Right - if you notice - even if he does not catch the lever - it couldn't be much more gentle if he did - and gun is never going to get a lot of wear anyway

the other extreme is a guy who offered me a Daly 20ga many years ago- the gun was not in bad condition finish wise- but the lever was well left of center and the gun was loose- when I mentioned it he says - oh it locks up tight - and proceed to sharply snap the barrel into position with a fast jerk of his wrist :shock: I passed

I can't get too excited about this. I've never been convinced this was the real gun.

DLH

Destry I remember you previously being dubious about this gun, just curious as to why?

The back story is shady.

That awful hand stamped lettering on the barrels not being mentioned in the actual ad that Buckingham ran offering a reward for it's return.

Other things.

Whew! I had no intention of stirring things up, but . . . Purdey, as a company, suggests that their guns be closed with the stock brought to the barrels. I've heard that in the very earliest days of wingshooting over pointing dogs with "new-fangled breechloaders," the barrels were held steady, toward the ground and safely away from the dogs, and closed by bringing the stock up to the barrels. Shooters, at the time, were not entirely convinced that the gun might not go off, and this added a measure of safety. But, to each his own.
I learned from my grandfather and father; they always brought the stock to the barrels
with their thumbs on the top lever. But, only real point was that the hunters took a fairly cavalier attitude with the gun, and I was surprised.

Nash also got the serial number wrong and was known to forget the name of his bird dog while hunting so it is entirely possible it slipped his mind but who knows.

Well, for what it's worth, David apprenticed with Purdey's and worked as as stocker there for several years before coming here in the 1970's so if it was the 'accepted' method of closing a gun at Purdey's it surely didn't run off on him.






.

looks like i have been closeing my gun wrong for a lot of years...charlie

And I will continue to do it wrong.

As long as the action is closed gently, why would it matter which end is stationary?