A hunting hammergun?

[William Woods]

Every time I see Mr. Edgar respond to something that Mr. Dean posts, I know there is going to be a laugh, or at least a possum smile.

The wallet in my rear pocket prohibits my slide down that slippery slope of fine gun collecting. How I do enjoy hearing about those 16 GA guns though.

[edgarspencer]

William, stay tuned, for our summer roadshow schedule.

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by edgarspencer

William, stay tuned, for our summer roadshow schedule.

TBA





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[Lloyd McKissick]

The ongoing balmy winter weather here in Colorado allowed for a very nice Polar Bear Shoot with the Rocky Mountain Vintagers last Saturday. As usual, many nice side by sides were on display and being used on the clay games we were playing, including two Parker hammerguns. Mine is a #1 frame fishtail gun and another Vintager brought a #2 frame lifter (his is actually a two barrel, two gauge composed set now, a very neat combination btw). Comparing the two guns was quite a revelation for me in that the #2 gun is noticeably more substantial than mine. That lifter mechanism never fails to impress but...#2 guns would clearly be too-heavy for my upland aspirations. For targets, absolutely, but not for all day carry in the grouse woods. A valuable lesson for me, I must say.

I saw another gun there that I initially mistook for a Parker, only to discover that it was an early Philadelphia Fox Sterlingworth "pin" gun (I had forgotten about those).

[ArtS]

Lloyd

I know this is the Parker Board (and Section) but this seems to be a thread that is straddling the line with "Other Doubles". I think you have hit around the edges of an important point. From the period of hammer doubles in the US, the lightweight and/or small bore double is rare and relatively expensive as compared to larger heavier guns. They are wonderful when found but can be quite costly for experimentation. Conversely, English and Continental doubles are readily available, both as 6-1/2 # quick handling 12 gauges and 6# 16 gauge guns. I have a whole section of a gun room full of them. If someone came to me and asked "Where should I look for lightweight quick handling hammer upland guns" my advise would be a German, Italian or French from the 1910 to 1930's period. There a scores of guns from which to pick. The German guns are remarkably robust without excessive weight and the French guns can range from quirky to absolutely beautiful. Higher grade Belgian guns also qualify but only from the better makers. My pick would be a 16 ga at around 6 pounds even for an all around upland gun. Keep in mind that Germany for most of it's shooting history has had lifetime limits on the number of guns you may own. In that environment, the single most commonly encountered gun is a light 16. Sauer models are common in the market. I have stopped buying any (although will look at high grade models) but have purchased many for less than $1000. I purchased one very high grade Belgian model in new condition for this price which is the most impressive hammer gun I have ever handled.

English hammer guns tend to be earlier than this period and almost exclusively 12 ga.

If you want to experiment in the whole concept, this is the place to do it. After that, let your heart guide you into the more expensive market.

[ArtS]

I should quickly point out that these comments are regarding hammer guns only. The US can provide as many nice small bore light upland guns as you would like to play with, just in hammerless guns.

[Harold Pickens]

Art, love hunting with hammer guns. When I do I'm typically by myself. And yes, I like my English guns the best, but also have 2 Parkers, a Belgian, and German hammer gun.
WW GREENER 12 ga sidelever
G. Forrester 20 ga, with 2 sets of barrels.
30 in barrels on both.

[ArtS]

That's a beautiful sidelever Harold! I have a couple of light Parker hammers, but they are a couple I bought due to them being relatively hard to find types to fill slots and they are more display guns than solid users. One for instance is an O frame 16 gauge top lever transition model hammer gun. I bought it cheap, addressed some issues and have it as a representative example of the type. I don't consider it robust enough to hunt with but it serves it's place. I have quite a few lighter 12 and 10 hammer guns, but they are not my idea of upland guns in the desired sense. On the other hand, almost every hammerless I own is a classic upland gun, simply because those are the guns that I use and enjoy and they are relatively easy to find.

On the other end of the spectrum I own an English 8 bore hammer gun circa 1874-75 that is as light as a lot of the 12 bore Parker hammer guns I own. It is short barreled and has plenty of wall thickness but is just a very trim and light 8 gauge (how often do you get to use that term?

[Lloyd McKissick]

Art:

Thank you for being the voice of reason here.

It sounds like you've been walking on this particular path well before me. I've seen some decent Husqvarna hammerguns that would work (16s and very light) and I have seen other very light French game guns (Damon Petrik for one) that would be right in the ball park. The Europeans seem to have settled on the 16-gauge for many of the same reasons that I'm a fan and built their guns accordingly.

Unfortunately... my bias tends to lean me towards the American and then the English stuff and I'm on the trail of another Brit as I write this. Light British 12s fascinate me I fear.

Time will tell however.

Impressive hammers Mr. Pickens, and used on quail and ruffies no less! Very neat.

My version of the sidelever...



A converted-pinfire Lang.

[Bill Murphy]

Art, who is the maker of your light eight?