doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion German & Austrian Sporting Guns @ doublegunshop.com Linder Charles Daly Question

I recently acquired a 16ga. Diamond Grade Linder Daly that weighs 6 lb - 5 ounces with 28" barrels and wonder when it was made. The serial number is 21XX. It seems to be mostly unmolested. Were the early Daly's available with recoil pads? This one has a spurred, hard as a rock thin Silvers type pad with a leather face which is also as hard as a rock. It appears to be original; no sanding lines and fits like it grew there. The Parker guys state that Silver's type recoil pads were available before the turn of the Century?? It is not nitro proofed. The early U proof is there along with 16/1 for oversized bores, which it has, and the W business for choked bbls. The chambers are 2 9/16". Both HAL pistol marked Excelsior Steel barrels have 0.020" min. wall thickness. Yeah, I know, lite RST type ammo will be the order of the day. It balances at the hinge and handles Ok with its 28" bbls, surprising for its light weight. It is Cast On, so who should I contact to push it over to the Cast Off side. I am in Pa. Any info would be sincerely appreciated. Thank You, Tom

On the underside of the left tube, from the HAL over Crossed pistols close to the lower rib there should be a set of initials; RS? It is post 1893, 2nd series, & I'd guess mid to late 1890s.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

With Excelsior steel barrels, HAL over crossed pistol markings, and a 21xx serial number, this one will be closer to 1910/1911 production.

Best,
Ken

Like I said a guess and hum, production numbers were only less that 150 per year? Any idea of the year when they started wearing Excelsior steel tubes?

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Hi Raimey, Yup, it does indeed have the initials; RS on the underside of the 'Right' tube, very close to the rib. What did the 'RS' denote?? It also has the number 2366 and an S with some sort of hat thingy stamped above it on the same barrel. The workmanship and bank note engraving is about as good as it gets. Thank You for your help in dating this Daly.

Ahhh, it is late enough to have had an original Silver's Pad! Thank You for the update on its birth date. This is what this site is all about, great knowledgeable guys helping a dump Dutchman. Anyway,this little wand is going to come back to life next year in the uplands after lots of 3/4 oz skeet rounds to get me friendly with its lightweight.

Fox:
I believe in a very high probability that RS was for the mechanic Robert Schlegelmilch, who was a very solid subcontractor for H.A. Lindner and was one of the greats in tubes and tube steel manipulation before the Boys Kelber took off. In my opinion I would say his efforts were as good as it gets and when coupled with H.A. Lindner's control mark, the sporting weapon was on par with any for the period, including those from the Little British Isles.

Kind Regards

Raimey
rse

Forest & Stream 1912 2nd-Hand Daly Gun list. Lists serial numbers and description. Can't say why Purdy is spelled without an e. Curious if anyone that reads this actually owns one of the aforementioned.

http://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbt...true#Post291216

Just wanted to combine some info on Daly threads.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

I would like to Thank everyone for their help and info. I have forwarded this thread info to a grouse hunting friend who also has a lightweight 16ga Diamond Grade. It's serial number is: 16XX and has 26" barrels and weights in at 5 3/4 lbs with its original horn butt plate. It retains most of its original finishes. I am still looking for someone to bend the stock on mine a bit and firm up the trigger pulls. Any suggestions??

I just noticed that I stated that my 16ga Diamond weighes 6 lbs - 5 ounces in the first post in this thread. It weights 5 pounds - 5.5 ounces and that is why I have to get used to its light weight. It does handle well and doesn't slap my face when mounting. My go to 28 gauge Parker VHE weighs 5 lbs - 8 ounces and it also has 28" barrels.