doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com H&H Paradox Needham

While exhibiting at the Beinfeld Las Vegas show last month, I had the chance to chat with Roger Lake of Heritage Auctions who, with David Baker, has written a fascinating book on the Paradox shot and ball gun.
As we talked about the technical aspects of H&H's in general and Paradox in particular, I pointed out a H&H retailed 12b SLE built on the Needham patent that I had restored back in 2008 and was trying to sell for the owner.
It is a very unusual but beautifully finished gun and he picked it up to take a closer look. Imagine our surprise when he noticed the serial number, 11570, which places it firmly in the first block of numbers reserved for Paradox guns (11500-11999)!
He then rushed off to get a copy of his book only to find that he notes this specific gun as being the very first Ejector Paradox ever produced! Having no clue from the H&H records as to its action type he had assumed it was built on the 1st pattern Royal action.
Sorry but for some strange reason I can't post photos directly but if interested use the link below
http://www.heritageguns.co.uk/HandH%20Needham%20SLE/H&H%20Needham%20SLE%20Details.htm

Yet another coincidence is that another H&H SLE was delivered a few days ago and while writing its details in my register, I noticed that it also was built as a Paradox and later rebarreled as a shotgun. Other than the serial number there was no clue. Weight about 6lb 10oz, 30" steel barrels, outwardly just another early Royal!

In case you want to check the H&H's living in your gun cabinets the other block of numbers is 15000 to 15999.

Too bad the original chokes were not still intact.

This gun was sleeved long before I got to it.
I often wonder how much use a Paradox would be in these days of fantastically accurate rifles shooting HV small (relatively) bullets.
As a collectors toy, I can understand the attraction but as part of the design brief was to enable the shooter to 'shoot tigers like you might a rabbit', I feel it is probably of another time!
I doubt there are many parts of the world where you might feel it was necessary to shoot a snipe with the right and a lion/beer/tiger/buffalo with the left but then perhaps I don't move in the right circles!

Toby, did you see the 16 ga Royal Paradox in Vegas ? Maybe the first with the late style locks.

I did not want to demean your gun only lamenting the fact as such an important paradox it was no longer as it was when it left the factory.
It would be difficult to say what was in Fosbury's mind when he was perfecting the Paradox. An extension to the range of the opened choked ball gun. A gun for feather and fur but not particularly designed for dangerous game, that would come later. I believe the paradox to still be useful today as it was originally designed, a gun to bring multiple species to the pot by merely a change of cartridges. No need to venture to India or Africa to take advantage of that.

This is the partially restored H & H 16 paradox Daryl mentioned.

Beautiful Holland. Was the gun for sale?

In keeping with current American fashion of shooting game with less than the most modern gun, I see the Paradox as one more avenue of extending the hunting experience. Considering that many white tail deer are taken with 12 bore slugs, I sse no reason to doubt the utility of a Paradox in modern hunting. "Yes, indeed, I took this one with my H&H Paradox." Gotta admit that has a ring to it!!

DDA

Toby, they are quite a good idea here in Spain, on a Monteria you may shoot boar, fallow, red deer, hare and partidge all in the same day ! best, Mike