Hanging out at Whittington got me salivating to own a hammergun yet again. The reasons for having one are purely affectation, but there is no denying their appeal. As far as tastes go, mine are fairly conventional...I'd prefer back-action locks, damascus barrels, nitro-proofs, a top=lever opener, etc. Variations on that theme are probably allright (bar-actions are fine too & a sidelever would be very appealing). Because I'm fooling myself into believing that I'd actually hunt with it, I'd prefer one that was in the 6 3/4 lb range, with an English stock I could live with (1 1/2, 2 1/2, 14 5/8, etc.) and because of my left handed-ness I'd prefer something with only minimal cast off (if not actually neutral or cast-on). I owned a circa 1892 20-gauge Thomas Bland that actually met those requirements some 20-years ago now, that I really enjoyed looking at in it's cute little case, but it just didn't make the grade as a ruffed-grouse gun (I couldn't cock those hammers fast enough) so... it went on down the road. A big name gun is clearly too-much to hope for (Purdey, Horsley, Blanch, etc.) so I'm open to the provincial makers, provided their work is up to snuff. I'm also torn between the artistic and the practical ends of the scale here, as a modern Italian version would work just fine as well, but...it wouldn't look quite-right to me. A 16 would be lovely but a 12 seems much more practical (and available). Black powder proofs are fine as well, provided the tubes are substantial-enough to be comfortable with low-pressure (but modern) ammunition. I see a number of examples on the Vintage Doubles webpage, and the entry-level price seems to be in the $2,400 range. Kirby's been a good source of guns for me before, so I'm comfortable with his descriptions and the conditions of his guns (within reason). I know there are hammergun variants all-over the map here, but English, old, and straight-stocked seem to the parameters I can't live without. And...since good repair options are becoming extremely expensive, a healthy example would seem to be de-minimus as well.

Am I missing anything? What says the cognoscenti here?

Last edited by Lloyd3; 05/05/22 10:35 AM.