doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com History of Monte Carlo stock

Does anyone know when they first appeared? When they were first used in the U.S.?

http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportingLife/1893/VOL_20_NO_20/SL2020015.pdf
Feb. 11, 1893 Sporting Life
MODIFIED GUN STOCK.
"Something New From England Which Isn't Popular"

A representative English gun firm recently devised a new gun stock which is quite a novelty, but not likely to find favor with many sportsmen. The firm terms the new stock a "modified stock." This stock, while retaining the extreme drop at the butt, has a parallel bend along the face line from the comb to five or six inches back, giving the same alignment at any point between these limits, subject in some cases to slight modifications.

It is generally conceded that shooting is greatly improved when the stock fits easily against the face at the moment of sighting. This cannot always be obtained when the drop of the stock continuously increases from the comb to the extreme butt. As most guns used by American sportsmen have a bend of one and three-fourths inches at comb to three inches or more at butt, there is an increasing slope of about one-fourth-inch between these points. It follows that in shooting a high-flying bird the face presses against the stock nearer the comb than when aiming at a low-flying bird or ground game; therefore, according to the flight, high or low, so the sight is taken at various distances from the comb and practically increasing or diminishing the bend of the gun at each shot.

English and continental sportsmen for years have used stocks parallel from comb to butt, but the extreme drop of guns which has prevailed with American sportsmen, although there is now a tendency to use straight stocks, has interfered with, the attainment of that desideratum - easy and accurate shooting.


This may be an early reference to the W. & C. Scott & Sons "Monte Carlo"



Up until about 1896, W&C Scott guns were the most frequently used gun at the traps in the U.S.
See http://docs.google.com/View?id=dfg2hmx7_311kp75d7hd

Here's a mid-1890s Smith A-1 with a factory Monte Carlo

Rich, my Lefever B Grade 16 has that stock and is from 1893 according to the tables. Daryl

The name clearly comes from the legendary pigeon rings at Monte Carlo. They were unfortunately closed down thanks to Princess Grace. Gun promotions were often based on performances there and some gunmakers like Churchill even personally participated. The rings were located on the hill that the tunnel goes thru down by the marina. They were even shown on an old map of Monte Carlo that was in a F1 report in Road&Track a couple or five decades ago. Like a fool I gave that mag away. Ah, well.

WtS

Fred Hoey c. 1895. Notice his right foot just behind the yard mark

Anybody know this fella?

Noticed the Scott's has drop points. I wonder who's Grade 4 this is and if it has a Monte Carlo.

http://www.lcsmith.org/images/grades/RRLC-Gr-4.jpg

Drew and Daryl, Thanks for the info. The reason I ask is that I have a neat Lefever sidecocker, SN 6524, with a Monte Carlo stock. The stock has unmistakable Lefever styling. Since the table puts the gun around 1882, I'm guessing that the owner sent it back to Lefever Arms in the 1890s to have the Monte Carlo stock put on for trap or live bird shooting. The dimensions are really high. I'm going to shoot it tomorrow to see where it shoots in relation to where I look. I'd post a picture of it, but my computer and Lefever pictures are in the computer hospital.Thanks again.

Daryl & Drew,

My computer just got back from the hospital. Here is a photo of my sidecocker's Monte Carlo stock. [img:center][/img]

Rich, there are similarities.