John Tisdall Hammer gun?

[Gary Weaver]

Anyone know anything about John Tisdall shotguns? just bought a hammer gun off Gun brokers, and it should be here next week..
Havent been able to find out much on him other than he was a gun maker in England from 1864-1900, and nothing on his quality of shotguns.. although i have found a couple of his guns on auction sites in Europe and they seem to bring pretty good money. Just wondering if anyone has heard of him and seen his shotguns.. The one i bought seems to be pretty nice for the money..
Thanks

[Gary Carmichael Sr]

Gary, What gauge was it, damascus or steel how about a photo

[Gary Weaver]

The shotgun is a 12 ga, and has steel barrels.. Not many old hammer guns like that with steel barrels...
Pic's can be found on Gun Broker, if thats ok to post the link since the auction is over.. here it is.. (quickest way for me to post info and pictures)

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=276658142

Thanks
Gary

[Gary Weaver]

Well the Tisdall Hammer arrived, it is actually a very nice piece..
Unfortunately (and i should have guessed this)... It does not have "steel" barrels like the ad said, they are Damascus.. but in very good condition..
Guess it doesnt matter too much, just got to keep the loads down from what i understand.. Winchester has some Feather lites at 980fps that seem to work.. was wondering if 7/8 loads around 1200 fps would be ok.. Ive shot them and there does not appear to be much recoil..

Still havent found much info on John Tisdall... still researching..
These are not like nice Parkers, where there is lots of history and fairly easy to research and enjoy, and reading all the stories... but it appears to be a fine shotgun just the same.. Will let you know how it shoots after hitting the range soon.. think i got a pretty nice gun at a fair price.

[Bruce Day]

Tisdale was a prominent British gunsmithing family. While I know nothing about John Tisdale, if you Google Charles Tisdale, you will find he had the largest sporting goods store in the northwest ( Vancouver BC) and was a significant Parker dealer. I did an article in the Parker Pages last year about him.

[Gary Weaver]

I am not sure but I think John Tisdall (from Chichester England), and Charles Tisdale are different people and families.. but i really do not know and am not saying you are wrong.. you probably know a lot more than I since you did a lot more research and wrote an article on one of them.. not sure which one.. :)
Thanks for the info though.. and i wonder, is there is any way to get that article..

[Forrest Grilley]

Have you by chance double checked the proof marks under the barrels? For some reason I saw wooden clogs and windmills when I looked at the pictures. :)

In all seriousness though, even if it is a Belgian gun, it still looks like it is good shape and can provide a lot of good service. You got it for a pretty decent price either way. Have fun with it.

[Gary Weaver]

Checking the proof marks, besides the wooden clogs and windmills, there was a Brittish Flag, and a foot note about... this gun is "The Bees Knees"... and "Bobs your uncle"...

So reading what that means below... I guess I'm good.. :-)

-------------------------------
(From Brittish Slang Guide)...
Bees Knees - This is the polite version of the dog's bollocks. So if you are in polite company and want to say that something was fabulous, this phrase might come in handy.

Bob's your uncle - This is a well used phrase. It is added to the end of sentences a bit like and that's it! For example if you are telling someone how to make that fabulous banoffee pie you just served them, you would tell them to boil the condensed milk for three hours, spread it onto a basic cheesecake base, slice bananas on top, add some whipped double cream, another layer of banana and Bob's your uncle!

One More...
Dog's bollocks - You would say that something really fantastic was the dog's bollocks. Comes from the fact that a dog's bollocks are so fantastic that he can't stop licking them! Nice huh?

:rotf:

Oh. and thanks for your comments, much appreciated..