doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com New Westley droplock

Think carefully about how you all define 'boxlocks' BTW. What do you mean exactly? Where does the prejudice against them come from? A 'glorified boxlock' eh,? How little understanding of what makes a good double rifle action that comment shows.

Being a manufacturing engineer, I see and appreciate the innovation and beauty of the boxlock much more than the sidelock. It is truly a leap (revolution) in the gun design from the sidelock.

However, the sidelock has had essentially centuries of evolution and refinement. It is THE classic gun design that stirs nostalgia in the mind.

Both are pretty cool to me...for different reasons.

In practical use, I generally find that the boxlocks to have better strength in the stock inletting. I'm fixing a sidelock stock right now that has split the stock in various places within the inletting of the sidelocks, whether due to design or execution.

I think each design has weaknesses and strengths. I'd like to see some more innovation and evolution in the boxlocks. But, change comes slow on something in a niche market as a sxs shotgun.

Ok, you successfully put me in my place. I'm a shotgun guy and have NO interest in rifles and if I did I would go with a Winchester Model 70 for a WHOLE lot less money. A .458 Win out of a Model 70 would kill anything on earth, including a dinosaur. And I wouldn't have to pay �56,000 for it!

To my mind the Westley Richards hand detachable locks and particularly the trigger-plate actions of MacNaughton, Dickson and David McKay Brown stand at the height of the gunmakers mechanical art. And I'm an avid Beesley fan!

They are ingenious in design, reflect enormously well on their original architects and have relevant real benefits. In both cases the actions can be presented pinless and this, if I recall correctly, was the reason that hand detachable locks were very first designed by WR in 1895.

Tim

Buzz, I couldn't agree more. I put a sidelock way above a boxlock regardless of how well that boxlock is made. Give me a James Purdey & Sons or a Thomas Boss any day. But that Westley Richards was pretty nice!!

One of the advantages of a droplock over a standard boxlock is the ability to dry, clean, and oil the locks after they get wet. Not much of an advantage in Amarillo but if you lived in a rainy, misty, humid climate and it was the custom to go out even on wet days.

As discussed in the current SSM article on Westley Richards, hand detachable was an unexpected outcome of the instruction given to the WR designers to remove the unsightly pins from the boxlock.

That wet humid climate tears up the guts of a gun. Isn�t that why on the English �Best� guns destined for Africa and other bad climate areas all of the internal parts of the lock work is gold plated to minimize corrosion?

Small Bore, spot on, a Westley Richards droplock double rifle is just as good as a Holland Royal sidelock. I am lucky enough to be "looking after" a pair of Royal double rifles for another generation and whilst I prefer them, a Westley is their equal for a lot less money. The detachable lock IS useful. I was in the Selous last year and for two whold days it tipped down with rain. On the third day I had a quick shot at an impala for the pot, front trigger wouldn�t fire, got back to camp, took out the lock, cleaned out the water and oiled it, hey presto, back in action, best, Mike

Buzz,that makes no sense, sure an M70 in .458 will kill anything on the planet, so will an AK47 with solids but do you want to hunt with one ??? Treblig, I�ll take the Westley over a Purdey or Boss for DG,less to go wrong, best