WR 2" 12

[Ken Hill]

I saw this gun in 2016 and never could agree on the price. After 5 years, the owner decided to come down. It took 5 1/2 months to get it exported/imported from the UK. It was shipped with other guns and the COVID situation in England slowed the process down.

This is a Westley Richards 2" 12 gauge with 27" barrels. The condition is pretty good. The main issue with the gun it appears to have been made with a comb insert and is now patched with a piece of wood. I'm still waiting on a letter from WR. The gun weighs 5lb 7oz and was made in 1933.

Ken

http://parkerguns.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=985&pictureid=13158

[Jay Oliver]

Hi Ken,

What a gorgeous gun! I know we traded PMs about how wonderful a 2" 12 last week. My recent 2" 12 purchase is not as nice as yours, but they are so much fun to shoot.

I am dropping mine off for a good cleaning and possible repair tomorrow as it has the occasional light primer strike. After 80-90 years I figured it could use a could cleaning and be repaired if necessary. I took mine on a preserve hunt this past Friday and even though I had a few misfires, it was such a wonderful gun to carry and shoot preserve birds.

Enjoy this one as she is a beauty. Would you mind sharing any info and/or links on exporting a gun from England? I might consider doing that one day.

Thanks,
Jay

[Ken Hill]

Jay,

Glad you liked your new gun.

The export/import can be done by you, but I wouldn't want to do it. I used Steve Bertram http://www.bertramandco.com. He brings over quite a few guns at a time to reduce costs. Once you have imported the gun you own it (there is no 3-day inspection period), so it is good to get someone to vet the gun for you before you buy it. A few people will do this in the UK (Toby Barclay, Diggory Hadoke).

Ken

[Jay Oliver]

Thanks Ken, That helps and I hope to use that information some day.

I only mentioned my 2" 12 as I am so amazed by these super light short chambered 12s. It's great you got one from a quality maker. I remember reading articles about a 2" 12 and not understanding what all the excitement was about. After holding and shooting one I get it and really like it!

[Bruce Hering]

I saw this gun in 2016 and never could agree on the price. After 5 years, the owner decided to come down. It took 5 1/2 months to get it exported/imported from the UK. It was shipped with other guns and the COVID situation in England slowed the process down.

This is a Westley Richards 2" 12 gauge with 27" barrels. The condition is pretty good. The main issue with the gun it appears to have been made with a comb insert and is now patched with a piece of wood. I'm still waiting on a letter from WR. The gun weighs 5lb 7oz and was made in 1933.

Ken

http://parkerguns.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=985&pictureid=13158

Ken: What a sweet gun. So this is #1 of a pair ?

[Ken Hill]

I believe it is, but still waiting on the letter from WR. Also, I haven't seen another WR gun with the Greener type side safety.

Ken

[Ken Hill]

Bruce H,

This is the number 1 gun of a pair. They were delivered in March 1933 to the Maharjah of Alwar. He also ordered some fixed lock double rifles at the same time. Interestingly he was removed from power in 1933.

Ken

[neill mcinnis]

Ken,
That is a beautiful WR. They are great guns with tons of history. I have one but 2 1/2 chambers. I purchased mine from Diggory and he is great to deal with. I carried mine over to the UK a couple of years ago for a rough shoot and driven pheasant. You can’t go wrong with WR.

[John Campbell]

Bruce H,

This is the number 1 gun of a pair. They were delivered in March 1933 to the Maharjah of Alwar. He also ordered some fixed lock double rifles at the same time. Interestingly he was removed from power in 1933.

Ken

A fine gun. Although I'm not a fan of Greener's safety.

And... perhaps the Maharjah was deposed for spending a bit too much of the people's wealth on WR guns??!

[John Davis]

I believe there is an outfit in England that keeps a data base and attempts to rematch lost true pairs.

[neill mcinnis]

John,
The site is matchedpair. Interesting site as it helps put pairs back together.


I believe there is an outfit in England that keeps a data base and attempts to rematch lost true pairs.

[John Dallas]

This may be the site for matched pairs.

http://matchedpairs.com/

[Ken Hill]

A fine gun. Although I'm not a fan of Greener's safety.

And... perhaps the Maharjah was deposed for spending a bit too much of the people's wealth on WR guns??!

The Maharajahs spent a lot of money. This guy actually bought 6 Roll Royces and used them to haul garbage because of his treatment by salesmen in London https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/11/07/the-truth-about-that-indian-maharaja-who-used-rolls-royces-for-garbage-collection/. He was a smart and intelligent guy, but very brutal and this led to his downfall (replacement).

The rifles listed in the same ledger as the shotgun were also configured with the Greener style safety. I've also seen another double rifle of his with the same safety so he must have preferred them. I agree they aren't as simple as the the normal top tang safety, but Greener made a lot of them.

Ken

[Rich Anderson]

The 2 inch 12 is a wonderful gauge. I have a Purdey light game gun that weighs in just a tad under 6 lbs. It's the only 12 I hunt with.

[Ken Hill]

As long as RST keeps making 2" shells these guns are great to carry and hunt upland game with.

Ken

[Rich Anderson]

I love their 2 inch paper shells.