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Need help identifying antique shotgun

T

Texan.in.MA

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I recently inherited an antique side-by-side 16 GA shotgun. I can find no markings on the gun which identifies the manufacturer. I believe this gun was brought over from Europe when relatives migrated from “the old country”. If anyone can give me suggestions of who made it I can do some further research.

Pictures are posted here:

http://s928.photobucket.com/user/texaninma/library/




Thanks
 
I have an old 12 GA double that I inherited as well. It has fancy engraving and what looks like an ivory inlay in the forearm. It says W Scott & Sons on it. However it is NOT a W C Scott & Sons shotgun, which would probably be worth a few bucks. My shotgun is referred, I believe, to be a "trade gun". Anyway I think that is the term. They were common shotguns that were produced for the masses back in the day. I am not an expert by any means, but seeing how there are no maker marks on your gun, this may be what you have. But, who knows maybe it is a rare and valuable antique. Good luck...
 
welcome. looks like your standard wall-hanger brand shotty, lol

identifying old shotguns is hard for sure. some are just unknown, history lost to the ages.

It looks like the barrel comes off. are there any proof or maker's marks under the barrels or on the frame under the barrels. they're often hidden there and sometime reveal the country of origin
 
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zajygy7u.jpg
 
No, it was my recently deceased brother-in-law's gun that he received from an uncle. Most of the relatives immigrated from Czechoslovakia in the 1800's so I assume it was made somewhere in Europe. It's still back in Texas and I will get is shipped here sooner or later. I'll strip things down to bare metal maybe I'll find something that will identify who made it. Connecticut shotgun was no help but i'll keep looking around. I don't want to sell it; I'm just researching. If anyone else knows which manufacturers used a lever over the forend grip to break the action it would help me narrow things down.

Once I retire I'll take all my firearms, including this one, back to a place where I don't have to rely on a Chief of Police for permission to exercise my second amendment rights.
 
I can't help with the ID. But I don't recommend stripping it down to "bare metal" as this may take away from the value.
 
Texan.in.MA said:
No, it was my recently deceased brother-in-law's gun that he received from an uncle. Most of the relatives immigrated from Czechoslovakia in the 1800's so I assume it was made somewhere in Europe. It's still back in Texas and I will get is shipped here sooner or later. I'll strip things down to bare metal maybe I'll find something that will identify who made it. Connecticut shotgun was no help but i'll keep looking around. I don't want to sell it; I'm just researching. If anyone else knows which manufacturers used a lever over the forend grip to break the action it would help me narrow things down.

Once I retire I'll take all my firearms, including this one, back to a place where I don't have to rely on a Chief of Police for permission to exercise my second amendment rights.
Click to expand...

yeah, the under lever is interesting. just did some googling, similar to this one but not the same, scroll down and click on #132 for photo

http://www.horstauction.com/GunSaleMar2_13List.html
 
Be very careful with how you proceed with a gun like this. If you remove the forearm you may find a makers/proof house marks on the barrels. I have an old W. & C. Scott shotgun made in the 1870's that took quite some time to properly identify and date. I heard the usual "it's just an old wall-hanger shotgun" comments from people; the same people offered me $100 or $200 for what turned out to be a very rare and old high quality English built shotgun.

Unlike American made guns, there seems to be a lot less information available about European built guns and what is available takes some effort to find, especially those built and imported before 1875. Exercise patience and try to really find out what you have without just assuming it's another "wall hanger". Happy Hunting.
 
Win 73 has some good info

If I had guess - It's a belgeum made guild gun - awesome shooter if you know what to feed it - DO NOT FIRE IT UNTIL IT IS INSPECTED BY A REPUTABLE GUNSMITH.

I've already given a handful of sources to verify the maker. Once you have narrowed down the maker, go from there. I'd bet for 2.5" chambers - the chokes are also suspect.

Mike Orlen may be worth a call at this point also - a local and very knowledgeable in the ways of sxs barrels.
 
Thanks for the link! Based on that, I searched on Emil Eckholdt and found many similar guns. Once I have it here I'll bet I find that stamp under the fore-end.
 
Tex,
Once you get the piece in hand, take the forarm off - It looks cracked/broken in one of those pics so be careful with it. You should be able get the barrels off and check out the table (the part on the receiver the barrels rest on). That's where you'll find some markings. The barrels should have proof marks on it too.

Chances are it's what they call a "guild gun" - guys worked for famous makers and would make an extra parts to make a gun to sell for themselves. There's not a lot of under-lever makers so it should be easier to ID based on what makers used what scroll work.

The fact that it's a hammer gun with damascus barrels means that it should not be fired with modern ammo - in fact it should not be fired at all until it's inspected by a reputable 'smith experienced with damascus barrels. The screws on it are kinda buggered but it looks to have normal wear. DO NOT REFINISH IT. You may as well melt it down at that point...I'd buy it from you to save it from that kind of destruction.

Related
 
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Its been a couple of years and I finally had a chance to pull the foregrip off and look for the proof marks on the barrel. I took a few more pictures of these and added them to the album: http://s928.photobucket.com/user/texaninma/library/?sort=3&page=1

For those who misunderstood my earlier comment about stripping it down, I simply meant cleaning off some of the grime and rust - not removing the original blueing or sanding.

At any rate, any ideas on who and when this gun was made based on the proof marks? I did some research on them and believe the proof house is Ferlach. However, the the two proof marks seem to conflict - could be Ferlach, Vienna, Prague or Wiepert. Any clues?
 

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