doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Robert G. (Bob) Owen

Yeah, down here in redneckland we call that kinda stuff "whizzed", and there seems to be more & more of it as time goes on. Clarence the Collector has seen two fancy and supposedly original high walls at the same Tulsa gun show with both having the same serial # and both having identical factory letters but one exhibitor quietly slipped his rifle back under the table when he saw the other. Sadly, it's only the tip of the iceberg. I myself saw a beautiful Sedgley 1903 that the owner swore had been built by his uncle in his home shop. I avoided that one since it may have 'fallen off a truck'.
Regards, Joe

The Owen shotguns may be a clue to where the rifles came from if the European origin of some of Owen's rifles is in question. By the way, who bought the Captain Curtis Owen 20 gauge that appeared in an auction catalog not long ago? The Curtis provenance was apparently not known by the cataloger.

I'm falling behind in my double gun studies by spending too much time here....

Thanks for all this wonderful info and pictures gentlemen.

Rob

Not sure if I know of the shotgun or not, can you tell me what auction it was in? I do know where Paul Curtis' Owen 1903 Springfield is.

SDH..Thank you for the return comments. I appreciate the interesting insite into your work and the way you go about it.
Also the extra pics of the Hagn. The additional metal work you've done really brings that rifle to life.
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MP...Didn't know about Owen not likeing to do checkering work. That's interesting! I guess alot of the custom makers have used out workers for some of the more tedious tasks, those they didn't have time to do or those that they may have not been set up to do (barrel work, etc). I don't think that fact is changed much now. Not many around that do everything and even those that can,, may not have the time to and still produce an output that they can live off of. But there are undoubtedly a few.
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Texraid...Welcome!!! (ktr from the 'otherside')

Long ago I heard a tale that Owen would go to Germany with two or three 1903 barreled actions, leave them behind to be engraved and pick them up on his next trip. At this point don't remember where or when I picked up this story, but its decades ago.

What Mark said.
Regards, Joe

Mark, I think that system shows a lot of intelligence on Owen's part. I just wish he had done the same with Parker or Fox shotguns. MP, you're going to have to give me some time on the Curtis 20 gauge. I may not have the hard copy of the catalog. It was within the last year. However, if you see the gun, you will know it. It has PAC engraved on it somewhere, can't remember where.

I'll look through some stuff, there has been a couple Owen shotguns change hands in the last year.

Bob Owen did go to Germany and visit his friend August Heym several times. I've heard a lot of stories about Owen just like I hear them about many of the other well known makers. I think the better known you are the more of these seem to circulate. Trying to separating fact from fiction can be hard at times.

Owen going to Germany I got from his son, who, despite his first impression of me, has been very helpful. To explain that when I first found Bob Owen Jr. I was asking him some questions on the phone and asked if his sister might know the answer and when he said no I ask if his other sister might know, he then told me he only had one sister. My mouth was working but not my brain and I said "no you have two sisters" and it was out before I could think this through. What happen was one of his sisters died before he was born and the family did not share that with him, so here is some nut on the phone telling this man he has a dead sister. I try to be a bit more reserved these days when doing interviews.

Wow Mike, that sounds like something I'd do!?!

And you heard it here first, I often go to Italy, drop off a bunch of work and pick it up on my next trip over, that's how I manage to complete two or three custom guns per annum!