doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Henry Buckley Birmingham

Rocketman: The rifle barrel (of which I made a chamber cast) is stamped 52. The shotgun barrels are stamped 15. As I said, the .45-70 barrel is very accurate and case dimensions remain the same after firing. I suppose it could have been rechambered at some point but I'd be surprised - everything just seems correct.

In Seller's "American Gunsmiths" he list "Samuel Buckley & Co." as the trade name of J. Palmer O'Neil of Pittsburgh, Penn 1882-1885, Breech-loading shotguns.

MP, the O'neil company also imported Westley Richards guns with Pittsburgh Firearms Co. on them in the early 1880s. I don't think the two Buckley names are related , at least timewise.

Daryl,

I have nothing on Henry Buckley, Birmingham and likewise see no connection.

The history of the Birmingham Proof House details serious problems with administration of the proof act of 1855. In 1868 a new act passed into law. One purpose of this act was to,"curb the authority of the proof master"! Under the provisions of the new act, magistrates and city councillors were appointed/elected to serve as guardians of the proof house. Samuel Buckley was a magistrate or councillor serving on the board of guardians. It is very unlikely that he was ever in business as a Bimingham gunmaker. On december 31 1868 Samuel buckley was appointed chairman of the Guardians.
Samuel Buckley obviously had excellent connections within the Birmingham gun trade. It is almost certain that he established the business of, Samuel Buuckley and Co; in Detroit, for the purpose of selling Birmingham made guns.Per my earlier post, William Powell of Birmingham made at least 5 guns for Samuel Buckley & Co; Detroit.This fact is recorded in Powells records.

Roy, thanks for the good history. I wish I could wander the streets of the gunmaking areas and find someone who could answer questions. These old guns seem to have a story to tell. Maybe we can hear the story if we all keep at it. Powell had a really neat history. I especially like their hammer guns around 1855-75. Wonderful metal work and they were in the forefront of patents for the developing breechloaders.

DH - one of the keys to hearing these stories is to keep showing interesting guns and asking intersting questions. Thanks for this thread!! Pooled knowledge is a wonderous thing.

I have often thought of spending time in Belgium and England looking for more information. Some times you can share small bits of knowledge, but mostly you have to be able to listen and learn. For me, there is still so much to learn. Thanks Daryl, Roy, Micheal, Rocketman, James-l, et al.

Roy, you are always a well of information.

Pete

Here's a final photo of the Buckley. The elaborate forend tip apparently was not strong enough to last the hundred plus years of use. Wish I could have seen the whole thing.

Daryl,
No offense to Messrs. Powell and the remnants of the trade in B'ham, but having gone there every month on (non-gun) business last year I must admit that I learn more by spending an hour on this board than I did in all those trips!
K.