Holland
& Holland, 98 New Bond Street, London
12 bore 'Royal’ Bar Action,
Sidelock Ejector
No. 12860
Date of manufacture: 1891
Click on these images for more detail.
Heritage
Guns' Comment
Holland & Holland records show that this gun was finished in 1891
for ‘Dodd’ and is a very lovely example of Holland & Holland's
'flag ship' gun. The original Whitworth Fluid Pressed Steel
barrels have survived the intervening years brilliantly and were
specified with cylinder chokes but a little choke has been added
over the years in the left barrel. There is considerable
original hardening colour on lockplates and parts of the action.
The highly figured restock is thought to be quite recent and
although we have no indication of just when it was done, the head
of the stock is stamped ‘AWR’ which might help in tracking down
the stocker and his records. The stocking is the work of a very
skilled craftsman and this leads one to assume that the work was
done by a stocker with considerable experience of H&H stocks,
maybe even an ex-H&H worker. The gun balances almost exactly on
the knuckle. With its excellent weight and balance,
interceptor sears, fine stock and barrel dimensions, this gun
would make a superb target or game gun for the discerning shooter.
Presented in a contemporary leather & brass case, relined with
‘Rifle Green’ baize, equipped with some accessories and fitted
with the Gunmakers’ labels.
Tremendous
value at only $13200
On Consignment in USA with MacNab Fine Firearms
|
The action
is of combined Holland & Robertson design and features:
Rounded
action bar;
Baraction, 'Dip Edge', 9 pin locks with bolstered
tumbler pivots and gold washed tumblers;
‘Block Patent Safety'
interceptor sears;
Double triggers bolted by an automatic top tang
safety slide;
Breech face 'Patent Gas Check';
Top lever
operating a 'Purdey Bolt' by way of a 'Scott Spindle';
Top rib
extension providing a 3rd bite;
Holland & Robertson's patent
ejector
and Anson's push rod forend catch.
Gun weight
6lb 11oz.
Engraving
style Best Bold Foliate Scroll. Under-bar engraved ‘ROYAL EJECTOR
PATENT NO. 11623’. Top lever engraved ‘PATENT EJECTOR’. Gold inlaid
‘SAFE’.
Beaded fences. Breech face stamped ‘PATENT GAS CHECK No
4267’.
Trigger pulls measure approximately: Front trigger 3
¾ lbs Rear trigger 4 ½ lbs.
The Whitworth Fluid Pressed Steel
barrels are 30" in length, chambered for 2 ½ " (65mm) cartridges
and are of chopperlump construction with soft soldered ribs.
Top rib is of smooth, concave game type.
Birmingham reproof
for 65mm nitro powder cartridges 1968.
Approximate barrel measurements
at date of publication:
|
Nominal Proof Size
|
Bore Diameter 9" from Breech
|
Minimum Wall Thickness
|
Choke Constriction
|
Right Barrel |
0.729"
|
0.732+"
|
0.026"
|
Cyl
|
Left Barrel |
0.729"
|
0.732"
|
0.021"
|
0.007" (IC)
|
Replacement Straight Hand Stock and Splinter Forend
are crafted from highly figured walnut.
The stock is lightly
cast-off for a right-handed shot, features a vacant white metal oval,
well defined drop points and is finished with a 1” leather covered
recoil pad. There is a wood inlet to a shake near the oval.
The
forend is fitted with a finely engraved steel forend tip and diamond.
|
Highly Figured Walnut |
|
The 24 lines per inch chequering has been freshened
to normal sidelock 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 1/4"
|
15 3/8"
|
15 3/8"
|
15 3/4"
|
Drop at Comb
|
Drop at Face
|
Drop at Heel
|
1 1/2"
|
1 3/4"
|
2 3/8"
|
Cast at Comb
|
Cast at Heel
|
3/16" approx.
|
3/8" approx.
|
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:
Scott's gas check patent no. 617 of 1882;
Needham & Hinton
interceptor sears patent no. 706 of 1879;
Holland & Robertson's
ejector patent no. 11623 of 1887;
'Purdey Bolt' patent no. 1104
of 1863;
'Scott Spindle' patent no. 2752 of 1865;
Scott's
top extension patent no. 1902 of 1875;
Anson’s forend fastener
patent no. 3791 of 1872.