doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com E.J. Churchill grade ?

When speaking of Churchill BLE, where does the "Regal" grade fit into the scheme of things? Looking thru an old Churchill catalog I see a couple listings for BLE in grades "Hercules" & "Utility". When did Churchills begin making "The Regal" grade? The gun I own is a Regal grade, and has the same engraving pattern and scalloped action as the Churchill "Regal" that just sold at Hill Rod & Gun http://hillrodandgun.com/picture.php?id=12392

Thanks in advance for any help.

Dustin

In the Churchhill book by Don Masters it states that the engraving pattern and the scrollback action shown in the Hill R&G site were post 1965. Some of the earlier Regal models didn't have the fancy action scrollback and are hard to tell from the Utility gun.

The serial # on my Churchill is 23869. Does this help with putting a date of manufacture on the peice?

Dustin

LeFusil: Churchill is still in business, and if you send them an e-mail, or ring them up I am sure they will be happy to help you.

http://www.ejchurchillgunmakers.com

e-mail: gunmakers@ejchurchill.com

Ya I tried them, three times with no response.

Dustin

Some makers will charge for historical information on their guns, and it can take a while. The last time I contacted a London maker, it took several weeks for them to respond.

If EJ Churchill did not use a different serial scheme on their boxlock guns, your gun was likely made around 1980-1981.

i had a discussion with the late don masters(he was a delightful man)with regards the regal model and he told me that after the war the term utility became unpopular(i think because of the everyday general meaning) with the gun buyers and it was replaced by the regal.he also said that scroll back is the true description for the regals with shaped actions and not scalloped as is often used.hope this is a little help.
cheers

Mr. Martin,
Thanks for the information, very helpful. Whats the difference in the terms "scalloped" & "scroll back"? I often thought they meant the same things...for instance the terms "fences" & "breech balls".

Thanks again,
Dustin

im afraid i am unable to give a technical or definite explanation to the differences between the styles and accepted that the term scroll back is given to the regals as explained to me by don masters.
im sure he said the scroll back was based on a westley action and that scalloped had one or two long curves.he explained it a lot better than i can and i managed to have a clear picture after he described it to me.
i hope someone more knowledgable may assist further.
cheers