Geo H Daw & Co, 67 St James's Street SW & 57 Threadneedle Street EC, London
12 bore Sidelock Non-Ejector
no. 27921

Date of manufacture: 1875-87


Click on these images for more detail.

Heritage Guns' Comment

Other than being famous for the first patent of a centre-fire cartridge in England, George Henry Daw is remarkable for the very high level of finish and quality seen in his guns. This example is no exception and, most remarkably for a gun of this age, it retains much of its original hardening colour on action and lock plates. The engraving on the gun is quite exceptional and I think this reflects the high esteem the Gibbs & Pitt action design was held in by the buying public at the time. It was well designed, solidly built and retailed by nearly all gunmakers of the period.
The action cocks on the movement of the sidelever and then this is aided by the dropping of the barrels as the barrel lumps cam the Purdey bold rearwards, which in turn works upon the tumblers to bring them to full cock. This makes it quite impossible to reload the gun without recocking the locks and resetting the safety, a useful safety feature.
This gun was designed as a lightweight yet in shooting it we have found it swings very well and does not recoil excessively. The original English damascus barrels have been re-proofed for 2 3/4" nitro cartridges and this all adds up to a beautiful gun that is a joy to shoot and should give many years of service on game or clays with normal maintenance.

WE REGRET THAT THIS GUN IS NOW SOLD. IF YOU ARE SEARCHING FOR A SIMILAR GUN, PLEASE CONTACT US.

 

The action is of Gibbs & Pitt design and features:
Much original hardening colour;
Disc set strikers;
Side lever opening with a Purdey Bolt;
Double triggers bolted by an automatic top tang safety slide
and a Hackett forend catch.
Gun weight 6lb 4oz
Engraving style Best Bouquet & Scroll..
Trigger pulls measure approximately: Front trigger 3 ½ lbs Rear trigger 4 lbs
The original damascus barrels are 29" in length, chambered for 2 3/4" (70mm) cartridges and are of brazed dovetail lump construction with soft soldered ribs.
Top rib is of the smooth, concave game type.
London reproof for 70mm nitro powder cartridges in 2012

Approximate barrel measurements at date of publication:

 
Nominal Proof Size
Bore Diameter 9" from Breech
Minimum Wall Thickness
Choke Constriction
Right Barrel
18.9mm
(0.744")
0.744"
0.023"
0.007" (IC)
Left Barrel
19.0mm
(0.748")
0.746"
0.020+"
(patch at 0.018", 9" from muzzle)
0.006" (IC)

The replacement straight hand Stock and Splinter Forend are crafted from figured walnut. The stock is cast-off for a right-handed shot, features a white metal oval (vestiges of engraving), well-defined drop points and finely engraved heel and toe plates with engraved screws. The forend features an engraved steel forend tip and diamond. There is an inlet repair to one edge.

Figured walnut

The 20 approx lines per inch chequering has been freshened to the original pattern.
The stock is finished with a traditional linseed oil based preparation as used on best guns by one of the top English makers. This finish uses no grain fillers to achieve its deep, smooth lustre, only many hours of alternate build and flatting off of the surface.

Approximate stock measurements at date of publication:

Pull to Heel
Pull to Bump
Pull to Centre
Pull to Toe
15"
15 1/8"
15 1/8"
15 1/2"
Drop at Comb
Drop at Face
Drop at Heel
1 7/16"
1 5/8"
1 13/16"
Cast at Comb
Cast at Heel
Negligible
1/16" (approximate)

For the purposes of these measurements, 'Drop at Face' is the 'drop' measurement taken on a line perpendicular to the
line joining the trigger and centre of the butt at approximately 8" from the trigger (front trigger on a double trigger gun).

Patents Exhibited include:
Gibbs & Pitt cocking patent no. 284 of 1873;
'Purdey Bolt' patent no. 1104 of 1863;
Hackett forend fastener patent no. 964 of 1878.