J Manton

Brush Buster · 10-04-2009, 12:22 PM

Okay guys what can you tell me about this J. Manton _ London Gun, I just picked up, Went into a small local gun shop the other day and the owner said he just took the gun in ,in trade, very dirty and caked with old dry dirt and grease, brought her home and took the ballistol and WD,40 to the old girl and got all parts moving in the same direction,don't have much in her just sort of took a liking to the workmanship and the engraving,Don't be afraid of hurting my feelings, I would really like to know whatever I can learn about this gun ! Russ

Don Kaas · 10-04-2009, 05:44 PM

Russ, I had a 40" 8 bore that looked just like your gun. IMHO, many of these were good quality guns whose basic components were made in Liege and the gun finished and proofed in the UK. The barrels of your gun were proofed at 14 gauge and appear to be of the desirable laminated steel but the finish chamber size denominates the gun. Joseph Manton, of course, was the Godfather of London gunmaking and the man who gave James Purdey his start. By the time this gun was made, Manton was dead, the original firm bankrupt but the legend of the name lived on.

Brush Buster · 10-04-2009, 10:48 PM

Don; Thank you for the info.I have been away all day ,just getting in and heading to bed soon, Your thoughts are as I thought but I had no idea where this gun was made. Did you shoot your 8 Bore, gun with low pressure ammo ? This gun is nice to handle I would like to shoot it, it seems nice and tight and the action is solid, But there is no info. on the barrel steel , only Fine Twist, J Manton , London, is on the barrel rib, What do you think ? I don't worry about shooting my Parker Damascus and twist guns.

Don Kaas · 10-05-2009, 12:24 PM

Russ- I did shoot my 8 bore. I would have no more trouble shooting your gun all things being equal than I would a Parker T0 toplever in sound condition. Good Luck with it, Don

Brush Buster · 10-05-2009, 08:00 PM

Don, Thanks again for your thoughts, I believe the reason I liked this piece is the simalar to Parker engraving and also the gun balances quite nicely, I did see the 14 Ga. stamping but 12 Ga. goes right in ,possibly the chambers were opened up a bit ? This gun is in good condition with the exception of a broken piece off of the butt plate but the wood is all intact ,and it is missing its " Ebony " fore end " tip. The barrels are 32 " and smooth and spotless without pitting . Russ

Don Kaas · 10-06-2009, 12:41 PM

The gun was almost certainly a 12 bore chambered gun. Most British guns of this era were underbored although usually one sees 13 or 13/1 on the proof marks. I can't make out the letters in the diamond among the proof marks. Does it read "12 C" inside the diamond? (see the indispensable W.W.Greener, "The Gun and its Development" for bore sizings, etc.) 14 is a bit tight but imagine your barrels again like most have been bored out a few times to get the spotless bores you mention.

Black accraglas makes a dandy substitute for "ebony" (it was likely horn in there originally) if you are handy. You might even be able to make a satifactory repair to your butt plate with it as well.

Brush Buster · 10-06-2009, 08:03 PM

Don,You may very well be correct in the bores being honed although the barrel walls measure .049, and .051, at the end of the barrels, I don't have a wall thickness gauge ,but I can tell you when I bought it ,it appears to have had years of neglect and I believe the gunshop I bought it from just figured they had a piece of junk as bad as it looked ,they didn't even run a cleaning rag or a brush down the bore ! I am planning on using the black accraglass but I am not going to do it ,I have a good friend that is a genius at this kind of repair !Whats amusing is the fellow who works at the gunshop has seen a few of my Parker Guns and he said to me kind of on the sly when I bought this old gun ,I don't know anything about this old gun, but I know one thing ,if you are buying it ,its not what the boss thinks it is !!Maybe you got a good deal ! Funny to me a shop would price an old gun and not know what they have . Russ

Don Kaas · 10-07-2009, 01:18 PM

If the gun has some choke, the BWT at the muzzles would be about right. To be brutally honest, only a few idiots like us

would pay anything for a gun like this so don't think "the boss" threw you a hanging curve. If you paid $300 he probably tripled his money...Luckily for you under the dirt was a decent piece. Usually they aren't as nice...

Brush Buster · 10-08-2009, 10:24 PM

Don; I don't have anywhere near 300.00 in her !I never would have paid that for what I bought ! I figure the boss Paid around 50.00 for it .Really nice though !