Well jOe, those Whitworth tubes were available to Boss very early in the 1880s, although many customers prefered damascus, and would for a few decades. When the top lever ejector guns, hammerless and hammer variety were developed, the underlever quickly fell out of favor. I know Lord Ripon sure liked them, but he was in the minority-the toplever guns were a hit.

As you posted, if it were a toplever gun, it would be gone.

I didn't call Boss, to find out the sequence of numbers, but, you can bet George, the gentleman who owns Champlin, did. If the ad states this gun is one of the last underlevers, that is the case.
Did they build lots more after this one? Don't bet on it-last I had heard, Boss had built less than 1000 guns since being formed in the early 1800s. So, when you only have a number set like that to work with for history, a gun that is built to a previous patent, while the new designs are being constructed before and after it, is a "bit" out of period. Bite that.


Unfortunately, I don't get to handle Boss damascus guns. None of the few Boss guns I've handled were damascus. They don't turn up here, in the middle of the midwest, with any frequency. I'm sure now, that I have handled at least one damascus chopperlump English best gun in the past, because I THOUGHT they were all built that way. A few kind folks have corrected that thinking, to which I am humbly thankful. The damascus barrels thing, in this case, is a moot point, anyway-they would seem to be long gone.

At any rate, I thought it was an interesting gun, at a great price, and that is why I put a link up to it. I wonder how long it will last, at that price? I don't have the spare $4400 laying around looking stupid, and my experiences, with hammerguns, have forced me to conclude that they will perform best, in someone else's hands, so that is a gun I'm never going to get to know.
The only guy I tease on a public forum about owning a cheap gun is Larry Brown, (he can handle it, and besides, he can't deny it, we have the evidence) and I think he shoud buy it, and write a nice article telling us all about it. I'd read that article!
Best,
Ted