doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com W.W. Greener Exposition Gun

I thought everyone would enjoy this 1880 Vintage
W.W. Greener Exposition Gun. Anson & Deeley action and shoots just fine when I pull the triggers at the right time.

NICE, but they always put the safety in the wrong place.

Chief, not always. I used to own a nice F25 Greener that had the safety on the topstrap. That's the only one that I've seen.

I dunno what it is, but there is something special about the looks of a Greener. I'm agonna get me one some day when I grow up.

Glenn

W.W. Greener assumed everyone would have a loader with them to hand them the gun. So he favored the side safety so the gunner would
push it off safety as the loader handed him the second gun. Quite a different situation here in the States Ol' Chap.

Actually the side safety forces you to take your finger off the trigger to roll your hand over to release the safety with your right thumb..I have seen guns fire more than once due to the shooter having his finger on the trigger when pushing a tang safety forward. So to me it's a safer arrangement. It also works well for left handers...same thing, you need to use your index finger to push the safety forward so it can't be on the trigger at the same time.

Kinda remings me of a 1900 Rem.

Hmmmmm....I wonder who has a bunch of side-safety Greener's on his website for sale???

Anyone want to guess?

And I've heard the English shooting story before. When you're waiting on a drive with a loaded gun, it's sort of natural to rest the gun on your right hip. When you do this, the gun has a tendencies to roll to the right.

This makes it easy to see the left side of the gun - the place where the safety is located - and tell if the safe is OFF or ON.

That's what I've been told, anyway.

OWD

Ken,
Remington, I understand was the only company in the US to license the Anson and Deeley action from Westley Richards. Graham Greener told me after seeing this Gun that they had licensed WR for a few years before adopting their Facil Princeps action.He said he thought this was the finest A&D Greener that he had seen.It was made for the Australian Exposition of 1880

I like the gun but don't like the cross bolt lock up. That one looks rounded but some can be a little on the sharp side. I don't want any appendages sticking out the side of the gun to get nicked, bent our gouging into my skin. It may even be over kill for a shotgun. It seems that alot of the Belgium and German guns come with them.

All you have to do is pick up a Remington and you know for certain that its a English game gun. They are so well balanced.

Hmmm. I find the Greener side safety very convenient and easy to use.

Probably the easiest of all is the safety on the Greener GP single: whilst retaining a loose hold on the stock you just nudge the lever forward with your index finger top knuckle. Surprisingly this tyre iron looking gun handles beautifully especially in the longer barreled specimens. I'm using a 32" Dig found for me on flighting woodpigen...mustard.

Having said that I have only one modest claim to shooting fame; I don't seem to get confused by different twiddly controls on guns, safeties, loading mechanisms whatever.

Eug

Harrington & Richardson built the Anson & Deeley hammerless boxlock under license in the U.S. Remington licensed the Deeley forearm latch and used it on their Models 1879, 1882, 1883, 1885/7 and 1889 hammer doubles.

The Models 1894 and 1900 hammerless doubles were built under U.S. Patent No. 528,507 granted to R.C. Fey and assigned to Remington Arms Co.; and U.S. Patent No. 528,508 granted to R.C. Fey and G.E. Humphreys and also assigned to Remington Arms Co.

Eugene, that is an interesting shotgun. I like it!

Greener's eh?

The GP is a strange beast - I agree that they have a charm and a degree of historical pedigree that makes them interesting, they are also very simple,tough and cheap so good fun to customise if so inclined (like Eugene).

The trigger pull is horrible.

I see them with everything from 25" to 34" barrels, black, red, polished and colour hardened actions and wood that varies from yellow to deep dark red/brown.

I have a picture of myself shooting a rare 'Trap Model made for the USA - complete with monte-carlo stock and raised ventilated rib!

The side safety idea was primarily one of strength - less wood removed from the hand of the stock, which flexes when the gun is fired.You either like 'em, hate 'em or just adjust when you have one and have no strong opinion either way. To my mind it is just another varient and works well if you have one fitted, just as a side lever works well - even if you are used to a top lever.

Inlaid fancy wood diamonds are common on higher grade Greeners, as are more intricate shaped patterns for the checkering.

The top extension and bolt is Greener's Treble Wedge Fast patent and it is invariably beautifully engineered when encountered on Greener guns, unfortunately on many cheap guns by lesser makers, it can be so poorly made as to be useless. Quality counts.

The Gun and it's Development is a great historical rteference but it is not the least bit impartial - if you read it you emerge believing that Greener was the cleverest, most inventive, most honourable and most authoritative firearms expert in the world.Exactly as he intended.

Remember, he was a gunmaker and a businessman and his book was of huge advertising value - he was very aware of this in all that he wrote and he needs to be read in context.