W. Richards Liverpool 10
 

I was having a private conversation with member David Boyles about our recent foray into 10 bore guns, and I mentioned the english hammer 10 I acquired this summer. W. Richards, hammer 10, 32” “london fine twist” barrels! The gun weighs almost 11 lbs., and is outstanding original condition, with mirror bores, lots of barrel color, and 60% case color remaining. The unusual thing is the chambers, I am almost certain they have not been altered, but they measure
3 1/4”.

Couple more

Mark,

A nice looking 10 bore! The barrel flats proof markings should tell you the original chamber length.

Ken

Proof markings did not include chamber lengths until 1925.

Agree but, on 12 gauges you can determine the chamber length by the proof (e.g., 1 1/8 oz is 2 1/2" chamber).

Ken

10 bore
 

Mark that's a real beauty have you fired it yet? Given the weight not much push I bet. I assume very tight chokes. I intend to take my parker 10 out and pattern the barrels both 28" and 32" tubes before I go after the turkeys. Did I tell you I dropped 7 doves with it on the last week of season. used 28' barrels and 1 1/8 oz loads. Hammers are a bear to cock but triggers are light so minute I saw doves I cocked both barrels to be ready. Hope we get to chase turkeys together like last year. So glad you got to use the little Ambassador reel on a big red a real rush to catch big fish with only your thumb!!!

In the 1880s and 90s UMC offered 10-gauge paper and all brass NPEs up to 3 1/4 inch.

Thanks Researcher!

I measured the chambers several times. This gun is obviously older than the era where chamber length ang coke etc. were listed. I think it is from the “bore diameter era” as one barrel is marked 11 and one marked 12, with 10g chambers. Thia gun is so heavy, and stout, that I could surmise that it was intended for quite a stout load.

What were those 3” and 3 1/4” inch loads like???

If the barrels of this gun are marked as you say: 11 & 12 bore, then I would suggest you measure the bores to see if they mic out to an actual 10-bore.

It is my admittedly remote suspicion that this gun may have been a 12 bore, rechambered to 10 bore -- with undersize 10 bores being the result of honing out 11 and 12 bore barrels to clean them up.

Just to be safe, the barrel wall thickness should also be checked. Especially if a 10-bore rechamber job cut cones out too far.

This is all speculation from a distance. If the gun shoots well, it's probably fine.

always safety first John

but i'm curious - i have a light unaltered 12 with the bores proofed at 13 - i have seen one marked 14-

if 12's can have tight bores- why not a 10- and would a 12 have originally had an oversized tube marked 11 in that day?

i think the weight also speaks to an original 10

but - having said that - i'd be measuring the walls ahead of the chambers very carefully -

long chambers were made as shown here

look about 1/2 way down in the second column from the left to the specs for Dr Willimson's new Lefever - a 12 ga with 3 1/4 chambers for a heavy load

http://library.la84.org/SportsLibrar.../SL2604014.pdf