doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com William Ford 20 bore

I picked this up at an auction recently.

It's a wand - 28" barrels choked .020 and .031, 14 1/4" x 1 1/2 x 2 1/2" stock, and tipping my scale at an ounce over 5 1/2 lbs. Balance is, IMO, close to perfect.

Made in the 1930s with 2 3/4", 1 oz. proofs, it's a pretty rare gun, IMO, and it was reproofed last year in London at 70mm and CIP over N which means it's more than capable of handling modern ammo - not that anyone rational is ever going to shoot anything heavy or fast out of it.

I took it out back this morning to get some photos of it in the good light we have - no smoke! - and the stock really pops.

The gun was listed as 2 1/2" chambers, and with serial number 1599.

The 1599 would have put the gun in the 1880s or 1890s, and I don't think there's a lot of love for 2 1/2" 20s - the little Jeffery hammer gun I posted earlier this year being a great example.

I'm certain that both errors allowed me to grab this gun for what I have in it instead of what it's worth.

It'll make someone very happy.









[img][img]https://i.postimg.cc/52f0nwTJ/Sun-5.jpg[/img]

Here's the barrel flats and water table, if anyone is into that sort of thing.

IMHO the 1 oz and 2 3/4" are part of the original proof 1925-1954.
Would that then be a rebarrel, or by his son, A F Ford?
20 would be .615" - .625". 15.9 = .625 so likely honed a bit prior to London reproof last year.

I bought an E. Chamberlin at the last Southern Side by Side in April. 20 gauge with nice wood , re-barreled by Westly Richards. It also weighs about the same as yours.

Thanks Drew.

Nigel Brown places the serial number 15997 in 1931 per help from another forum.

I agree that the 1 oz. 2 3/4" proofs were original to the gun at that point. I don't think it was re-barreled, but who knows?

20 over C put the the original bore diameter at 0.615 (15.6mm) as you said. I'd bet it was honed to 15.9mm (0.626) in 2025, and sent to the London proof house for reproof, which it passed at CIP over N specs with a new 70mm chamber proof.

That sounds nice!

I have an E.Chamberlain 12 bore here with 27" barrels that tips the scales at 6 lbs., 9.6 oz. Very nice engraving, and a nice gun overall. Scaled down to a 20 gauge, it'd be pretty special.