doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Bar action vs Back action sidelocks + boxlocks

I think it fair to say they were a cheaply made copy.

jOe, I guess you meant the English ones.

1884-5 F Gr. L.C. Smith, price then $55.00

A number of guns were made having back action works but a lock plate resembling the bar action. Four which quickly come to mind are the American L C Smith & Baker. A couple I own are a British J P Clabrough & Bros & a German J P Sauer & Son. This later was made as the KnockaBout for VL&D. All four of these are hammerless guns.

Every action has its advantages and also disadvantages. Overall, my biased pick of the group goes to a boxlock made to the highest standards. It does lack the grace and tradition of the sideslappers but it's incredibly simple and strong. Sidelocks often break in the wrist and a boxlock will usually split at the head. That's tic for tac. But it sure is fun to remove a well built sidelock and stare in wonder at the workmanship and all the little parts working together to make it go bang. Aw heck, I like 'em all.

A sidelock is a safer gun than a box lock.

How so, Joe? NO gun is any safer than the man holding it- and the only safety you can trust is the one up between your ears- Now a sidelock with H&H intercepting sears does provide a second safety against either an excessive recoil or being dropped discharge-

I very much like my LC Smiths- most of them pre-1913 ejector guns with the older three position safety- they are not in the same class with the London and Birmingham made "bespoke" sidelocks, but they handle better for me than any other side-by-side I have shot to date. For the best analysis of this 'debate" I defer to Paul A. Curtis and his 1934 tome- "Guns and Gunning" shoot what pleases you, and shoot safely at all times-- "You may kill or you may miss. but at all times remember this- All the pheasants ever bred, won't repay for one man dead"--

Most good English sidelocks have secondary safety sears. My Grants, W.C Scott, Blanch all of them do.

T

Well Tony, there's a lot of great high end boxlocks with the same intercepting sears too. Look at the upper crust stuff Scott turned out. Best I can tell safety is about a draw between the two actions. Actually, the boxlock should inherently be safer since the sear and hammer are much more robust than on a sidelock.

Agreed. I was stating that H&H were not the only sidelock with intercepting safet sears. Definately agree on the boxlock front!

T

I think it is safe to say that most boxlocks do not have intercepting safety sears. Also, some sidelocks don't. I had a 5-pin back action that looked like a bar action which lacked intercepting sears. The 7-pins have int safety sears. I think the bar action sidelock is the most pleasing to the eye and most graceful between the hands of all the doubles IMHO.