A rather interesting and unusual piece arrived from Africa yesterday. It is a James Woodward sidelock non-ejector, made in 1887 with 29" barrels, a beautifully and unusually engraved action and a lot to sort out!
It has been re-stocked and had the forend wood replaced (not in England). The shapes and chequer are wrong for a Woodward.
The Whitworth steel barrels are black powder proof at .729 but now show .740 with no choke in either barrel. The barrels are rivveled and have he odd dent. Looks like someone has been shooting heavy loads and/or steel/buckshot/slugs through it.
I think I'm going to try and save the stock, as it is well inletted and long and has plenty of meat as well ass decent figure. The forend wood will have to be re-done as the shape is totally wrong. The barrels I hope will clean up but if not, I'll sleeve it to best quality. Not sure about length, probably the same as the ribs are excellent.
The action is lovely, side clips, arcaded fences etc. The locks internally are absolutely beautiful. These guns are a bit of a conundrum - to get right they need major surgery but the potential to build a bespoke project around an action of this quality is very tempting. Perhaps I'll re-stock and re-barrel it. A bit of head scratching time needed.
Nice when these old guns come in though. Always gets the creative juices flowing.
