A hunting hammergun?

[Lloyd McKissick]

For the past 2 or 3-years now I have gone on an expedition to understand how a hammergun might fit my ongoing needs as a bird hunter. When I started, the 1st thing I discovered was the depth and breadth of examples that have survived into this "modern" age. The 2nd thing I learned about the period of my interest (early 1870s thru the late 1890s) was this...things were better-made then.

to be continued...(Christmas preparations 1st today)

Allright, where were we, hunting hammerguns, right. I had some initial biases that I thought might be important, after using these guns with some frequency (for a few years now) a few thing have come into clarity for me. Fit is still very critical, as is weight and even chokes. Quality is also paramount! Lesser guns will work for time and then...problems inevitably arise. In American hammerguns, the Parkers are probably as good as it got (in guns with useable dimensions). Another thing that has become very clear to me is that good Damascus is pretty hard to beat, period. Any fears I might have had even a few years ago are now completely dispelled. I now only look for Damascus guns from that period as the later fluid steel guns simply weren't finished nearly as well. The wood and engraving are almost always inferior, and by a wide margin.

One initial bias was for back-action guns, & while that has become less of a bias, it still has its rewards. Backaction guns have narrower and more-rounded actions which make them slimmer and lighter while still being quite strong, in the English stock versions they seem to mount with surprising alacrity(!) for me. Another bias was to avoid underlever (Jones-type) guns as being too-slow. I now know better about them (although a side lever still looks very attractive to me). In short, I need a good fit, at a good weight (under 7-lbs if possible), for a gun with longer tubes (28-inch is the bare-minimum) and decent chokes (I've shot both no-chokes and full-chokes, perfection is somewhere in the middle of all that). I now clearly prefer non-rebounding locks (for their ease of cocking from half to full) and I actually like wedge forends now (for their simplicity and ease of use).

In my informal survey of the American guns, the Parkers seem to be at the top of the heap (I have enjoyed my fishtail 1-frame gun very much), but...the British guns seem to better fit my ongoing needs. I will likely send a few of my initial purchases down the road of commerce and start to look for appropriate replacements (very soon). Subgauge guns are not out of the question, but they are fairly rare (and accordingly expensive) when compared to the veritable sea of 12-bores floating around.

Ahh, I so love a good chase.

[Dean Romig]

Lloyd, I love to hunt with my Parker hammer guns, especially my 16’s and best of all for me are my Lifters.





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[Lloyd McKissick]

Well...Dean might have the penultimate option for an American hammer gun. What does your 16 weigh-in at good sir? And...how much drop?

[6pt-Sika]

I had a pair of 16 gauge 30” top levers one was a Grade 0 on a 1 frame and the other was a Grade 2 on if memory serves an 0 frame . The 0 frame had more drop than I wanted but the other I shot well sad to say I never carried it hunting . Had four top lever 12’s a 28” a pair of 30” and a 32” I never got overly enthralled in them . Now I do have a 2 frame 0 grade two barrel 10 gauge 26” and 30” of which I used the 26” barrels on a quail deal one day shooting ounce handloads and I liked it . I’ve also used a 3 frame grade 2 top lever restock 10 gauge 32” on tower shoots several times and I like it quite a lot . I might add I e used a 7 frame 0 grade top lever 36” 8 gauge for maybe a two dozen shots at a couple tower shoots and it did nicely . Picture below was at the first peg I ever used the 8 gauge , that was the only peg I shot it that day I also had another gun so I put the 8 in someone’s car and continued on with a different gun .

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Lloyd McKissick

Well...Dean might have the penultimate option for an American hammer gun. What does your 16 weigh-in at good sir? And...how much drop?

Just about 7 lbs and 2 oz. but I don't remember the drop... about 3" I think.

I had a 16 ga Lifter in Grade 1 with Damascus barrels that I sold that was even lighter. The barrels had been cut back to 24" from their original 28"

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[C.O.B.]

I have a grade 3 16 with 30 inch barrels that I have taken to Georgia quail hunting.
The English guns are just pure joy both in handling and shooting. I'm blessed with two 20's a Cogswell & Harrison Best Quality and a Boss. 12's are a Stephan Grant and a matched pair of Purdey's.
Be careful this is a steep and slippery slope.......and I love it

[edgarspencer]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

I had a 16 ga Lifter in Grade 1 with Damascus barrels that I sold that was even lighter. The barrels had been cut back to 24" from their original 28".

Unless it's a different 16ga lifter than the one I remember, it was a grade 0, and they were twist. The mind is a terrible thing to loose.

[Lloyd McKissick]

I'm finding that all "fine gun" stuff is a slippery slope, but I'm so-far down that slope now it doesn't really matter.

[Dean Romig]

…just you wait. You ain’t seen nuttin yet.





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[Dean Romig]

I know you’re right Edgar… there have just been so many…





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