Thanks Dr. Drew! A timely article (certainly for me these days). The rotary bolt seems to be almost exclusively an American application. Smith, Baker, Fox, and Ithaca employed them endlessly and as the years pass, they keep on doing the job. Alex Brown's 1883 design is good one and in a mostly machine-made gun, they are hard to argue with. The Brits don't use them on anything "bespoke" (unless you consider the Greener cross-bolt or a 3rd-bite a variant) because they generally criticize any rib extension as another "unnecessary-encumbrance" to accessing the barrels for the loading process, and for London "Best" guns "they simply won't do". Allright...very different economic situations(!) and the Brits clearly know their market well (and make sure to build accordingly). With only a few exceptions, American guns have always tended more towards the unadorned "general-use" category anyway (historically, most American families could only afford one shotgun & it had to do it all, i.e. hunting & defense). If there was the luxury of another weapon at home, it was likely a rifle (or occasionally, a pistol) and similarly unadorned.
It was and is a purely economic game and that really is "the final word". Col. Askins was simply schilling for the home team (because "he knew where his bread was buttered"- to quote my maternal grandmother).
Last edited by Lloyd3; 03/26/24 01:54 PM.
