William Powell & Son, 13 Carrs Lane, Birmingham
12 bore Bar-in-wood, Bar-action, Hammergun no. 5307

Date of manufacture: 1873

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Heritage Guns' Comment

This gun is lovely condition example of the bar-in-wood guns that William Powell and Westley Richards were famous for. It is in unusually fine condition with none of the cracks in the bar of the wood that so plague examples of the genre. What makes this gun particularly exciting is the use of not only Powell's 'lift-up' top lever which operates a Richards type sliding bolt and doll's head top extension but also their inlaid strikers and striker extractor mechanism and their forend catch.
This represents a rare opportunity to acquire a lovely condition classic English hammergun with many interesting and innovative features.
WE REGRET THAT THIS GUN IS NOW SOLD. IF YOU ARE SEARCHING FOR A SIMILAR GUN, PLEASE CONTACT US.

The action is of William Powell's own design and features:
Double triggers,
Bar action rebounding locks,
Self extracting and inlaid strikers,
Lift-up top lever opening with a 'dolls head' rib extension
and Powell's lever forend catch.
Gun weight 7lb
Engraving style
Best Foliate Scroll.
Trigger pulls measure approximately: Front trigger 4 ½ lbs Rear trigger 5 lbs
The fine Damascus barrels are 30" in length, chambered for 2 ¾" (70mm) cartridges and are of brazed 'dovetail' lump construction with soft soldered ribs.
Top rib is of the smooth, convex, game type.
London re-proof for 70mm nitro cartridges in 2007.

Approximate barrel measurements at date of publication:

 
Nominal Proof Size
Bore Diameter 9" from Breech
Minimum Wall Thickness
Choke Constriction
Right Barrel
18.7mm (0.736")
0.737"
0.025" Minimum
0.008" (Recessedl)
Left Barrel
18.7mm (0.736")
0.736"
0.029" Minimum
0.008" (Recessedl)

Straight Hand Stock and Splinter Forend are crafted from highly figured walnut. The stock is cast off for a right-handed shot and is fitted with an engraved steel butt plate.

Highly figured walnut

The 22 lines per inch chequering is to normal sidelock points pattern.
The stock is finished with a traditional linseed oil based preparation as used on best guns by one of the top English makers.

Approximate stock measurements at date of publication:

Pull to Heel
Pull to Bump
Pull to Centre
Pull to Toe
14 5/16"
14 1/2"
14 3/8"
15"
Drop at Comb
Drop at Face
Drop at Heel
1 9/16"
1 3/4"
2 1/4"
Cast at Comb
Cast at Heel
1/8 (approximate)
3/16 (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:
Stanton's rebounding lock patent no. 367 of 1867,
Powell's forend fastener patent no. 2193 of 1873,
Powell's inlaid and extracting striker patent no. 1055 of 1869,
Powell's top lever patent no. 1163 of 1864.