15 Gauge Smith Percussion Double

[Matt Buckley]

I wanted to show off my 15 Gauge Percussion shot gun built by Smith, London. I wanted to see if any of the members own the book British Gunmakers Volume 1 and could look up Smith Gun Builders from London in the mid 1800's. I'm trying to narrow down who built this gun. This particular gun is marked Smith London on the sides of the back locks towards the back end of the locks. It is a little hard to see in the pics. The gun has Birmingham Proof House marks from sometime between 1855-1875. It is stamped as 16 gauge barrels but they measure .680 and .675 which by today's standards is 15 gauge. The gun sports a 27" barrel and weights 6.1lbs. The old Smith has proven deadly on wild pheasants with 2 1/2 drams of ff Goex and 1 1/8 oz of shot.