Very happy today. Just locked up a deal on a Lindner Charles Daly Diamond Quality 12 gauge circa 1906-08 (est), 30" barrels choked full and full and the gun appears to be used but relatively unmolested. Original horn butt plate, full coverage engraving with game scenes but it is missing the forend tip.
It will be a while before it lands in my hands but will post some pics when it gets here.
It's like Christmas and I'm buying myself the gifts I want! LOL
Glad you took my advice...now I can bill you for the consulting fee....
I thought one only does a happy dance when winning the 649. But I guess it's the same, if not better. Congrats!
Glad you took my advice...now I can bill you for the consulting fee....
Okay, you can give it to me along with the bill for checking out the ejectors and making sure they are timed correctly.
Can't wait to see pics of the action engraving. The engraving on the bottom of the underlug tells me it's going to be spectacular.
Fantastic acquisition James. Congrats!!
That is a great gun! Nice find!
Beauty, James. And Joe's a Nova Scotian. I'm dancing with you!
I like it a lot. It's also nice to see that you're spreading some of your other treasures around the "fine shotgun" community.
Bob
That's a lot of graffiti!
Congratulations on your new acquisition.
Are you really gonna make 'em howl by telling everyone what you paid?
Are you really gonna make 'em howl by telling everyone what you paid?
Nope. At least not until gun is in hand.
I don’t mean to be a wet blanket but don’t do your happy dance until you take it out shooting. Several years ago I purchased what I thought was the ultimate upland gun. It was a beautiful 12 gauge French guild gun, double proofs, unmolested 27” barrels, the stock measurements were just right for me, and it weighed all of 5lbs 14oz. I was in heaven until I shot it at the trap range and scored a horrible 10/25. It turned out the gun had a very narrow comb which caused me to shoot far to the right side of my target. I confirmed this by putting a 1/4in stick-on pad on the stock and immediately shot 22/25. The gun was in such good shape I contemplated having it restocked, instead I sold it to a friend who wanted it (and yes, he was aware of my dilemma).
Steve
Canvasback, way to go! That's a beauty!
Good advice Steve. But I'm still excited.
Methinks James will do what it takes to make this work.
James, concentrate on driving. We want you here in one piece.
Beautiful, Congratulations.
James, that is a really nice Lindner Daly! I've had a couple and just finished putting a new buttstock on another. They are wonderful shotguns and as beautiful on the inside as the outside. Looks like all you need is a new horn forend tip and you are good to go. Again, congratulations!
Doug
Nice to hear from Doug Mann, the guy who made a real shotgun out of one of my early Dalys. The gun pictured on this thread is what a Daly is supposed to look like. I can't wait to hear the next episode of this story.
Super nice Daly. Enjoy it!
James, that is a really nice Lindner Daly! I've had a couple and just finished putting a new buttstock on another. They are wonderful shotguns and as beautiful on the inside as the outside. Looks like all you need is a new horn forend tip and you are good to go. Again, congratulations!
Doug
Doug, I told him I thought the screws needed to be restored. This lady deserves to be put right. Might even get to shoot it next year when he makes his second annual trip to the Sandhills.
Mike
Very nice catch James. I also look forward to hearing more about your new acquisition, and more pics too!
James, that is a really nice Lindner Daly! I've had a couple and just finished putting a new buttstock on another. They are wonderful shotguns and as beautiful on the inside as the outside. Looks like all you need is a new horn forend tip and you are good to go. Again, congratulations!
Doug
Doug, I told him I thought the screws needed to be restored. This lady deserves to be put right. Might even get to shoot it next year when he makes his second annual trip to the Sandhills.
Mike
Mike, you are no doubt right but then it opens up a whole new can of worms - like fixing the missing wood on the forend and a possible refinish of the wood and recutting of the checkering. It just goes on and on.
Doug
James, that is a really nice Lindner Daly! I've had a couple and just finished putting a new buttstock on another. They are wonderful shotguns and as beautiful on the inside as the outside. Looks like all you need is a new horn forend tip and you are good to go. Again, congratulations!
Doug
Doug, I told him I thought the screws needed to be restored. This lady deserves to be put right. Might even get to shoot it next year when he makes his second annual trip to the Sandhills.
