John Dickson & Son was established in Edinburgh, where the company is still in business trading under the name Dickson & MacNaughton, in 1820. They have made flintlocks, percussion-fire, pinfire and centerfire guns and rifles over the years, including boxlocks and sidelocks. The trigger-plate "round action" gun for which they are now most famous was patented in its present form in 1887. Dickson stopped producing guns in the late-1960s though they stayed in business reparing guns and selling second-hand guns and accessories. Round action production resumed in about 1991 and a small number of guns have been made since. The design of the action and lockwork means that the gun can be made quite light without sacrificing strength. The design leaves more metal in the action bar than either an A&D boxlock or the much-praised bar-action sidelock. The design allows for the use of long, flat mainsprings with rollers fitted to their noses that bear on the tumblers, stronger and mechanically more efficient than the V-springs of a sidelock. The ejectors are housed in the action body (rather than the more common location in the forend) and use coil springs - again, less likely to break than small V-springs.
The finest Scottish round action guns made today are those from David McKay Brown in Glasgow. David set up business in 1967 and began making guns under his own name using the Dickson design (the patent having long-expired) in 1974. He also patented an over & under "round action" in the early 1990s and now makes about an equal number of o/u and side-by-side guns.
These guns are relatively rare. Dickson has made only about 2000 round action guns; McKay Brown about 450 to date.
They are wonderful guns, light and responsive, sleek, strong, and attractive to the eye. The earliest Dickson round actions had cocking indicators and the lockwork was not gold-washed to inhibit corrosion. Dicksons come in all conditions, from guns that are worn out to those that are like-new, so it pays to have someone knowledgable about these superb guns to have a look at any prospective purchases.
