It's Not a Double, But.....
 

Purdey Single Barrel Trap Gun. One of 59. This was the 18th made.

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Letter from Purdey

Edgar Palmer was the heir to and President of the New Jersey Zinc Company. They were the largest supplier of zinc in the United States. He was an avid yachtsman and a graduate of Princeton. He was major benefactor of Princeton as well.

Wow! One fine single.

Beautiful gun!

give us some details barrel length, choke, ect. Beautiful! How does it shoot?

Barrel is 31 inches and she’s choked.046

John

Great gun, bet you can not wait to shoot it !!! Probably a James Woodward design , known for perfect balance, the trigger design, and single barrel trap gun. I do not remember the year in the 40's that Purdey purchased Woodward, but both produced BEST QUALITY guns.

Enjoy ,good shooting, your friend from Vermont
Allan

The sideplate on the right side of the gun is interesting and makes for great symmetry. I have a Sauer SBT that is a sidelock and it only has the plate on the functioning side, all wood on the other.

I think the she’s going to make a great handicap gun. I like a full choke but this one may be a little too tight for 16 yard singles.

Annie Oakley - backup to the parking lot kind of trap gun and what a beauty.

Spectacular gun! Wow. "not a S/S"....we forgive you.... :)

....not if you love the sight of orange-tinted, diesel smoke!! :bowdown:

Your a lucky guy John! Great gun, I'm sure you will enjoy shooting it.

A fabulous SBT and a Purdey as well!
.046" choke constriction :shock:... there's your new turkey gun John!

We need to hear how it shoots - we'll give you a day or two.:whistle:

Congrats John!





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As I suspected, she's a little tight for 16 yard singles. No room for error but when you are on them they disappear. She won't be replacing the Parker SB in singles. A little more drop and cast off than I like but an Accu-riser cheek rest takes care of both problems. Incredibly well balanced and the assisted opening Purdey mechanism is amazing. Most certainly a handicap gun. Really seems to like the RST trap loads in 7 1/2. The gun is nitro proofed for 1 1/4 oz. loads.

100 ounce and a quarter shots would probably get your attention!

John, you really need to show up at Hausmann’s in 2021 and shoot the Bo-Whoop looong range single targets with that Purdey.





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That would be the Letterman Cup. I don't think anyone has won it with a Purdey yet. Best bet is to look for a Fox SBT so you can really up your game.:whistle:

Thanks Daryl, I couldn't remember the name Letterman, but that's exactly what I meant.





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Dean

You never know, I might just be there.

You'll really enjoy it John. Promise.

Have gun will travel

It would be a real treat to have the southern PGCA contingent at Ernies.





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[QUOTE=Dean Romig;317488]Thanks Daryl, I couldn't remember the name Letterman, but that's exactly what I meant.

2021 or BUST!!!! Rock-on W.C.L.!!!

Attachment 90578

That gun is so elegant it looks like you should be wearing a coat and tie when you shoot it. Congratulations on finding and acquiring it.

I've been communicating back and forth with Purdey and they looked up the pattern recorded for this gun and provided the following info:

Schultze, 47grns, 1 1/4oz. No. 6: Patterns 256
EC, 37 grains, 1 1/4oz. No. 6: Patterns 255
"Leader", 1 1/4oz. No. 7: Pattern 330

Appears the gun was built to handle a pretty stout load.

All the Brit pigeon guns and single traps are proved for 1 1/4 ounces. It was the standard ATA load at the time these single barrel guns were first made. and the standard flyer load to this day. John, I had you pegged for this gun before you told me about it. As far as period of manufacture and rarity goes, the single is probably in the same category as the "bar in iron" late generation hammer pigeon gun. Again, congratulations.

John you should do a side by side (pun intended) comparison of the Purdey SBT and one of your fine Parker SBT guns. I for one have never shot either, but I bet it would be an interesting read getting your thoughts on how the guns differ, the pros and cons of both etc. It would make a fine Parker Pages article.

Schultze and E.C. were both bulk smokeless powders and should be given in drams. One conversion table I have from an old UMC catalog shows 47 grains of Schultze being between 3 1/4 and 3 1/2 drams. The 37 grains of E.C. would be quite light, between 2 1/2 and 2 3/4 drams, but well before this gun was made in 1928, E.C. became New E.C. Improved, a product of Hercules Powder Company. Such "specified loads" were on the way out by the time this Purdey was made, with most North American trap loads becoming "dram equiv." with DuPont M.X. or Hercules Red Dot.

Dave, you are truly amazing.:bowdown:

What year was it made?

The letter says completed 25 September 1928. Just in time to use Western's then new Lubaloy Super-Trap Loads --

Attachment 90616

According to Western's advertising they were used to win the 1928 GAH and the first I see them appearing in Western's February 1, 1929 price list.

Depending on the brand of shot and the year it was dropped, the #6 loads are in the very high 80s for percentage. Of course, we don't know the range or the diameter of the pattern circle. The proof is in shooting the gun. 90% patterns in a 30" circle at 40 yards are not unheard of.

Well, I guess I'll just have to pattern her.

Are those #6 British #6 or U.S. Tatham? Are the Leader #7 U.S. Winchester shells?

According to the Hallowell & Co. chart, U.S. #7 and British #6 are both .10" and 291 per ounce. According to other charts I have U.S. #7 go 299 per ounce and the one on Vintage Outdoors says 300.

What a great gun, John. Is there any information about what that gun sold for in 1928?

My 1929 Stoeger catalog lists the Purdey Single Barrel Trap at $750. Of course the real price should be in Guineas.

On the subject of engraving there is Purdeys traditional rose and scroll and then there is every other gun made.