Holland & Holland 12 Gauge Back Action Hammer Gun

[Bill Jolliff]

Here is a very nice Holland & Holland 12 Gauge Back Action Hammer Gun.

Straight grip with 30 inch steel barrels choked IC and Mod. It is Nitro Proofed for 1 1/8 ounce loads and has 2 ½ inch chambers. The gun weighs 6 pounds and 10 ounces.

I got this from a shooting friend who purchased it in England 10 years ago. It was determined then that the gun was made prior to 1899 and would be considered an antique firearm which made it simpler to import to the USA.

Not surprised, the gent who I got it from has seller’s remorse and would like to buy it back.

Luckily, I found an original H&H luggage case that was made for a straight grip hammer gun with 30 inch barrels. Perfect. The label for the gun originally in the case is serial numbered earlier than mine but would be period correct, or close to it.

A delight to shoot with my 12 gauge ½ ounce reloads using 2 ½ inch RST hulls.

I’m sorry gents, the gun is not for sale.

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[Michael Kitterman]

Nice!! A real treasure. I understand seller's remorse, I had an English built double rifle some years ago, 350/400, that I wish I had never sold.

[John Campbell]

A nice, straightforward H&H. Well done. Now, it might be fun to see if H&H has any original records for this one...

[todd allen]

That is a beauty! Very nice.

[Bill Jolliff]

A nice, straightforward H&H. Well done. Now, it might be fun to see if H&H has any original records for this one...

Hi John,

Not long after I got the gun, several years ago, I emailed H&H and inquired about any info they might have on the gun.

After several weeks, I finally got a Reply that was pretty vague.

I sent another note back about what they could provide and the cost. I never got a response from that.

I'll try again and if successful, I'll add it to this thread.

Good reminder. Thanks John.

[Kevin McCormack]

Bill, this is a great gun and I would love to see it! If its not too much of a hassle, will you please consider bringing it to Hausmann"s? Thanks, K.

[Bill Jolliff]

Bill, this is a great gun and I would love to see it! If its not too much of a hassle, will you please consider bringing it to Hausmann"s? Thanks, K.

Hi Kevin,

Sure, I can bring it along with me. I'll also have your .32-20 ammo.

[CraigThompson]

I’ve got two W&C Scott’s a WW Greener and a Westley Richards I need to go on and sell I’m just having a hard time going forth with the idea . Had them at Sanford and I don’t think I mentioned them to anyone :rolleyes:

[Bill Jolliff]

A nice, straightforward H&H. Well done. Now, it might be fun to see if H&H has any original records for this one...

John,

I sent an email to the Dallas office of H&H and I got this (pictured below) from Mr. Guy Davies at that office, and if it needed interpretation, to just call him.

Not really a factory letter but looks like some patterning notes they took back on 8/7/02 and looks to be pretty straight forward but not many details of the gun.

I've enlarged portions of their notes to see them better.

You can see a word just to the right of the gun's serial number 21796 that I could not interpret so I called Mr. Davies.

It looks like "Speke". Mr. Davies thought that might be the name of the person purchasing the gun. He could not offer anything more specific to what the word was.

Any other interpretations?

Anyway, this is what I got from H&H. I was hoping for more.

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[John Campbell]

I agree. The word/name appears to be Speke. But without more information, it's hard to tell just who Mr. Speke may have been. Sometimes you get lucky on these quests. Sometimes not. But at least you know more about the gun and how it began its life.

Use it. Care for it. And enjoy !

[Drew Hause]

Bill: the 1 1/8 MAX proof mark was only used 1896-1904.
42 grains of (Bulk Smokeless) "E.C." or "Schultze" was 3 Dram Eq. and the standard loading with either 1 1/8 oz. or 1 1/16 oz. in a 2 1/2" case.

[Bill Jolliff]

Bill: the 1 1/8 MAX proof mark was only used 1896-1904.
42 grains of (Bulk Smokeless) "E.C." or "Schultze" was 3 Dram Eq. and the standard loading with either 1 1/8 oz. or 1 1/16 oz. in a 2 1/2" case.

Hi Drew,

Thanks for your comments. They seem to go along with the loads and patterning they did on the gun back in 1902.

[Daryl Hallquist]

Great post and great find on the gun and case. Finding period cases for certain guns is not easy.