doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Purdey

Hi

I have a flickr Purdey double barrel rifle that was handed down in my family. It has a broken stock and triggers. I sent the serial number to Purdey and this is what they sent me:

Serial No: 5914
Built: 1860
For: Captain Lowe
Type �D� quality
Barrel Length: 29�

My research to this point says this weapon has no great value but I'm really interested to know more. Any info?

thanks

You are very lucky. Certainly a restoration project but well worth it in the end. Lagopus.....

more photos will help....your are lucky in that it looks like no one has attempted a restoration before you ended up with it. What are the rifles bore like?

The stock can be repaired (from the looks of the photo) and I'm sure any other issues can be resolved. As mentioned, a worthy project, especially if it has been in the family.

handed down in the family?

i would disagree on no great value- monetary maybe limited until it is restored - but I see good restoration project - assuming the bores are salvageable

do you know the history of the gun- how did it end up in your family and who shot it?

Here is a flickr album of the weapon. https://flic.kr/s/aHskmJRF1f

It belonged to my brother in law's father who was a genuine cowboy in Northern Arizona. I also have three Winchesters, an 1873 44-40, an 1894 30-30 and a 1885 Lowall Single Shot. The gentleman passed away 20 years ago and all the weapons were in a gun safe in California. No one there had much interest as my BIL is badly disabled so it took me this long to get them here to Georgia. A buddy of mine is a guitar repairman and he has the stock right now and plans to put it back together. I found a gunsmith on YouTube that makes replica Purdey's and he said he could either fix the triggers (I have all the pieces) or make a new one. When I first realized what a Purdey was we thought that it might be very valuable but have since learned from several sources that it really is not. My plan now is to get it as much back to original and hang it on the wall.

My BIL said he and his dad would go out to the foothills and shoot when he was a kid. I know his dad loaded his own ammo and as quite a jack of all trades. He was a guard at the Territorial Prison and my sis let his Colt 45 so. . .somewhere!

Here is a note I got from an online gun dealer:

Dear Mark:

Yes, despite the condition, a London made gun with Purdey's name and address on the rib, will have some value (hundreds perhaps, not thousands).

Since copyright and trademark laws were not enforced, we often see guns made in Liege, Belgium, proof marked (E over LG), or those made in Birmingham, England, that have spurious Purdey (or Manton, or other famous names) marked on the locks or barrels.

Send images to for our good faith estimate.

Appraisal of damaged guns requires close inspection,

From what little I can see, that sounds to be a pretty fair assessment. I know a lot of people have mentioned in this thread that it is a worthy restoration project, which it very well may be. Be prepared though, having a proper restoration done on this gun will most likely cost more than the gun is worth, regardless if it a Purdey or not.

I have a buddy that lives in London and knows some of the people that work at Purdey. They told him it would cost thousands of dollars to make a new stock and that it simply was not worth it. We are not in the position to make that kind of investment but I really appreciate the input from folks here.
What I rally would like to do is track down the family of Captain Lowe.

A guitar repairman and a YouTube Purdey replicator sound perfect for this job.
JR