This lightweight 12 gauge was produced sometime during the 1890's, based on its "boxlock" internal hammer design. It features an all blued receiver and barrel with simple, understated engraving. These "all black" shotguns are sometimes referred to as Funeral Grade, a colloquial term to describe any quality but often of the very highest, bearing the least possible decoration; having an all-blued receiver with either no engraving at all or only a simple borderline.
In keeping with the "funeral grade" theme, the locks feature simple line border engraving with more elaborate English scroll on the recoil face.
This handsome shotgun is in excellent condition with about 95% of its original blued finish remaining. The locks both work great and the triggers function correctly.
The stocks are made from straight grained English walnut. The stocks are both in excellent condition with no cracks or chips. The checkering in the wrist and forend is still very sharp and crisp. The butt stock features a very clear "cast-off". Simply put, cast refers to the deviation of the butt away from the center line of the gun. A shotgun with no cast is straight and a line down the rib will continue straight down the center of the butt stock, when viewed from above. When looking from the back of the gun, a cast-off stock will show the center of the butt slightly right of the center of the rib line. The opposite is true of a cast-on stock. Cast allows a shooter to look straight down the rib, so a cast-off stock is meant for a right-handed person and a cast-on stock for a leftie. Mounting a cast-off allows the shooter to easily sight down the center of the rib without having to mash their cheek against the stock in order to align their eye with the bead. This not only allows for more comfortable shooting, but also allows the gun to be sighted much faster; which offers some obvious advantages when birdhunting.
The 28" barrels are "on face"; meaning the lock up nice and tight against the action with no wobble. The barrels and water table both Liege proof marks indicating this gun was made in Belgium. The barrels are made from "fluid steel", which was a rarity during the late 19th Century when Damascus and Twist barrels were favored by gunmakers as they were easier to produce. Solid steel barrels like these have the benefit of being much stronger than Damascus and Twist barrels as they are made from homogenous barrel blanks and are not subject to the same weak points as pattern welded barrels.
Both bores of this lightweight shotgun are in excellent condition - mostly shiny with no real rust or pitting to speak of. The chambers are long enough to accept 2 3/4" shells. This, combined with its fluid steel barrels means this antique shotgun should be able to shoot modern shells (light target loads only - no need to get too carried away on a 135 year old gun!). With that said, these observations should not be considered an endorsement or guarantee that the gun is safe to fire. Any attempts to shoot any gun, or any antique weapon should be done at your own risk!
