I have never paid a lot of attention to these before, but I just sent payment to Osprey for an 8 gauge W&C Scott single barrel hammer breechloader. I thought it was beautiful, out of the ordinary and simply interesting. Supposedly about 1872 and weighs less than 10 pounds. It looks to be based on a modified double action casting with only a right hand lock, and an asymetrically sculpted action. The barrels have double bolsters at the back for width to fit. The gun carries engraving of retrievers and waterfowl. Has anyone had any experience with these or other single sporting shotguns from Britain? It carries the London address. I have seen many muzzleloading market guns etc, but this gun has a 32" barrel. and if an 8 gauge can be considered dainty, this would be it.

Terry Lubzinski used to post pics here of his big, single barrel fowlers and the waterfowl they had brought to bag. Always enjoyed seeing them. He is in British Columbia I believe, but hasn't logged in for over a year. I truly hope he is well.

I bid on a single barrel fowler, at auction, last year but lost. It was a beauty, too.

Handled dozens of English singles, they all displayed superb balance and handling and all had above average build quality. All the ones I came across were 12, 16 and rarely 20 gauge.

For those unfamiliar with the type, they have nothing in common with cheap, utility grade single shots.

I like them quite a bit and snap them up at auction whenever the price is right. I have had everything from 20 bore to 4 bore singles through the shop. They are under appreciated here in the States in my opinion.

Perhaps not quite as elegant, but during the Covid lockdown I treated my self to a "brand-new" 16 bore Webley single Model 100, made in 1964 and never used. It is described as 'semi-hammerless', and has a normal top lever with a very discrete hammer spur where the safety catch would be. It is as fast to cock the hammer as to take off a safety catch. This model was first sold in 1909.

The barrel is 30 inches long, full choke and does nor have a bead fitted for some reason. I am having one fitted as we speak. It weighs 6 lbs 6 oz. and handles like an over/under, smashing clays well despite the full choke. It has a 2.75" chamber and a powerful ejector - it is easy to carry a second cartridge between the fingers on one's left hand.

It has wonderful original case hardening, which is the main reason I bought it. I have some photos if anyone would like to post them for me. It cost me £120 or in your dollars $160 or so - cheap thrills, really. I intend to carry it on a late-season pheasant shoot day around Christmas time.

Historic Bore

Welcome to the Forum.

I thought you were already a member!

I have a hammerless single barrel J & W Tolley 12 gauge. I love it. I use it hunting ruffed grouse when one shot is usually all the chance you get. Open choked 29” barrel. Gun weighs 5 pounds.

My advice is buy it if the price is right and the condition good. The one that Historicbore mentions will be a machine made gun and can be found quite cheaply in the U.K. Proper hand built singles are every bit as well made as the doubles. I have them in 28, 20, 12, 10 and 8 bore; my 8 bore being by T.Daintith of Warrington. I can't really advise on price for the 8 but anything in decent order usually goes here for north of £1,000. Lagopus.....

Light weight elegance can go too far.

I found this 12 bore Edwinson Green at Holts. It was 2 1/2” nitro proof with a clean bore, cast on for a left hander like myself and about the right length. Serial number 18XX, it was the earliest one of his guns I had seen.

Tried out at a pheasant shoot after lunch it brought down an oncoming pheasant in fine style.

BUT it weighed well under 6 pounds, and I found out when I tried it out on clays with 2 1/2” game loads (30g.?) I found that the fore-end was leaping out of my forward hand (which is probably why I connected with that pheasant).

Had our local clay shoot then been offering 21g loads I might have got it to work for me, but as it was I sold it to a well known collector who then sold his collection at Rock Island. If one of you bought it, enjoy, and let me know how it works with 3/4 ounce loads.

There are a couple of old threads on this forum that have good information on 8 bores that I have reviewed. Also I have contacted some members to glean further insights into loading for and feeding these beasts. My 8 bore English single is actually 10lbs 14ozs when I weighed it on my scale (it was reportedly much heavier) and the barrels are a touch over 36". I have nothing heavier than 7lbs otherwise (most around 6 lbs) and so this gun is quite unusual. I am trying to develop a 2-oz pheasant load of #6's and will share what I find in that regard. My gun seems to be choked from a muzzle view, but I can't tell for sure as my bore diameter gauge is too small.

Historic Bore (actually he can be quite entertaining at times) has asked me to post this image of the 16 bore Webley 100 he mentioned above.

A nice example and well worth having in that condition. It looks virtually unused! 16's are a lot scarcer than 12's in that type. Most of these singles were sold to cater for the lower end of the market so are often well used and abused. I did buy a Harrington & Richardson 1908 model in 12 bore for the very reason it was in such excellent clean condition as all other examples I had seen were just about falling to bits. I would certainly add it to my collection if I found a 16 in such good order. Lagopus.....

Here is a link to the listing. I will try and post a picture or two when I get it in hand.

https://www.gunsinternational.com/g...8-bore-sporting-gun.cfm?gun_id=101920897

I'm not jealous of much that's put up on this site, but that just changed. Man, what a super piece!
JR

very nice gun, what condition!

I'd have no use whatever for that 8ga single, except pride of ownership. I could probably up the ante a little though and get one of those Revolutionary War British cannons they're finding at Savannah. Now that would be a GUN!...Geo