doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Double Rifles, Paradox Guns & Gauge Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Holland and Holland Paradox Question

I have recently acquired a Holland and Holland hammer toplever Paradox that I am renovating. Barrels are original 28" length and 1/4 rear rib for rear sight and side clips. There is however a major problem. Unfortunately sometime in its history the choke rifling has been removed, out to bore diameter leaving cylinder bores in both barrels. I presume this was done to enable the firearm to be held on a shotgun certificate in the UK, as the bores are otherwise mirror and bright. My question is now what is best to do with this situation? Do I leave as is both cylinder bores, have them both threaded for thin wall choke tubes or is there a way to have paradox rifling inserts reinstalled in the barrels to return to as original?
Thank you for your experienced opinions.

What a shame. I don't know of anyone successfully restoring the choke rifling once it has been removed. The Holland paradox was an improvement over the smooth bore "ball and shot" gun which was used for essentially the same purpose as a paradox. Your gun may still function well as a round ball gun. Can you post some photos of the gun and the choke area?

Deer Creek,

If there is ample stock, your barrel thickness in the last several inches from the muzzle, I don't see why you couldn't have one or even both of your barrels bored and threaded to accept choke tubes, rifled or other. If wanted, carefully fitting (holding close tolerances) with the correct precautions to ensure that it or they are in for good along with the removal and flushing off of any slots or standing lugs used for installation would leave you with nothing more than a fine ring at the muzzle as trace that you have inserts. One could even "age" the finish at the muzzle to make the modification even less evident. If all this is within reason, financially, I'd say go for it and use the gun as it was intended.

Merry Christmas!

Mark

I have always wondered about this problem. Have you called Jess Briley and asked him if he could reproduce the rifled section as a tube and then install as a permenant tube section. It would be worth the call. Roger Lake has all the specifications for the engineering to cut a tube to reproduce the ratchet rifeling sectin.

I have some Hastings 12 gauge rifled chokes if you want to turn them down and make inserts. My contact info is in my profile.

Here is my 16 gauge Paradox, a bit later than yours.

My vote is to leave as is and use as a ball gun.

Terry,
Is that the original stock on your 16?

No, the gun had been very poorly restocked in India. James Tucker in Medford, Oregon restocked it for me.

Pretty nice job. Were the barrels sound?

Barrels are sound; they were a bit frosty, but not pitted.

Steven Dodd Hughes is going to have it in his next Shooting Sportsman article. The current issue features the roots of the Paradox.

I believe I may have had a look at this gun a couple months ago and passed on it because I couldn't imagine how the rifling could be restored. Would be the same gun if it came from the Burlington area. Good luck with it. I like the idea of discussing the problem with Briley.