doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com True "Pigeon Guns"....

My long lost friend, a major in the Marines and college professor, had a vh Parker with a straight stock,no safety or dolls head and a checkered trigger guard tang. He always maintained that it was a "pigeon gun" but at the time I did not really understand the term.The gun was sold when he went on active duty and I did not have the $275 to buy it at the time. Sure would like to see it again but the guy who now owns it is more or less a hermit and does not take kindly to people in general,let alone someone asking about his guns.

Obsessed,
I have a Boswell BL 12-b 3" gun with 32" barrels (M/F)and weighs 8 pounds. The rib is file-cut, has two ivory beads and a safety. The proof is for 1 1/2 loads. The Boswell ledger page (dated 12-15-1922) describes it as a "12 Bore A&D 3" pigeon gun."
Steve

I have a Frank Malin Victoria Grade "Hurlingham" pigeon gun circa 1980, on consignment to William Larkin Moore. It has not yet appeared on their website, but it has had a Miller trigger and Briley chokes added. Also has a neat "hidden" pin allowing the locks to be hand detatchable and rose and scroll engraving. Call them for further info. (If anyone who sees this reply buys, I'll happily fork over the $10).

I have an H&H pigeon gun that I sent to H&H last week to sell on consignment and use toward an order. I'm not posting this to promote the gun. Rather, I am posting this in the interest of such guns as was requested by the person who began the topic. I happened to find some pictures I took a while back so I am sharing those.

This is a 'Royal' Hammerless Ejector, "Modele de Luxe". If memory serves me, the barrels are 30" F-F and 28" F-M. The engraving on both sides is pigeons and more pigeons and even more pigeons. The gun has the hidden third bite (with both barrels), bushed strikers (extras in the white jar), and arcaded fences. The action is a little larger than the regular 12 gauge 'Royal' and the gun weighs about 8 pounds.

Proofed for 3" chambers and 1-3/8oz of #6 shot and built robust to shoot it all day long.

My favourite Pigeon gun,that I wish could talk,is an E.M.Reilly bar-in wood 12 bore with Whitworth steel barrels circa 1885 with 2 3/4" chambers,30" mod. and full and nitro proofed. It has a large capital "B" in 24 carat gold where the oval would normally be and was purported to have belonged to the Duke of Bedford,who was an avid pigeon shot. Without documentation, however, it could just as easily be Bob the Postman....

I have an Ithaca Lewis gun marked "pigeon gun" on one barrel and krupp steel on the other. Has a typical Ithaca safety and extractors, 2 & 3/4 inch chambers and 30 inch barrels choked IM & IM.

I had it totally refinished several years ago; I got for almost nothing because it was in terrible shape.

I once owned a W&C Scott Monte Carlo B ejector gun built in 1892 as a live pigeon gun. It was later rebarreled by the maker with 26" steel tubes with tight chokes and 1-1/4 ounce proofs. It had the original very heavy buttstock when I bought it, and I had the wood cut down to reduce the weight to 6lb, 10 oz. After opening the chokes to .008 and .025, I hunted with it for many years until I found a true left hand gun.

I have one here for a client - William Powell best quality sidelock ejector with leather case and two sets of barrels, semi-pistil grip stock and beavertail forend. Barrels are 30" with flat filed broad rib. Weight is over 8lbs. The gun has a tird bite and side clips to the fences.

I took it to shoot DTL last week. It has too much drop for me but once compensated for did a great job of busting most of the 75 clays I shot at in succession, though the front arm did get a bit tired.

The gun was made in the 1950s and has almost all the original finish. The rubber butt pad was perished so I fitted a leather-covered new one.

I had a 'Custom Built'(marked on rib) Winchester Model 21, 32" VR, IM/F with shadow line cheekpiece and 'Hession' forearm. It did have a safety so might just have been a Trap but the IM/F would lead me to believe otherwise. I was never able to trace the provanace on the gun. You can read about it and view the pictures here http://www.model21shotgun.com/showthread.php?13-12-Gauge-32-quot-VR-Custom-Built .
The stock is simply magnificant and must be seen!
I shot it on Sporting Clays for a couple of years before trading it.-Dick

Quite a few of the British Pigeon Guns did have safety catches fitted. I own a W.J.Jeffrey hammer gun with 30" barrels and 2 3/4" chambers and broad file cut rib. Once owned a similar one with 32" barrels by Thomas Wild and have a Midland Gun Co. boxlock on which the jury is still out; single trigger, non-ejector, 3" chambers, ivory bead foresight, bores 7/8ths., 7/8th., but with only 28" barrels and a game style rib and safety catch. It is stocked a little high and does give a good account of itself at DTL. Not sure what the buyers true intentions for this gun were. Too nice and finely engraved for a wildfowling gun unless it was intended for inland goose flighting maybe where it was never likely to encounter harsh conditions. Lagopus.....