doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Can anyone ID this 16 gauge side-by-side?

Hello All-
I'm new to this forum and was hoping someone out there can solve this mystery.

My friend has a 16 ga. side-by-side with a Greener action, some low level engraving and no manufacturer markings (see photo album link). The gun has 28" barrels and is 44.5" long.
Based on the gun�s appearance and finish it doesn�t shout collectible.
The stock, cheek piece, swivel type & placement look German.
The proof marks have been driving me insane. The winged head, eagle crest (looks Polish) and crown seemed like easy IDs.
I�ve checked several standard references and done an extensive web search without finding the proof marks (see photo album link). This has been quite frustrating so far.

If you can ID the proof marks and gun it would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you can let me know what sources you used it would be helpful.

Thank you in advance,

RJB

Photobucket album

Hello RJB and welcome on your first posting
Now the hunt begins

they are odd marks..?..I love the dude in the helmet!
I've no clue...it aint belgian.
franc

Hermes or Mercury
Mike

when I saw the eagle I thought Austria-Hungary. But that doesn't match up.

You are not showing us all the markings on the gun. What is on the other half of the barrel flats, and forward of the barrel flats? And what is on the receiver table (water table)? There are more clues than you have exposed.

Wirnsberger's Proof Mark book shows nothing like these marks.

SRH

Is that the Russian imperial eagle stamped on lower left of the image?

No

Something about this gun - not sure what exactly - says "Hungary" to me.

Edit/UPD: I'm 90% sure it's the Austrian Imperial Eagle, but since other proofs aren't Austrian, the gun could have been made in another part of the empire pre-WWI: any country which later made up Yugoslavia, Csechoslovakia or Hungary.