Joseph Lang restoration complete

[Forrest Grilley]

Just finished up restoring a 12 bore Joseph Lang hammer gun. The gun was in very poor condition when I bought it. The wood and metal were in "black" condition, with everything covered in some sort of grime, rust, etc. The wood was completely stripped, oil removed and refinished. Forend had to be replaced with new wood. Barrels polished and refinished. All other metal parts I re-cased and/or blackened where appropriate. One hammer was an old replacement and had to be reshaped and engraved to match the remaining original. New hinge pin made, along with several screws.


I also restored a vintage oak and leather case to go along with the gun.

[Rick Losey]

very very nice

:bowdown:

[E Robert Fabian]

Who did the restoration?

[Forrest Grilley]

Who did the restoration?

I did everything, except the engraving, myself.

[Tom Carter]

Beautiful work. Tom

[E Robert Fabian]

Great job, you'll shoot that gun with a bit more enjoyment.

[charlie cleveland]

fine lookin gun and the work is beautiful... charlie

[Rich Anderson]

Nicely done, congrats.

[edgarspencer]

Beautiful workmanship and fabulous case colors. Show me the fore end.

[John Campbell]

I'm sure the spirit of Mr. Lang appreciates the salvation of one of his creations.

Best, Kensal

[George M. Purtill]

I love the rib pattern. Nice contrast to the barrels.

[Forrest Grilley]

Thank you for the compliments everyone. It was a fun project and I learned a lot. About the only way I will ever be able to afford a high end gun is to buy them "junked out" and do the restoration myself to get them back into shooting condition.

Fortunately, Atkin, Grant and Lang still have the records on Joseph Lang guns, and I was able to get a research letter on mine. Not nearly as thorough as our Parker research letters, but records still exist as to the date it was completed, basic gun configurations, and the original purchaser.

Now on to the fun part. I am hoping to get some serious shooting time with it in the next couple of weeks, then off to the grouse and woodcock coverts this fall.

[Rick Losey]

Thank you for the compliments everyone. It was a fun project and I learned a lot. About the only way I will ever be able to afford a high end gun is to buy them "junked out" and do the restoration myself to get them back into shooting condition.


absolutley nothing wrong with that, I like it when one is saved from wearing away.

When I did a lot of French and Indian war reenacting met I one of the founding four of the Vintagers, he was actually a pretty talented gunsmith (got to handle a 20 bore double flintlock fowler he built new - really nice) - he laughingly called his process "bottom feeding"

[Jay Gardner]

Now that's a shotgun. Gotta love English guns. Even the lower tiered manufacturers produced guns with better engraving than 99% of the American manufacturers, including Parker.

[lee r moege]

IMHO their ain't anything lower grade about a Lang, at least none of the sidelocks I've handled. Of course he was related to the Purdeys by marriage. Lee.:rotf:

[Mike Wilkerson]

Beautiful work!!

[Paul Plager]

Very nicely done. You have much to be proud of.:clap::clap::clap:

[Steve McCarty]

What a wonderful finish on the stock and the browning is perfect. Just great work! You could hang out your shingle...very, very nice indeed.

[Jay Gardner]

IMHO their ain't anything lower grade about a Lang, at least none of the sidelocks I've handled. Of course he was related to the Purdeys by marriage. Lee.:rotf:

I certainly did not mean to imply Lamgs are lower grade guns.