doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com question for the collective

Thank you Felix!

I owned a ML hammer gun some years back. The venerable John Mann sold it to me at a really nice price because I think he felt sorry for my young broke a$$.😂. God bless him.
The gun was exactly as pictured in the above catalog. It was a 16 bore. It wasn’t an extremely high quality gun, more of a fancy blue collar kinda of piece. Decently made, it was simple but not crude and ML paid someone at their ginormous factory to polish the locks, etc.
Most all ML’s I’ve seen and handled over the years have been about the same. Well made Belgian guns that absolutely weren’t in the JABC category.

Quick update: Recieved the gun yesterday. While not an expensive gun, it looks even better than the pictures in the ad showed.

I measured everything and the bores were both within 2/1000(+) of the stampings on the flats. I presume they are within the gap between two measureing plugs. Weight of the barrels are within an ounce of the stamp. Total weight was 6# 1/2oz. Surprisingly, the chokes measure out at .036" and .040"; nowhere near the proof stamp and hard to add metal. Don't really know how this could be. No signs of any polishing on the barrels or under the CC. Engraving is super sharp. Condition of the gun for 90 some years is unbelievable.

The loose vs off face questions were answered. The gun has a very slight loose feel when closed (not open) so not side to side wriggle. The movement is so slight you can feel it but not see it. Held up to a strong light, I could see no gaps as I twisted and moved it. I tried a .001 shim under the flats and then in front of the breech face, and all movement disappeared. When I tried a .002 shim in either location, the action wouldn't lock. This is a maddening thing I have seen a few times. Not really worth the cost or effort to fix. I have seen this looseness removed before by a piece of stainless ship stock Loctited into the hook. Reversible and stops the irritation.

I want to try thisas a hammer uppland gun.I am going to try it first with some Polywad Spreaders I have to see how I shoot it. I may have the barrel chokes reamed out to the proof dimensions. Wouldn't that be a hoot? Ream the chokes to restore it to original!

If it ain't a masterpiece, shim it and shoot it.

Very nice little gun. Shim open chokes to what you want and shoot the snot out of it!

Extremely nice at that price point, I found other 12 gauge guns same model from 2k-3k and looked worse. Happy someone here got the thing. I love 16ga guns but never had a hammer gun and doubt I would actually hunt one. Congratulations!

enjoy it in good health.

best regards,

tom

Just a note. I looked at these and they are not the same gun; you can see the serial # on the trigger bow of the first one, and the CC's are pretty much gon.

I think it is funny that everyone selling one thinks they have a prize from an auto race in 1906. The term Grand Prix has been so connected to Formula 1 that people think it means the race. The translation general comes out something like "Formula One Grand Prize of Monaco" etc but the term Gran Prix is generally not translated. The gun I bought is dated to 1929 or so. Little late to finish the prize and award it.

The gun ws not awarded as a prize, but was awarded a prize for industrial design at the Milan Exposition. They apparently labelled this model like that for as long as they made it after the exposition.

Also noted in a catalog from that period that the gun was only available "double full choked", which is consistent with the barrels and not the proof marks.

About time for one of them granpappy stories...