OWD,
Thanks for replying. It looks like there has been some serious confusion on my part. You see, I participate in a forum very much like this one only it is in Spain and all the participants write in Spanish (as do I).
One of the things that has always been of interest is why the Spanish have never built a true self-opening gun. Terry Wieland explains that the only true self-opening gun ever built in Spain was the AyA Senior. We have pictures of that gun and know that it exists. However, it has been rumored for a long time that Ugartechea also built a self-opener on the Beesley action. Supposedly Purdey sued both AyA and Ugartechea for making guns with a Beesley action and won. The court order against Ugartechea, again according to the legend, demanded that the recall and destroy all the guns built on a the Beesley action in imitation of Purdey. After years of rumor, finally a poster has run across a Ugartechea which appears to have a self-opening system like a Beesley. The gun is question is in these three pictures:
As I may have mentioned this gun was purchased at auction and seems to confirm that Ugartechea did indeed build a self-opener. However, one of the big questions is why does it have Belgium and Spanish proofs. The gun is currently in the shop have some restoration work and we are waiting for more pictures. The owner of the gun reports that it has Victor Sarasqueta barrels and that the gun is from the early part of the 20th Century.
While we wait, some wild theories have been bounced around in order to explain the proof marks from both Belgium and Spain. One poster suggested that the gun was sent to Belgium and smuggled back into Spain and later reproofed to legalize it. Another individual posted this picture which he reports is a Jules Bury gun and suggested that the Ugartechea in question may have locks in it just like this gun:
Only when he made his post, he strung all four photos together and did not make clear that he had added the forth picture and that it was not of the Ugartechea in question, but rather of a different gun entirely. Hence the confusion in my post here. I apologize for that. He also suggested that the Ugartechea in question may have Defourny locks and posted those unique photos of the Defourny. However, the gun pictured with the locks open does not look like the various Bury guns that I am familiar with (one of the reasons why I thought it was of the Ugartechea).
Here is the only additional picture of the locks of the Defourny referenced above:
Those are the only Defourny pictures I have run across. These guys are serious collectors and have guns I have never even heard about. Most of the real good Spanish stuff is in Spain and never really made it across the pond. But these guys also collect all kinds of European gun and as collectors also have all the catalogues, advertisements, and other memorabilia that we generally do not have access to here. One of the posters is the grandson of Victor Sarasqueta. Being on that board is like living in Eibar.
I am waiting for the poster to confirm that the Bury he posted is indeed a Bury and have asked for more pictures. We are all waiting for more pictures of the Ugartechea so we can figure out exactly what we are looking at.
Sorry for the confusion...
Here is a few picts of what these guys have access to...
Here is a page from an old Ugartechea catalogue that shows a Purdey self-opener:
An old Sarasqueta catalogue:
Or like this AyA hammer gun
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