Looking at a few as a light field gun. Any opinions or caveats I should be aware of? I know Lancaster is the manufacturer of most note … but several other makers seem to have adopted the design as well.
How does the assisted opening compare to say the H&H or Purdey designs - any advantages or disadvantages?
Thank you in advance,
Best Regards,
JBP
I believe Powell made a number in the 1930s or thereabouts.
I know the action is smaller than a regular action. A friend of mine has a pair of 12/20 actioned Grants made in the 70's (for sale by the way)that must have been made for driven grouse shooting. They are choked open and tight respectively. They have 27" barrels and single triggers.
I have shot them and they are lovely to shoot.
The action is one of several invented by William Baker who had a knack of making a spring do several jobs. In the 12/20 the spring is compressed on closing the gun, so there is a strong push that opens the barrels, and when the gun is dismantled the springs are at rest. A similar deal to the Purdey action but much less complicated.
Beware though, there are those who do not attach much importance to simple clever design and the ability to get springs to multi task. One opinion expressed here was "who cares" [if Baker could get a spring to do so much].
I shot a 12/20, made by Lancaster, on a pattern plate. It was shot alongside a William Ford 2 inch 12. I liked the handling and feel of the 12/20 much more.
I somehow responded to this subject on the "guns for sale section" so this may be redundant, but I recently shot one (made by John Blanch) on some clays at Whittington and I must say that I was quite impressed. Self-opener, first-class wood and engraving, spectacular dimensions and weight. I told the owner that it was like owning a Boss gun, but for far less $$$.
Nothing is like shooting a Boss. They are like a magic wand in the hands.
I know of one right now that I'm itching to buy . working on the funds. It may take a while but I think it'll still be there
In the FWIW column, I've handled both and was seriously impressed with the 12/20s. This last one had 30-inch tubes and a long LOP and it still felt very lively. Very much in the "magic wand" category itself.
A few older posts on this action:
Action LocksOpinions Ken
The Baker patent '12/20', as it is often described, is not a 'self-opener' in the true sense as the opening force is only significant when one or both barrels remain unfired, similar to the C&H and normal Boss SLE's since the early 1900's. It cannot be compared with the Purdey or H&H SO (and very rare Boss SO's) mechanisms which provide the same SO force regardless of the state of the locks.
As described above, the mechanism only cocks the main springs when the gun is closed: they remain only lightly compressed when the gun is open or disassembled and this is arguably the advantage of the mechanism.
However, the '12/20' monica was coined by Burrand as they were built by several makers as a '12b with the weight of a 20b'. Others used the inherent strength of the action and backaction locks to build a super strong 12b with the weight of a normal one. This was the case with the Blanch example that I shot for several season.
In my experience, the major drawback of the gun was the significant effort needed to close the gun in a hurry when walking-up or rough shooting: for driven game it was lovely.
Toby, dig up another one around 6lbs and as nice the blanch or a light 16 haha