doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Charles Daly hammer gun opinions/info?

Here's an odd Daly hammergun:

http://www.gunsinternational.com/CHARLES-DALY-HAMMER-12GA.cfm?gun_id=100507885

How does that toplever work? Is it a pull-back lever?

OWD

Would really like to see the marks on the tubeset on that one. I suspect it wears Birmingham marks.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Thanks for all the info. I'll post some pics after I receive it.

Well, I received the gun, and it's a classic diamond in the rough. Here are a couple pics. Any idea what I have here? It's a 12ga for starters, not a 10, and I'm not sure as to what grade it might be. I saw an empire grade that looked similar. Am I close?

It's in well worn condition, off face, pits, etc. But, the wood is solid, no cracks, actions are tight and crisp, ribs are tight. It can be brought back, assuming wall thickness is ok. Trying to decide if I want to go that route or not, since I already have so many painting and gun projects going on. I planned on selling it, but on the other hand, it's choked ic/ic, and would make an elegant skeet and release site pheasant gun. Hmmm...

Looks like you have gun that could be worth a couple hundred as a wall hanger to someone with more money than they have sense.

Mark,

I disagree with Joe's assessment. This isn't some Belgian clunker that retailed for $10 in a hardware store someplace. If you pull those locks, you'll see the craftsmanship that originally went into this gun.

The critical piece here is the barrels. Some of the old Daly hammerguns are absolute tanks when it comes to the barrel wall thickness. The barrels may be able to be safely cleaned up. Again, it all depends on how deep the pits are and how much barrel thickness you are working with and where that thickness is. Removing barrel metal isn't going to make the gun stronger, but sometimes the aesthetics can be improved with just a couple of thousandth of an inch honing. If the pits are really deep, I'd cut my losses.

I've seen your skill on the woodwork. I would bet that stock cleans up very nicely. The gun can be put back on face for a couple hundred bucks. The barrels are the big question. I would make for a pretty cool project. If you are trying to make a quick profit and that is the only motive, this may not be the best candidate, but it is not look this is some dog that would be only worth $200 when you were done.

In regard to the gun itself. Forget the "empire" and "superior" quality grade terms. Those terms don't show up until circa-1930. Charles Daly brand owner Schoverling, Daly, and Gales (SD&G) sold their guns by model number. In the 1880s, SD&G introduced the "diamond quality" designation or quality grade. Originally, this term applied to one hammerless and one hammergun model. However, twenty years later, "diamond quality" was an umbrella designation used on five separate hammerless shotgun models alone. There is a big difference between a Daly model 225 "diamond quality" shotgun and a Daly model 375 "diamond quality" shotgun. Both are "diamond quality" guns, but there is a big difference in their level of embellishment AND a big difference in their retail price. Period SD&G catalogs lay this out pretty clearly. The Blue Book is no help here as it perpetuates the incorrect idea that SD&G used the "empire/superior/diamond/regent diamond quality" terminology throughout their production run.

I'm away from my research material so I can't look up the likely model number of your hammer gun yet, but I will take a look. What type of markings are on the action and barrel flats?

Ken

MARK,
SOUNDS LIKE HOMELESS JOE IS INTERESTED IN THE GUN.

Mark, what is the serial number on your gun? Do the barrels show any evidence of a Birmingham provisional proof? Your gun has a lot of similarity to mine, which is numbered 15,251.

Joe, it is serial # 10, with CFW and a number 1 stamped just forward of the flats. No other markings that I can see.