Stephen Grant & Sons, 67a St James's Street, London
12 bore Bar Action, Sidelock Ejector
no. 7072 (no 2 of pair)

Date of manufacture: 1898

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Heritage Guns' Comment This is a superb example of a Best London sidelock ejector from this highly respected gunmaker, made in the heyday of the British gun trade. Although undoubtedly a Grant gun, details of its internal mechanisms definitely point to the gun being manufactured in the workshop of John Robertson. Although by now the proprietor of Boss & Co, Robertson maintained his factory at George Yard where he made Boss guns, moving to Ham Yard in 1899. According to Donald Dallas, Robertson's trade actions were very distinctive in having an angular internal junction between top strap and action. Also, his locks were unusual in using his own hook design for an interceptor sear as opposed to the Block Safety used by Holland & Holland and Scott. Furthermore, the design of his favored safety slide detent mechanism, a variation on the 'over-centre' system, appears in all his patent specifications drawings although not mentioned in the text. Lastly, the ejector mechanism, referred to as 'Patent Ejector' on the rib, is the functional equivalent of provisional patent no 11623 of 1887, produced by the collaboration of Henry Holland and John Robertson. All these features can be found in Grant gun no 7072. The action of gun no 7072 is delightfully engraved and in fabulous condition. The stock has been professionally replaced by a skilled stocker at some time and although of fairly straight grain walnut, it has excellent dimensions. The 30" barrels have been TIG sleeved and re-proofed for 2 3/4" nitro cartridges. This all adds up to a strong 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 traditional bar action sidelock design and features:
Top lever opening,operating a 'Purdey Bolt' via a 'Scott Spindle'.
Double triggers bolted by an automatic top tang safety slide,
Bar action locks,
Roger's cocking levers,
Interceptor sears,
Disk set strikers,
Coil spring ejectors tripped by slides in the bar of action,
and Anson's push rod forend catch.
Gun weight 7lb 2oz
Engraving style Best fine foliate scroll. Finely carved action bar.
Trigger pulls measure approximately: Front trigger 3 1/2lbs Rear trigger 3 1/2lbs
The TIG sleeved Damascus to steel barrels are 30" 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 2009.

Approximate barrel measurements at date of publication:

Straight Hand Stock and Splinter Forend are crafted from lightly figured walnut. The forend has a small inlay in the centre, mainly obscured by the chequering. There are two inlets to the forend edge.

The fine 24 lines per inch chequering is to normal sidelock pattern. The stock is cast off for a right-handed shot, features well defined drop points, a blank escutcheon and a chequered butt.
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:

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:
Roger's cocking levers patent no 397 of 1882,
'Purdey Bolt' patent no. 1104 of 1863,
'Scott Spindle' patent no. 2752 of 1865,
Robertson's interceptor sear patent no. 2833 of 1882,
Holland & Robertson's ejector patents 5834 and 11623 of 1887,
Anson's forend fastener patent no. 3791 of 1872.