doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com A. Allen shotguns

Does anyone know anything about the Scottish made A. Allen double barrel shotguns? History? Quality? Different models? I'm interested.

texasbilly@verizon.net

Arthur Allen was a smaller maker who made good quality guns. I will look in Bothroyd's book to see if I can add anything more.

I suspect he was more of a retailer than gunmaker. He may have had a speciality, such as stocking, but by and large the guns were sourced from the trade in Birmingham. Remember: when looking at English guns buy the gun and not the name. Any retailer (name) would gladly provide a client with anything from a hen house gun to a "London Best" carrying his name.

I have an Allen I've shot a lot. Just a basic low end Birmingham boxlock with 30" Damascus barrels. Fairly light and a killer on skeet birds.

Geoffrey Boothroyd mentions the firm of Arthur Allen in his book, [i]Sidelocks and Boxlocks[/u] as an "...old established firm" that acquired the stock of W. Horton's of Glasgow sometime in the 1920s. A. Allen was still in business when Boothroyd was investigating the history of Horton's. My guess is sometime around 1950-1960 and in Glasgow, I believe.

In another reference to Arthur Allen, Boothroyd states that, "Arthur Allen was also described in 1855 as a 'Gunmaker, Cutler, and Edge Tool Maker.

I believe that the firm of Arthur Allen actually made, or at least finished, guns for it's customers. The A Allen guns that I have seen were boxlocks on the Anson and Deeley design, but if they were, as Boothroyd states, in business as early as 1855, they would have made hammer guns and, probably, pinfires and other early breech loading designs as time went by.

That's all I have right now.

The city of origin listed on my A. Allen shotgun is Glasgow. It has steel barrels, so I suspect that it is of fairly recent manufacture. It is a boxlock, English grip, double trigger, 12 gauge with 2-1/2" chambers. It has a high grade butt stock, and above average embellishments. The uncut barrels are just short of 26" length. Overall it is reminiscent of the Birmingham style of shotgun.
I appreciate all the information regarding A. Allen shotguns, and I would value anything else that our members can offer.

From the Internet Gun Club:

"I don't think any records exist, and perhaps there were never any record books. It is likely that Arthur Allan never actually "made" any of his guns, he was probably just a retailer and repairer of guns made in Birmingham by one or more trade makers.

Prior to 1904 only a couple of serial numbers in the low thousands have been recorded, and between 1904 and 1925 only 15 guns record numbers between 13,000 to 42,000 - which indicates a relatively small number of guns sold, and they were almost certainly made by a large trade maker. The company's catalogue with the West Nile Street address dated to about 1925 advertised their "Popular" sidelock 12 bore shotguns as having "interchangeable" parts which suggests the maker was C G Bonehill".

I have a nice boxlock circa 1904.
Not sure if this image link will work as its the first time I've tried it.
Research suggests he finished and stocked his guns, and going on the ones I've seen he did a very good job of it.
They often seem to have better wood than the overall grade would suggest too.

https://imgur.com/VCXzR3V

That is a very nice gun, Greg. Congratulations!