Manton Percussion

[Jack Cronkhite]

Came across this today. Anyone have experience with such a gun? Good or bad??
Cheers,
Jack

Manufacturer: MANTON - LONDON, ENGLAND
Condition: Good
Model: 12 GAUGE PERCUSSION SIDE BY SIDE
Trigger Weight: 5 lb

ORIGINAL MANTON PREMIUM GRADE ENGRAVED 12 GAUGE DOUBLE BARREL SIDE BY SIDE PERCUSSION SHOTGUN, 31″ round DAMASCUS barrels, ENTIRELY HANDMADE in LONDON, ENGLAND. PRESENTATION GRADE FANCY EUROPEAN TIGER STRIPED WALNUT STOCK with PLATINUM ESCUTCHEON INLAID in bottom of stock. ENGRAVED SIDELOCKS, ENGRAVED HAMMERS, ENGRAVED LOWER TANG, ENGRAVED TRIGGER GUARD, ENGRAVED BUTTPLATE, ENGRAVED RAMROD GUIDE, ENGRAVED SCREW HEADS, PLATINUM INLAID BARREL BANDS, FANCY DESIGNED PLATINUM INLAID FRONT SIGHT, PLATINUM BLOWOUT PLUGS on each side of barrels at breach. GOOD CONDITION.

[Destry L. Hoffard]

If it's a real Manton, and it looks like it might be, they were considered the best English muzzle loader of their time.

Destry

[calvin humburg]

Looks like fun to me!

[Rick Losey]

Manton was THE maker of his day, many if not most of the next and better known generation, such as Purdey apprenticed to him. You will likely find the dimensions to be shootable, the British rarely had the dog leg drop of older American pieces.

As with any old piece, the question is the barrels, but if it is sound, everything to shoot it is still available. circle fly still makes the wads and card in any bore size.

I am in the process of repairing a lock issue on one by another maker. A 14 bore, looking forward to hunting with it.

[David Dwyer]

Wonderful gun, I just sold a 16ga that I had for 10+ years. A pleasure to shoot but a b#$^ to clean.
David

[Rick Losey]

Wonderful gun, but a b#$^ to clean.
David

I reenacted the French and Indian war for years, hunt deer with flintlock longrifles, and have a flintlock single fowler, that is not a chore that bothers me. But I do see where some would prefer to avoid it.

[Jack Cronkhite]

Thanks all. I will see what further info the seller can provide about the barrels. Should I end up going down this path, I'll have some more to learn. Never shot a muzzle loader anything. I suppose the platinum blow out plug is to help first timer errors??

Should this be a shootable firearm, approximately where in the K$ scale might be considered a reasonable offer? Had a look at some GB listings but none were as ornate as this one.

Thanks,
Jack

[charlie cleveland]

nice looking gun...muzzle loaders are fun to shoot and hunt with... them old manton guns are about as good as it gets and this one looks ok in my book...price of the manton will depend weather its on your side of the border or ours... should be cheaper in the usa...my guess would be about 750.00 jack and that will be pretty close if the guys really trying to sell it....charlie

[Rick Losey]

I suppose the platinum blow out plug is to help first timer errors??

:eek: last timers error is more like it,

Make sure it has British proofs, says London and looks to nice to be otherwise but Manton was one of the names the Belgiums used to sell guns.

Prices very a lot, is it cased? with accessories? Most good maker percussion SxSs I have seen were good mid grade guns and sold for under a grand to just over. I have seen asking prices into the 5 figures for perfect high grade examples.

sometimes there are bargins

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg195/setterw/IMGP0480.jpg

Muzzleloaders are not that hard to learn, basically, its reloading in a barrel rather than a shell casing

as the old horn I once saw advised

"of all the rules you must recall
powder first, then the ball"

[Ed Blake]

I used to have a Manton similar to that one. Check the bores with a very small flashlight that you can slip down the barrels. A wall thickness check would not be a bad idea either. Mine was an 11 gauge or thereabouts. Use wads one gauge up so they will be snug in the bores. #2 black powder will do it. Have fun. Oh, and make sure it's unloaded. Measure your ramrod along the outside of the barrels, and then reference that when you slide the rod inside the barrels. You'd be surprised how many have been loaded for years. I did that when I got mine and found a bunch of old wadded up newspaper at the breeches.

[Mike Poindexter]

For what its worth, a Manton muzzleloader was what old Pomp Eddins shot in Nash Buckingham's wonderful story "Playhouse", just recently reprinted in the 30th Anniversary Sporting Classics magazine: "Muzzles paper thin. Locks that sang like harp strings...." Pretty high recommendation it seems to me. Good luck.

[George Lander]

There were two Manton gunmakers: Joseph (the father) & John (the son) and BOTH were the best of their time. Your gun looks like a "Joseph"

Best Regards, George

[Steve McCarty]

A Manton is the Rolls Royce of his time. When I was a kid I used to go to Bond Street in London and look at the fine cased pistols for sale. A cased pair of Manton dueling pistols then cost around $300 and they were just wonderful. This was in the late 50's.

I had a friend who bought a cased set and we used to go out and shoot them! They were flinters and went off instantly. This was a little later, and he paid $3000 for them.
They were like new. We shot the old balls that were in the case. This was in the late 70's. I recall the fantastic brown damascus pattern in the barrels. Just amazing.