doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Looking for info on an H. Holland SxS #1108

Good morning gentlemen (and ladies if any). I acquired an "old shotgun" several years ago to use as a wall hanger. I didn't really look at it too closely until just a few days ago. I was curious about any possible history it might have. Come to find out it's an H. Holland #1108. Started looking for info and found this BBS. There is additional writing on the rib but I haven't been able to make out what it says...yet. It's not in terrible shape, though needs a thorough cleaning. Yes, I know not to mess with the patina, etc. LOL!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

The best thing you can do is to remove the barrels, and take a picture of the flats. If you can do that, somebody here will be able to tell you more than you ever wanted to know.
Because back at the turn of the century unscrupulous dealers peddled shotgun�s named similarly to premium brand names, the flats always tell the real story.

Is there info regarding how to go about that? I can probably figure it out because I have a fair amount of experience with guns, etc but would rather be careful than sorry.

Thanks!!!

Start by removing the forend.
Then, push the toplever to the right, and push down on the barrels.
They should roll right off the hinge pin.

It's not hard to do.
Good time to clean and inspect it too.

This a percussion muzzleloader double, not a breakopen.

If there are one or two wedge keys going crosswise in the forearm, push them out, or nearly out, and the barrels should pivot upwards, freeing their hooks from the breech. If there is no key, then removal may be quite a bit more challenging (driving pins).

There is one wedge key. I'll just have to be VERY careful pushing it out. I don't know how stuck they are. Is WD-40 safe to use? Because it will definitely get on the wood. I'll try to post some pics of it in a bit, maybe that will help?

Wedge keys can be tight, but not really a bit problem tapping out. Do not use WD-40 or any solvent or oil. There is mostly just wood in there, and you do not need to soak that too.

If the key has a central slot that you see is visible as it comes out, it will probably not come all the way out. It is a captured key with a pin holding it under the escutcheon. It does not need to be completely removed. Just enough that the tip of the key passes through the barrel loop in the bottom-center of the barrel set.

The loop probably looks something like this


the Key will look like these https://www.trackofthewolf.com/list/Item.aspx/964/3, either with or without the slot for capture. I would be surprised if yours was NOT captured.

If the key needs a little persuasion after the tip gets below the surface of the escutcheon, use something like a wooden popsicle stick to insert in the slot and tap it out.

If Harris Holland's serial numbers were sequential, you're probably looking at a muzzle-loader built around 1864 or so, when Holland was also making pinfire guns. That's late-ish for a muzzle-loader, though it also means they were at their peak of design and quality.

It has always been fascinating to me that in 1864 a sportsman had the choice of several popular systems to choose from, from percussion to pinfire, needlefire and centrefire.