doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Double Rifles, Paradox Guns & Gauge Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Odd Gun

Here is a link to a recent listing on GB. It has already sold.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/969649225

I really thought about trying to buy this, but there are two or three things in the listing that I couldn't get around. The price went too high for me to risk a gamble.

First, it states that it was originally built as a 20 gauge bore rifle, which really raised my pulse. They said that it was confirmed with by a conversation with Purdey that they built the gun that way but it had subsequently been rebored to a 410 gauge.'
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L,S&B are generally honest and accurate, but this bothered me. It is obviously impossible to bore a 20 gauge to 410. Also, they didn't say that Purdey did the work, but I doubt Purdey would offer the opinion unless they did the work. There is no indication the bores have been lined.
They also were of the opinion that the firing pins were off-center and would not fire a striker of a 410 cartridge. If it was buile as a centerfire, no matter how it arrived as a 410, that would not be true.

All in all, I would loved to have the gun and tried to obtain tubes and lined to the original configuration. Rifled 20 gauge tubes are available out there, and this would have been a very nice gun. I already have a Sauer Cape Gun thet is a rifled short 20 on one side. The wood, engraving etc on this gun is really nice and it already has what looks to be a dovetail for a rear sight.

I think I know who bought it, and I will be able to see it in 2 weeks. But it may be a different, altered Purdey.

Just a guess....it looks like a .360 2&1/4" rebored to .410.

Really a nice little rifle once upon a time. Just to my liking style wise.

If you do, I would appreciate any comments. Although altered either way, it would be a nice save if someone would procure two rifled tubes and put it back in it's original condition. You could even take two Remington or Mossberg rifled barrels and machine them down to a workable OD, bore out the barrels and glue/solder them in like the system used for centerfire rifles.

One item of not is that the ad showed them as originally 20 ga, but didn't specify the chamber. When I got the Sauer, someone on the board here pointed me in the right direction and some investigation showed that the barrel I had was in 1-5/8" Lancaster,I believe. During that period they made cases in a number of lengths in 20 ga (and others).

Looking at the pictures it is hard to believe that this was ever a 20 bore rifle or otherwise.

I wonder if the Purdey records (which would have been a handwritten ledger) were misread. “.320” perhaps.

Externally it looks to have been built as a Rook Rifle or a light Express (.360 2 1/4” or .380 Express perhaps).

The non-alignment of the firing pins is very puzzling. Clearly they did meet the primers in the original chambering to get through Proof.

I can only assume that when the chambering cutters were set up for .410 the machinist got something badly wrong?

I
Looked was puzzled about that one too. I cannot see how this ever was a 20 bore. The firing pins look in place and the breech pic of the barrels look OK. Would a Purdy have the caliber marked on the underside of the barrels? I...Lk

I don't think the firing pins are off center,.
The pic of the face of the breech kind of makes it look as so at first glance. But I think it's more from the old imprint of the shell/case heads of the orig calibers,,one larger dia than the other.
From that it looks to me that it may have been a 'Cape Gun' or at least 2 different head size calibers.

The small Bead front sight and no signs of an old dove-taileded into place rifle type up front might suggest at least one bbl was a smoothbore.
The blank filled rear for a fold down single leaf for the rifle bbl.

All a guess of course. Nice looking 'gun'.

I was interested in that one because it looked very similar to a Purdey 360 2.25" double I recently considered bidding on at a UK auction. I agree LS&B usually has accurate descriptions.