doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com English underlever snap actions

How would you top that one!...Geo

Personally I think the left hand side lever is more compatible for aright hand shooter than is a right hand lever. The only side lever opener I have is a left hand one on a non-Shootable W Richard s hammer gun with Birmingham proofs, likely a Clabrough built gun. This was my late Grandfather's gun so I hang onto it.
In piking it up & handling it tough the left hand lever seems very convenient, I think if I had one in nice shootable condition which otherwise met my specs it could quickly become a favorite opening method for me. Your thumb is already across the stock so seems more natural to drop it down to that left lever than to cross it back over to a right hand one.

Miller, I have never handled a left side lever gun, but I completely agree with your logic. It would be more inconvenient ergonomically to cross the thumb back over the stock and depress the lever on the opposite side. On the other hand, I am right handed, but prefer a left hand retrieve fishing reel. Perhaps we are in the minority of right handers. Nonetheless I am making a mental note to give preference to a left-hand side lever action over the right-hand option.

Could someone define a "snap action" gun? I have a French made sidelock in which one must push down and forward on the trigger guard in order to cock and open the action. Would this be considered a snap actioned gun?

Snap I believe refers to the closing, whether the barrels can be pushed down onto the breech and snap the bolt into place without the user having to hold back the bolt. Presumably the snap term was used to distinguish from the Jones rotary underlever that has to be manually turned to lock the barrels.

Ah yes. I would assume it is a snap action then. Thank you Shotgunlover

I remember at an early collectors show in Nashville examining a wonderful Boss lefthanded sidelever opening pair in very acceptable condition priced at $12,500 each. A friend was very interested and initiated a conversation with the owner. After a short conversation, the owner asked my friend if he would be interested if both could be bought for $12,500.

Eightbore, If I had been asked that same question I would hope my heart rate increase did not cause me a problem. Of course 12.5K might be just a little more money back then. Not that you are old as the hills, or saw Davey Crockett at that show.

If you have dealt with guns long enough you will have a few of those that got away stories. I failed to buy several which still haunt me these days. Parker with 24" barrels and a Lefever which I suspect was a A grade or higher. Hens teeth type of guns I should never see again most likely. Well there was a set of Parkers with 24" barrels which had a asking price of 250K 25 years ago. Kind of hens teeth after braces.

I got glassy eyed when the earlier poster mentioned all those hammer guns being considered scrap in the 60's. What guns ended up as scrap we never will know but out of fashion can make even high quality guns hard to sell. It is going on now with antiques. Given time most things tend to return, to demand good prices. Guns I bought for a couple grand, then later sold for five and ten grand now seem to be asking 20-30 grand.

While the top levers won out, there is something about using other locking systems that is appealing to me. Under levers are very interesting and I really like the way they work. I have a side lever Grant and a Army&Navy that are nicely done and operate easily. When examining one of my guns it is funny to hear them ask "How do you open it?" The clean top strap allows more room for that nice engraving seen on many of these guns. At one time I had a 20 bore Jones system that was great fun to use in the field and would like to add another to my collection. I might be a bit odd but I really like to use those that are different from the standard modern top lever. My ejector guns are all top levers but for extractor guns I like to field something a bit different. Very interesting 30 years from 1860 to 1890 when all these different systems were being developed and field tested to determine which was the "best".

Eric�

Still miss the Abbey!!

Best regards and wishes for the holidays

Berrien