Greener questions

[Marty K.]

Jay.....I had seen your previous post and am very envious. If I had known that that gun was available you would have gotten a run for your money. I had thought about PMing you to try and take it off your hands as I am a big Gene Hill fan. Thanks for posting again and when you take that first Woodcock somewhere Gene will be smiling. Good luck with it.

[Marty K.]

Kevin.... I was hoping someone here could direct me to a source where I could find out what grade it is. I also was wondering if this very lite 12 gauge was a special order or are 12’s this light rather common? I had seen letters before on Greener’s and am sorry Graham has discontinued this service. I am hoping someone will continue to provide Greener information. I will continue to use google in my search for that someone.

Any comments again are appreciated. Thanks.

[Drew Hause]

Marty: we could confirm the 1896-1904 date of proof with a close up of the barrel flats. It should be marked '1 1/4 oz Max'.
1904-1925 would be '1 1/4 oz Shot'.

Under the 1896 Rules of Proof 12g 2 1/2” and 2 5/8” chambers (bore .710-.740) were proved for a maximum service load
of 3 1/4 Dram Eq. with 1 1/4 oz. shot. (1220 fps)
Under the 1904 Revisions, Supplementary Nitro Proof for 12g 2 1/2” and 2 5/8” chambers was for a service load 1 1/8 oz.

'70' (without mm) would be a post 1989 chamber length mark, but if reproved after honing it should have a Crown over R and be marked with bore in mm and BAR, and will have a Proof House date code

Bore 10” from Breech L. .787 choke.030 R .734 choke .010
That is .737" on L?

Cornell Pubs has 1900, 03', 04' & 06' Greener catalog repros so if we can narrow down the DOM you could order the appropriate catalog to ID the grade
https://cornellpubs.com/product-tag/w/page/4/

[Jay Oliver]

Thanks Marty,

I saw from your profile that you were from western New York, that's not too far away from Rhode Island. We'll have to meet up at a shoot or sporting clay place at some point. I would be happy let you shoot that Gene Hill Greener. I have read and listen to the audio book a thousand times. When I saw the description in an auction, I knew that it was the "Woodcock" gun. By the way, the narrator does a great job on the audio book:

Listen to A Hunter's Fireside Book by Gene Hill on Audible. https://www.audible.com/pd/B00BAZQWU...R150021921000R

Also I didn't mean to take away from your wonderful Greener, I just posted since everyone was talking about that chapter. Your Greener does seem to be a much higher grade. I looks like it has IC/F chokes, which is my favorite combination. It is a beautiful gun!

Have you had a chance to shoot it much? How long are the barrels? 26? That would be great with 1oz loads too. That is probably what I would use if I was hunting. And 3/4 or 7/8 if I was target shooting. I hope you enjoy it!

[Marty K.]

Dr. Drew... Thanks very much for sharing your knowledge. Yes....L 737

I believe 1901 ...

[Keith Sirmans]

I lost my greener book in the hurricane but I'll see what I can find on it

[Marty K.]

Jay... Thanks for your comments and sharing the link. I have a double cassette that was sold with Gene Hill himself narrating his stories. It's called "Being There".

Yes 26" Barrels
Just got it...

These loads were pricey but I wanted paper and RST was out of stock on the others..

[Drew Hause]

You are correct Marty. The proof dates to 1896-1904 and there is no reproof.
The original bore was 13/1 = .719" - .728" so the L barrel at .737" is still in proof.
Please let us know what you find in the Greener catalog.

[Marty K.]

Dr. Drew, Thanks again....Ordered 1903 and 1904 Hopefully they will be nice reprints.

I am still going to try and secure a letter from whomever.

[Phil Yearout]

My set of Being There is a bootleg set on CD’s.