doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com W. Evans Information needed

I was at a flea market this weekend and was surprised to find an old William Evans hammer sidelock double with damascus barrels. The condition was rough, barrels dented, right hammer wouldn't stay cocked. I believe alot of the action parts and the stocks could be saved. Dents in damascus probably make the barrels non salvageable, barrels were pitted.

What is one of these in rough shape worth in the parts market? Would it be a worthwhile project gun?

Worth about what any other second or third tier English gun would be worth in the same condition. Restoration cost would be a bit more than the value of the gun after restoration, as you describe it. I own an Evans and have no prejudice against the maker, just the condition.

Is it a William Evans or a W Evans? I have a W Evans Belgian hammer 16 and it's a nice enough gun for doves, but it's not Brit and I would not restore a rough one.

It said William Evans on the lock. What does a 2nd or 3rd tier Brit gun in this shape go for? Never looked at them and don't see many in sad shape. The seller wanted $350 and I passed. But have had second thoughts as I love to tinker.

If you can't save the barrels, it is just a parts gun.

DaveWE, the William Evans maker's name (he was a great salesman, never a gunmaker, and sourced most of his guns from Scott and W&S) has Brand Value level two; BV2. Your description was short on detail to guess very accurately at the Original Quality grade; OQ. Hammer guns generally value about like BLE's. So, lets guess OQ grade at six (second grade BLE). Current Condition level sounds like about wall hangar grade; CC9. BV2-OQ6-CC9 = $305.

I see no reason to believe that "reasonable" dents can't be repaired just a easily in damascus as in fluid steel; damascus is quite malleable. Dents with a crease are, of course, much more difficult.

Lever work is usually straight-forward to repair. Were the barrelson-face? Condition and grade of the wood? Engraving? If it wasa higher grade gun it might have made OQ5 which would have been BV2-OQ5-CC9 = $413. Were the gun "marginable shootable" we could say it was a BV2-OQ6-CC8 = $645.

As you can see, you didn't miss a fortune, but it might possibly have been a good set of parts or a low-loss project.

Hope this helps some.

DDA

I would say its value is in what someone would pay to use as a wall decoration. Here in England its value would be zero; maybe �50 if properly deactivated and it looks o.k. from the outside. No use as spares as English guns were virtually all handmade so the parts won't really fit anything else. Others will know the American market far better than I. Lagopus.....

Thanks for the replies, If I get to see it again I can get some more details. I didn't know that damascus barrels could be repaired, the dents were appeared to be nothing major. The pitting in the bore was more of a concern. I am not sure what grade it could have been it had some nice engraving but nothing ultra fancy.

Thanks again