Heritage Guns' Comment

Robert Roper was in business in Sheffield from around 1878 until the early 1940's, probably killed off by the materials shortage during the 2nd WW. We have seen several guns by him over the years and they are characterised by simple, unostentatious engraving and the use of the very best in trade actions and design. This gun is built on the highly successful Gibbs and Pitt design of lever cocking action, one of the first hammerless designs to be welcomed by the shooting public in the gradual changeover from hammerguns. Use of this action by Roper 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 Bolt' 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.
Unusually for a gun of this age, the full/full chokes of the original gun have survived the attentions of the gunsmith's lapping machine and combined with its super strong, straight grain, replacement stock and thick barrel walls, they make this a serious gun for trap, live pigeon and wildfowling. A further safety feature is that the safety blocks the sear tails as well as the trigger blades. 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.

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