Mike
Mike, you are no doubt right but then it opens up a whole new can of worms - like fixing the missing wood on the forend and a possible refinish of the wood and recutting of the checkering. It just goes on and on.
Doug
If I was a betting man I would bet that James plans on doing whatever is needed cosmetically to make this gun pop!
Doug, in keeping with past practices and my outlook about these guns, every deficiency that could be attributed to lack of or poor care over decades will be addressed immediately.
That will include at a minimum a proper strip and clean, assessment of the ejectors, re-bluing of the barrels (from what I can tell from the pics), repair of the missing forend tip and a sympathetic refinishing of all the wood that includes removal of all the oil from the head and glass bedding for accurate fit and long term strength. Any other problems discovered during this precess will be dealt with properly by smiths competent to work on this gun.
I try to use my guns and this one will be no exception. What I won't do is change the LOP by either cutting or adding a pad of any sort.
PS. Written by James while I was logged in
Mike
Back under my own name.
I need to add this: Mike won't be happy until I say that I am also going to have a good look at some of the screw heads to see if they need to be restored to their original perfection.
I thought that might be covered under "every deficiency that could be attributed to lack of or poor care" but apparently that didn't live up to Mike's expectations.
James, I'm beginning to think that you may believe that I'm being critical of your new Daly - I'm not! It is a wonderful gun and it will be spectacular when it's finished. However this is one of the reasons that I rarely post anymore - people misunderstand what I've said. At least I think they do!
If I can get Photobucket to cooperate I'll post photos of a Lindner Daly that I owned. BTW, no one could ever come up with a grade for the gun so I don't know. It will, however, show you what your gun looks like inside and also what the difference is between the original and the restored version. Mike will say that the upper screw is not timed but the gun is about 107 years old and its timing is like mine - a little off.
Doug, that action is beautiful externally and internally.
Thanks for the look inside Doug. Nice guns guys.
Canvasback,
Beautiful wood. When I first saw the pics I thought it might have been stocked with American Walnut, but I had my doubts. Now, after viewing all the Diamond Grade pics I could find on the net, it looks like European Walnut, possibly colored with alkanet. I wonder what the final finish was? Oil? Copal varnish? French Polish? Anyone know what they were using at that time?
Regards
Ken
Doug, please let me be clear. I did not for a moment read your post as being critical. I'm sorry if it seemed that way. I was simply trying to be clear about what my probable course of action would be once I take delivery and inspect the gun.
In fact I appreciated your post and the others from both enthusiasts like me and the truly knowledgeable and skilled like you. I think this is partly how we enthusiasts get to learn.
I don't take offence easily and I certainly never take offence at comments about my guns. First, they're just guns and second my personal self image isn't wrapped up in what others may think of my guns. I know why I buy them and I'm happy about that.
Also Doug, thanks for posting the pics of your Lindner. Georgeous gun and I love being able to see inside. I'm glad you added that to the thread. I really hoped the thread become one that talks about Lindners, not just my Lindner.
Holy smokes look at the polishing that went into the inside of that action.
That's what a 'World Class' gun looks like, inside and out.
Well, I now have the gun in hand. Took a while to get it to me. Condition is about what I expected.....not perfect by any means but little in the way of surprises. The wood appears to be in excellent condition, the engraving seems remarkable crisp under the grime, the barrels need a little TLC. But until I get complete measurements of them, I won't make further comment on them. Except to say, there is A LOT of metal there!
At 7 pounds, 8 ounces this gun is decidedly the heaviest SxS 12 gauge I own. My A grade Fox with 30" barrels comes in at 7 pounds 3 ounces. But I would never have believed it upon first picking it up. Well balanced, it felt like a gun 3/4 of a pound lighter. I could hardly believe what my digital postal scale was reading.
LOP is to the horn butt plate is 14 1/4", DAC is 1 3/8" and DAH is 2 1/4"
Glad to hear there are no major surprises. Though on the heavier side, a well balanced gun can make up for some of that.
Nice, nice, nice. I like the weight. Will be a great shooter.
JR
A really, really nice addition to your collection. It will look fantastic (it does already) when you are done with it. Looking forward to seeing it.
