On a gun shot in the damp and even rain, provision must be made for drying and lubricating locks. Regardless of how careful you are screws can become worn or damaged with too much use. Though not a fan of the Holland pattern guns I have always admired the removable lock feature.
Another rust preventive solution was to gold plate the lock work. Partially due to water and also the chance of a pierced primer. In the past with corrosive priming the results could become bad very quickly. Primers in the past were much more prone to being pierced.
I still have the lockwork on my guns gold plated. Some gunmakers will do this at extra charge others simply will not. Either way it’s best to find a gunsmith to do it after the purchase. They charge much less and don’t skimp on plating all the parts except the springs which are damaged when gold plated.
The Spanish often vented the striker retention screws on thier best sidelock guns. This always seemed a great idea to me but British gun makers are quite adverse to doing this. Possibly due to more rain in the UK?
I sure hope the client was not charged for 3Rd grip and clips on that linked gun. He certainly did not get them.
Last edited by Richard Hale; 06/25/26 09:58 PM. Reason: Added content.
