doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com H&H 16 bore Royal

I think it's a beauty. But it is exactly the kind of gun that ruins my gun account. I'm not very good with temptation...Geo

As others have said this is maybe a $1200 gun. Yes it is a royal, but is prior to the updating of the design we know today. The metal being proud of the wood around the locks would really bug me and it probably isn't something that can be fixed without a restock. There are plenty of 12 gauge royals out there in that weight range so the gun as a 16 gauge isn't a big deal to me.

Ken

I don�t mean to be argumentative, but I�ve NEVER seen a Holland Royal for $1200. It�s an old one, but.... If that�s the price, I will buy it sight unseen.

Buzz,

The prices on this style of royal are in the $7-8K range after being restored for 12 gauges. What would be an estimated cost to restore this gun?

When I look at Rocketman's chart, the gun's current condition is probably a 7.5. If we agree this a Original Quality 1, the gun may be worth $4500. BUT, that is a big stretch looking at the stock and with the unknown barrel condition.

Ken

Restock is going to be the killer. Barrels must be sound as well. If stock or barrels can not be saved, for very little money, this becomes a money pit. I know because like many others I�ve gone down this road before despite knowing better.

What I see is a rare gun in poor condition. I can live with the metal after cleanup but wood that far below the metal surface is not going to swell back up. The fore end if cracked is not going to be any less than expensive to replace than the butt stock would be to do. In fact I�d rather do the butt stock which I find a lot easier to do.

Value is subjective. But let�s say this is a 8K gun. Restock 4-5K with a decent blank, new hinge pin or weld up the hook to put back on face, tidy up the rest for a few hundred. And there not much left. Plus you will have the minor surface pitting on the action because dealing with that and having the engraving picked up is not in the budget.

Perhaps the best thing to do is clean it up, redo the stock (soak, repair, new oil finish) , shim the hook and strip the action. Then shoot it as is. If it becomes the gun which talks to you then sink more money into it.

Thanks for all the thoughts. I agree it is definitely worthy of being saved and I can never expect to profit from the endeavor. I can tell many of you have been in this position before and appreciate all of the comments, especially Jon's, as they impart a valuable perspective. I think the most it can ever be is a shooter without spending 10K.

A few members mentioned the level of pitting in the barrels. I have attached a photo of the external pitting under the foreend Internally, I would say there is moderate pitting, especially in the chamber area. This one was definitely put up wet/dirty. I think I am going to send her off for a barrel inspection as she at least deserves a shot at restoration. If the barrels pass, I will go to a stocker and explore options. No promises, but if I proceed I will post some photos.

I would let it go. Its eulogy might include "death by misadventure. Once vibrant and beautiful, her time has passed". Or something to that effect.

Those pits do luck ugly but sometimes the camera makes things of this sort appear worse than reality. Best to make sure barrels are sound before diving in. If they are ok, I would go for it if I wanted such a gun.

The barrels are 4 Iron British Best "Turkish".

Do not give up yet. I know I kept throwing up cautions but that was to give you as much information to consider as possible. Too many projects get started but never finished because the deeper you go the more bad, expensive ge things you find. Without knowing the wall thickness, where those pits are, it�s all guess work. But if the barrels are bad then look at your options. Pass, buy and start a ten year project or take a real deep breath and look for options.

But think outside the box if you can. There are a couple gunsmiths in the US that are capable of sleeving those barrels. Then take it a step further and think about sleeving it into a 20 gauge with 32� barrels. Going down a gauge would give you a way to get rid of all those pits. That changes a money pit into a highly interesting project gun. There are zeros 20/32� version in the world of that gun. Restock it into a go to Sporting Clay/ all around gun. Clean up the metal, put back on face and have a little pick-up engraving done to refresh the worst pitted surfaces.

I would drop Dewey, or someone else about his level of skill, a call to see if he can deal with it. It�s a lot of work but it can be done. It just means your gun fund will remain drained for a long time. A very long time but in the end what a gem you could have.