William Read, Boston, Percussion 6 Bore?

[Pete Lester]

The owner of a local business I frequent told me he had an old family shotgun and he wanted to know more about it and of course any potential value. First off the gun is a family heirloom and I doubt it will going anywhere soon. All he could tell me is it had external hammers and it was really big.

I finally had a chance to look at and handle the gun today and it was not what I was expecting. It is a beast of a percussion shotgun weighing just under 15 pounds with 38 inch barrels and bores that mic'ed .950. I assume this a 6 bore and I am guessing it was built in the days before choke was invented.

It appeared to be in excellent condition both cosmetically and mechanically. The hammers worked as they should and the wood was sound. Checkering on the stock was strong but I did not see any checkering on the forend.

They only markings I saw where on the sides of the receiver and on the top rib, "William Read, Boston". I could not find any patents, proof marks etc.

I have read a little of what I found on the web so far and that is William Read predates William Read and Sons. They were an importer who may have had in house gunsmiths and they sold all manner of sporting goods. They sold guns or good quality and this gun appeared as such.

So given this my questions are; How old do you think this gun is? Is a seemingly functional percussion 6 bore double gun worth anything? What do we know about William Read? All help and info is appreciated. Sorry for the slightly less than stellar pictures, I had to be somewhere else and was rushed for time, I can get better pictures on another day.

[charlie cleveland]

very nice old fowling piece...i once seen such a gun a 6 bore in was in shooting shape they wanted 1000 for it but i believe their gun would go for quite a bit more my guess would be 1500 to 2000 maybe a little more.....its a gun you only see in a blue moon...charlie

[Rick Losey]

did you remove the barrels and check for proofs?

a lot of those guns were shipped from Birmingham in the white to be finished in the US

very cool- date ? 1850 to 1860 as a guess

from the little i can see the bores look good -

new nipples and you could be set to go

[wayne goerres]

I don't know if its your camera or there is something in the left barrel. Kind of looks like a piece of cloth.

[Rick Losey]

BTW- there was a gun shop not far from here- closed a while back -that had a few big bore front stuffers like this-

prices were through the roof (the high grade 6 bore I really liked was marked 7k) - i asked the guy working there why so much- he said the owner collected them and put a few out for display. He figured if anyone ever wanted to pay that much- he could just use the profit to buy more :rotf:

i thought long and hard about taking a run a a single 6 bore at a recent local auction that was made by one a Dan LeFever's partners - it went for a little over 2k

[Dave Noreen]

I have a 1906 William Read & Sons catalog and it states "Established 1826."

[Pete Lester]

Thanks for the information and thoughts. I suggested to the owner that he attempt to determine if the gun might be "charged". I did not see a notch in the ram rod for that but I think he might have a bore scope at his business. I told him how to remove the barrels but it is his choice to disassemble it. It appeared to me to be "shootable" but I have no idea what a light BP load in 6 bore would be. I don't think he has any desire to shoot it. I also advised him to not make any attempt to make it look better, i.e. polishing brass etc.

Dave, I did see somewhere Wm Read was established in1826 and the name was changed to Wm Read & Sons around 1852. I am guessing this is a circa 1850 ish gun. There was also some reference to Lane & Read.

The owner sent me a picture of his grandfathers powder horn and a couple of measures that went with it. The powder measure is marked 10 DRS. 10 Drams of Blackpowder.......Holy Cow!

[Rick Losey]

Determining the presence of a charge is very simple

Take a rod or narrow long piece of wood and lay it on top of the barrels with the one end even with where the nipples enter the barrel

Mark the location of the muzzle on the rod. Then put the rod down the barrel end first

The mark for the muzzle should be at or very very close to the muzzle

If they are off by any appreciable measurement. Get a worm on a rod and twist it to grip the patch or wads and slowly pull

It's a rare occurrence but it can happen. Pulling a load fast can set it off. So do not be in front of it


And. Great horn. Your friend has a family treasure

[Richard Flanders]

You definitely want to check for anything in the bore. I shot my original .69cal Springfield for some time before I discovered that there was a jag in the bottom of the bore. It never shot out and didn't even get damaged. I still have and use it.

[Hal Sheets]

Always check the old front loaders, even if not to be shot.
Back in the late '60s, I did the 'rod test' on an old Springfield, for a friend. It was his family's gun, brought back from the Civil War and had been in an attic most of the years since. Well the rod test indicated the old girl was loaded ! So we took a rod from one of my long rifles and with a screw/worm, tried to draw 'the charge'. Turned out 'the charge' was a mud-dauber's nest, but you never know!

[Richard Flanders]

Mine was the first muzzle loader I had shot so I was a total rookie. I discovered the jag while cleaning it and had no trouble getting it out. I think what was in it was the cork screw like patch puller. Not sure why it stuck at all as it came out easily.

[keavin nelson]

I have a 16ga, William Read & Son, made in Belgium by the proof, and very nice little piece I enjoy shooting, well made and nicely engraved.

[todd allen]

I brought home an 1861 Springfield. 58 musket some years back. Did the muzzle dipstick thing, and yep, loaded. I pulled the charge, it was a load of sixes, over a petrified charge of black powder. The powder was absolutely hard as a rock!
May have been loaded over a hundred years, unbeknownst to it's keepers.