Mooore & Harris Percussion Double

[Cold Spring]

I’ve had black powder in my blood since my early ‘teens ….. early on I made simple muzzleloaders with hardware store components and later got into more authentic ones, shooting them for fun and primitive hunting. Over recent years I’ve been looking for an unmolested English percussion double-gun with good finishes, one that’s never had its bores honed, never been apart for refinishing, and with wood that’s still proud of the locks, tangs and other metalwork. That doesn’t sound too difficult but really it is, as most of these guns have been redone over the 150+ years since made. That quest came to an end last month when I found a Moore and Harris 12-gauge gun at the Allentown Forks Gun Show. Bores and locks are absolutely perfect, and based on the serial number she was probably made at the tail end of the M&H business run from 1838-64. Engravings are superb and I assume she was a higher grade offering. Those shiny plugs you'll see on the sides of both breeches are platinum and protect against severe overload pressure. The only mod I’ve made is to replace the original cap nipples with modern made SS nipples. The originals are good but I’ll be shooting this gun and I want to keep them that way for posterity.

Here she is getting ready for some test firing yesterday. She’ll be out hunting later this fall and will be a time travel machine back to my Junior year of High School when my friend George and I were hunting rabbits with his Father’s classy English caplock double-gun, with homemade black powder, newspaper for wadding, steel air rifle BB's, and a tiny bit of impact sensitive mix in foil for caps. His Dad told us that gun was a bar room buy for 35 bucks.