William Evans from Purdey's, 63 Pall Mall, St James's, London
12 bore Box Lock Ejector
no. 3877

Date of manufacture: 1898

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Heritage Guns' Comment From such a highly respected maker, this gun is a very finely finished and specified example of the Anson & Deeley boxlock that became such a hugely successful design by the last decade of the 19th Century. The 'Webley Horseshoe Top Lever' action is profusely covered with fine border, scroll and foliate detail and this coupled with the interceptor sears, excellent barrel measurements and sensitive restoration makes it a very safe, pretty and 'shootable' gun for either game or clays. WE REGRET THAT THIS GUN IS NOW SOLD. IF YOU ARE SEARCHING FOR A SIMILAR GUN, PLEASE CONTACT US.

The action is of combined Webley and Anson & Deeley design and features:
Double triggers bolted by an automatic top tang safety slide,
Interceptor sears,
Top lever opening operating a 'Purdey Bolt' by way of a 'Webley Screw Grip',
Three point bolting including top extension,
'Disc-Set' strikers,
'Southgate' ejectors tripped by slides running from the action knuckle to the tumblers,
Anson pushrod forend catch.

Gun weight 6lb 7 ½ oz Engraving style Best border, bouquet & scroll with foliate detail.
Trigger pulls measure approximately: Front trigger 3 ½ lbs Rear trigger 4 lbs
The original steel 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, 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 highly figured walnut. The stock is cast off for a right-handed shot, features a yellow metal escutcheon engraved with a family coat of arms and is finished with a highly figured 1" wood extension. There is a single very small inlet to the front edge of the forend wood which features elegant 'bolsters' at the knuckle.

The 24 lines per inch chequering is to the normal boxlock design with well defined drop points.
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:
Webley & Brain's 'Screw Grip' action patent no 3053 of 1882,
Anson & Deeley's boxlock patent no. 1756 of 1875,
'Purdey Bolt' patent no. 1104 of 1863,
Anson & Deeley's safety catch no. 907 of 1879,
Anson's interceptor sear patent no. 4089 of 1882,
'Southgate' ejectors patent no. 12314 of 1889,
Anson's forend fastener patent no. 3791 of 1872.