doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com English Boxlock Receiver Question.

Thanks Larry,

I haven't been able to come up with a picture of the Reliance, but that makes sense. Do you happen to know if it had the Screw Grip? Even if it did, I suspect W&S would provide guns without it to provincial sellers if requested.

Regards
Ken

Lads ,
I'm no expert
I just vaugely remember some article about Jeffery Guns, n how Leonard made some,double rifles too.... n often had that type of half moon cut in the frame as a kinda house style....
I hope im not having a` senior moment with the Leonard name,lol
Hey, if I'm wrong blame the article, it couldn't be my memory
cheers
franc

Thanks Franc,

I'm just having a tough time coming up with any pics of the H Leonard & Co guns. Since the relationship is well known, it's certainly as possible as the W&S possibility. There must have been a forge producing the crescent indented action around the beginning of the 20th Century. I somehow doubt finding that specific bit of information will be possible.

Regards
Ken

Ken,
that crescent is very easy to machine into an action body. I'm not convinced it was part of the forging. I think if I was going to make some of those actions, adding the crescent cut would be much easier than building a new die for the forging. Just one guys opinion.
Steve

Ken--The photo I have of a Reliance bolts with a Greener crossbolt, standard type rib extension. I don't know if they were all that way, but at least some must not have been screw grips.

I have a Hollis/Leonard double rifle. Leonard is well established as maker of Jeffrey doubles (perhaps not all of them, but a significant number). On the double rifles, Leonard put a 4 digit code on the underside of the barrels. Not sure about the shotguns. My boxlock is straight sided, but a friend's near identical Hollis/Leonard double rifle has the scalloped receiver.

I also have a scan of a page of Jeffrey records showing Hollis as maker of a series of double rifles.

Steve,

A good point. That begs the next question, within the historical context. Was this typical in pre-WWI guns? In today's technology, machining a crescent would be easy. Was it common back then when the technology was not so advanced? I'm not sure, as I suspect it would have to have been hand-filed. Were any other scalloped actions of the time filed or machined? I suspect they were forged with the scalloped back edges already present. It appears the crescent shaped receiver was not uncommon, so I'm somewhat skeptical that the crescents were not part of the forging process.

Regards
Ken

Thanks,

That adds Hollis to the list, along with D Leonard & Sons as makers of double rifles for Jeffrey.

The citation I've found lists H Leonard & Co as making shotguns for Jeffrey.

Regards
Ken

Sorry, let me clarify. Hollis was a retailer (I have a 1908 Hollis catalog from India location), and Leonard made their double rifles. Every Hollis my buddies and I have examined have the characteristic Leonard markings. They are essentially identical as well to Jeffrey rifles from the same era.

Ok,

That begs the next question: What are the "characteristic Leonard markings"?

Thanks
Ken