doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com The pinfire game gun

I honestly don't know who was the first British maker to offer a breech-loader with a captive fore-end. I originally thought the removable fore-end was a British development first appearing on the Lang/Hodges gun, but some much earlier French guns had them, I now realize. Yet another subject for someone to study! I've not seen enough breech-loaders with captive fore-ends to understand their source, but the origins might come from somewhere on the Continent.

The Daw snap-action breech-loader might have been the first in Britain to have a captive fore-end. I've seen JBLondon's magnificent Daw, it is a real beauty. Daw's gun was the design of François Eugène Schneider of 13 Rue Gaillon, Paris, which George Henry Daw purchased the rights to. (See? It is very hard to get away from French influences)

The early hand-made breech-loaders drip history like their later cousins exude elegance and finesse. The pinfires were the beginning of the learning curve for the makers that went on to build the guns in the purported "golden age" of shotguns. Pinfires carry their own style, but like the high collars and top hats worn for shooting, they are from a bygone age we have difficulty imagining and understanding.

Outside of fashionable London there was land to shoot over, and local gunmakers tried to get as much of the business as they could. Provincial gunmakers ran the gamut from being mere retailers of Birmingham-made guns, to bespoke makers rivalling their London brethren. They could also be both, moving trade-made guns to middle levels of society, while being able to produce Best-quality guns on special commission - it all depended on the size of the client's purse. Makers outside of London and Birmingham might have been capable of producing exquisite guns, but such commissions would be few, and surviving examples correspondingly rare.

Royals set the trends and fashions in Victorian society, and gunmakers vied for royal appointments. Having a non-London maker obtain a royal patronage is unusual enough, and one doing so would make full use of this in their advertising -- even after their patron's death. Today we can look at such an instance, from a provincial gunmaker who was the favourite of Albert, Queen Victoria's husband.

Edward Paton was born in 1819 in Dublin, Ireland, where his father was stationed at the time. In the 1840s he was an armourer with the 42 Royal Highlanders, and in 1854 he went into partnership with Charles Frederick Walsh, buying the gunmaking business of Ancell & Salmond at 44 George Street, Perth, Scotland, and together Paton and Walsh obtained several patents. Walsh left the partnership in 1858 and the firm continued trading under the name of Edward Paton. In 1861 Paton employed 7 men and 2 boys, and the business was known for their conversions of muzzle-loaders to breech-loaders. At some point Paton was appointed Gunmaker to His Royal Highness The Prince Consort (no small accomplishment), and after Albert's death in December 1861, Paton's label and rib inscriptions were changed to reflect the change. By 1870 the firm had been re-named Edward Paton & Son. Around this time Edward Paton moved to London to open a new shop at 108 Mount Street, Grosvenor Square, and the firm finished guns for Boss & Co.. In 1890 the Perth business was sold.

Here is a 14-bore rotary-underlever double-bite screw-grip pinfire sporting gun, number 2397, made in the mid 1860s. The 29 15/16" damascus barrels have London proofs and the wide top rib is signed "Edward Paton maker to His late RH the Prince Consort. Perth". The back-action locks are signed "Edward Paton." Interestingly it has a perforated trigger guard bow with a corresponding raised button on the under-lever, a feature I had not encountered before. The hammers are nicely done, and the tip of the under-lever is particularly well shaped and finished. This gun is near-identical in build quality and decoration to the Boss & Co. pinfires covered earlier, so it is not surprising Edward Paton finished guns for them! The bores are moderately pitted, and the gun weighs 6 lb 13 oz, befitting the smaller gauge.