safety problems. Good Damascus is good and bad Damascus is bad, just as good fluid steel is good and bad fluid steel is bad. If in doubt, have the barrels inspected by someone with the right equipment and knowledge.
It is remarkable how resilient well-made shotgun barrels can be. A few years ago, an extremely rare and valuable side-by-side 20-bore by a well-known Scottish maker surfaced here in SA. Although the gun was in pretty poor condition with surface rust, a cracked stock and shortened Damascus barrels, it was still worth resurrecting due to its rarity and, in due course, the gun found its way to one of the London auction houses. Along the way, the gun was rejointed and the barrels honed out to remove what pitting there was. In spite of the fact that the gun now had barrels that was a mere .09”(yes, no misprint – nine thousands of an inch!) thick, it sailed through modern London Nitro proofing and was sold for a lot of money. So much for Damascus steel barrels and their alleged inherent weaknesses.
FIXING A PROBLEM
Action-wise, in the unlikely event that the owner of a modern Beretta or Browning o/u shotgun (to name just two makes) experiences technical difficulties, it is usually a relatively simple matter to order replacement parts through the local agents and have a competent gunsmith fit them. With a century-old gun (made in a factory that last produced guns shortly after the end of World War II), a request for a replacement mainspring may take very long to be honoured. To me, this is one of the bigger potential pitfalls of old guns. Although serious breakages are rare on well-made guns, they do happen from time to time and sometimes it takes the proverbial man on a horse to put things right again.
In my experience, people that are really well qualified to carry out specialist repairs such as replacing mainsprings and the like are very rare in South Afri- ca. Therefore, steer clear of a gun with loose ribs, a malfunctioning lock or ejector mechanism, or any other similar defect. Although not necessarily terminal, such defects can be costly and difficult to repair in this country. A good example is the hammer/firing pin found on vintage Westley Richards guns. In this design, the firing pin and hammer is machined from one block of steel and the firing pin is merely an extension that strikes the primer as it (the firing pin) protrudes through the firing pin hole in action’s breech face as the trigger is pulled. I have never heard of one of these breaking, but I also don’t want to be within earshot of the gunsmith tasked to repair one, either! Thus, make sure that the gun you intend buying is in good mechanical shape before closing the deal.
There are other alterations which may or may not have an effect on the value and/or shootability of a vintage gun. Guns with lengthened chambers (usually reamed from 2½” to 2¾”) are frequently encountered. When done in the UK, such an alteration requires reproofing. Sufficient barrel wall thickness is of course necessary for the alteration to be safe. With the availability of 2½” shotgun ammunition in SA, it is not a conversion that I personally care for or would recommend. Aside from being potentially unsafe (if done by some backyard mechanic who masquerades as a gunsmith) it also destroys collector’s value if not done in conjunction with the reproofing. Chopped barrels are also a fatal “alteration” in almost every instance. Aside from removing what choke boring a gun may have had, it usually also affects the balance and therefore the handling of the gun.
THE WOODWORK
Woodwork can be somewhat less problematic to sort out. I have seen some seriously cracked stocks that were repaired so expertly that, afterwards, it was impossible to spot any sign of the previous damage. Shortening or lengthening a stock is all in a day’s work for a competent stock maker, as is fitting a replacement recoil pad – if the gun has one to begin with. However, if a gun requires a complete restocking, things can get complicated. Restocking a double gun properly is a job that requires the skill and knowhow of an expert. The inletting on boxlock-actioned guns are slightly easier to do but sidelocks and some over/under designs are inherently tricky to inlet. Stock makers therefore demand a premium for work of this kind. I would advise anyone against buying a gun that needs restocking unless the inherent value of the gun itself deserves such a drastic make-over, or if money is not a problem at all. Adding wood where it’s needed, taking wood away where there is a surplus and even bending »
» a stock are all perfectly acceptable and much more affordable alternatives. When done properly it can transform a sow’s ear into a silk purse that will do just fine on the clay pigeon range as well as in the gamefields.
A basic knowledge of the proof marks used by the London and other proof houses in Europe can also come in very handy. It is essential to know what length of cartridge a gun was originally chambered for, or for what pressure level a gun was proofed. That information can be gleaned from the proof marks (usually stamped onto the flats of the barrels of a sideby-side, right below the chambers) and it is always worth spending time studying them thoroughly. Guns sometimes lead adventurous lives and it is not uncommon for a gun originally made for use with black powder to be reproofed for use with Nitro propellant, or have its bores lapped out, both of which then require reproofing. Similarly, a gun that now sports long chambers but was originally made for use with 2½” chambers is now out of proof and must be inspected thoroughly for any other misdemeanours it may have been subjected to.
There are good summaries of the proof marks used currently and in the past throughout the UK and Europe in various publications. The most thorough one, however, is The Standard Directory of Proof Marks by Gerhard Wirnsberger. In my humble opinion it is essential reading for anybody contemplating the study of a subject which can sometimes be really frustrating.
CORRECT AMMUNITION
If you, the prospective buyer, have stumbled upon an old sideby-side in good condition that tugged at your heartstrings the moment you laid eyes on it and the only cure was to buy the old gun, only one thing remains – finding the correct ammunition for it. Many guns of an earlier generation were made with short, sharp-forcing cones de- signed for use with ammunition loaded with fibre wads. Although modern ammunition loaded with fibre wads are still loaded by some manufacturers they are not necessarily freely available and we are more often than not forced to use ammunition loaded with plastic wads instead. I don’t have much of a problem with this but plastic wads do have a rather marked influence on the pattern that a gun will shoot. So, do yourself a favour, visit your local shooting range and shoot a few patterns with your gun and a variety of suitable ammunition before investing in caseloads of shotgun ammunition which may not necessarily be the best choice for your gun. I have done a bit of experimentation and, in general, have found that older guns tend to pattern much tighter with plastic wad-loaded ammunition, even to such extent that one of my guns, an English 12-bore, boxlock of 1913 vintage with fluid steel barrels, consistently delivered almost full choke patterns with just about every type of ammunition I used in it. Notwithstanding the fact that it was choked Modified and Improved Cylinder. This phenomenon is not a problem at all, just something to bear in mind.
Although vintage side-by-sides, particularly in 12-bore, can often be had for reasonable amounts of money, your planned use for the gun in question should also be kept in mind before closing the deal. If you plan on using the gun mainly for bushpig or some or other similar critter, the use of high-pressure buckshot-loaded cartridges or even slugs is a given. As old guns (especially ones with 2½” chambers) and modern high-pressure cartridges normally do not make good bedfellows, a vintage gun may not be the correct choice. Rather use something like a modern pump-action or semi-auto gun. On the other hand, if you want to pursue game birds such as francolin or guineafowl, a well-fitting old side-by-side in good condition may very well be exactly what you need. Just be aware though, wingshooting is addictive and once the bug has bitten, one is seldom satisfied with just one gun!