A Seventy Year Dream Come True

Exactly! - a drop lock then. Congratulations on owning one of the finest guns ever produced by human hands. I don't suppose that shop owner has the original oak and leather case tucked away in a back room somewhere? Depending on condition, it alone could be worth more than you paid for that wonderful gun. Game Bore are great loads. I use them a lot here (almost exclusively in older guns like yours). I would restrict that gun 1 1/8 ounce loads, and with American size No. 6 shot you could cleanly take any pheasant or duck that ever flew.
Red Leg
Interestingly enough , this gun is one of a pair. Somebody purchased the other shot-gun without the case. I think that I will purchase the case. It will make the gun look complete. I am an avid fan of game bore cartridges . I use their Buffalo SG cartridge in the lower barrel of my Beretta 12 bore ( of course , no sensible person would want to use an SG cartridge in this Westley Richards piece ) .
I see that you are advising not to use number 4 cartridges and to stay with number 6. I shall stay with number 6 then. Bangladesh importing Game Bore cartridges was one of the widest decisions BSF had made.
 
Okay , guys. :p
Genuine question. Suppose hypothetically , this gun had cylinder bores , like no choke. Would it be safe to use 000 buck in the gun ? And if not , then why not ? Like what part of the gun would get damaged ? :(
I wanna learn. :)
Hoss Delgado
Even if the muzzles lack choke , I would think that the mechanism of the gun would have a great deal of strain placed on it. But somebody wiser than l can answer that more accurately.
 
Okay , guys. :p
Genuine question. Suppose hypothetically , this gun had cylinder bores , like no choke. Would it be safe to use 000 buck in the gun ? And if not , then why not ? Like what part of the gun would get damaged ? :(
I wanna learn. :)
I am assuming this is a between the wars gun. I would never subject an extremely valuable older gun to slugs or buckshot. It likely has a max proof of 1 1/4 ounces or less, and so, the last thing it needs at nearly 100 years of age is a max load. Buy something cheap and modern for that work.
 
Am I to understand that it is a drop lock with an extra set of locks? I am very pleased for you Mr. Rahman, that is the best deal I have heard of in quite some time. I pray you have many happy hours in the field with it!
 
It's my understanding that the main issue with larger shot sizes generally, an especially in older pieces is the constriction of the choke.

In theory, a 32g load is a 32g load, irrespective of shot size, but, the issue comes when you try and compress the larger pellets through a tighter choke. The larger pellets, due to their looser packing in the bore (think about the spaces between gravel versus sand) aren't as 'compliant' and so potentially cause more pressure when forced into the constricted portion of the muzzle. The pellets also carry a lot more momentum on a per pellet basis, leading to more localised pressure on the barrel wall where they bear (assuming standard fibre wads).

The short (by modern standards) forcing cones you often see on older guns further exacerbates this issue, leading, at least in theory to a lot more pressure being exerted on the thin walled, choke part of the barrel.

When one also considers that fine english game guns are designed to be light and pointable for bird shooting and have correspondingly thin barrel walls anyway... and you start to see the issue.

The traditional British bird load in the 40s and 50s would be 1 ounce of 7 shot, which is what the gun will probably like best. 6, 5, 4 shot are probably fine, definitely 6 and 5, but get too big and you might start to see issues.
 
Dear mr Rahman,
Excellent!
I congratulate you for this!
 
Hoss Delgado
You are like my grandson so l can be informal with you.
Young man , you should be ashamed of yourself . Why would anybody want to mutilate an English piece of art like that ? You will do no such thing .

Mr Rahman,
I just love that response! I got a real good laugh out of it.
 
What a wonderful wonderful gun at such an amazing price.
I have always loved Westley Richards and dream of the day I can add a drop lock to my collection. As an early English gun fanatic, it's the only "hammerless" gun I've ever wanted.
Enjoy your prize!
 
Am I to understand that it is a drop lock with an extra set of locks? I am very pleased for you Mr. Rahman, that is the best deal I have heard of in quite some time. I pray you have many happy hours in the field with it!
Wab
Why yes. It comes with a spare mechanism or " locks". For just the equivalent of 100 American dollars more , l can purchase the original case as well.
 
What a wonderful wonderful gun at such an amazing price.
I have always loved Westley Richards and dream of the day I can add a drop lock to my collection. As an early English gun fanatic, it's the only "hammerless" gun I've ever wanted.
Enjoy your prize!
Hammer guy
Thank you so much . It will be lovely for hares too in the Sylhet tea garden.
 
I am assuming this is a between the wars gun. I would never subject an extremely valuable older gun to slugs or buckshot. It likely has a max proof of 1 1/4 ounces or less, and so, the last thing it needs at nearly 100 years of age is a max load. Buy something cheap and modern for that work.
Thanks , Red Leg :)
I'll stick to my BRNO ZH301 :D
But I respect the beauty of those English guns . To each his own.
 
It's my understanding that the main issue with larger shot sizes generally, an especially in older pieces is the constriction of the choke.

In theory, a 32g load is a 32g load, irrespective of shot size, but, the issue comes when you try and compress the larger pellets through a tighter choke. The larger pellets, due to their looser packing in the bore (think about the spaces between gravel versus sand) aren't as 'compliant' and so potentially cause more pressure when forced into the constricted portion of the muzzle. The pellets also carry a lot more momentum on a per pellet basis, leading to more localised pressure on the barrel wall where they bear (assuming standard fibre wads).

The short (by modern standards) forcing cones you often see on older guns further exacerbates this issue, leading, at least in theory to a lot more pressure being exerted on the thin walled, choke part of the barrel.

When one also considers that fine english game guns are designed to be light and pointable for bird shooting and have correspondingly thin barrel walls anyway... and you start to see the issue.

The traditional British bird load in the 40s and 50s would be 1 ounce of 7 shot, which is what the gun will probably like best. 6, 5, 4 shot are probably fine, definitely 6 and 5, but get too big and you might start to see issues.
Thanks , Alistair. :)
I often read old hunting books in which the writers used to use buckshot in their English shotguns ( they would use things like SSG or AAA ) . Would you happen to know what kinds of English guns those were ?
 
Dear mr rahman,
Using proper load is delicate subject. I would suggest to send email to westley richards company. Give them serial number and ask for advise. Also you may ask about hystory of this fine piece of art, previous owner, or at keast first owner. Such companies keep their records and you may even find some interesting information!
 
Dear mr rahman,
Using proper load is delicate subject. I would suggest to send email to westley richards company. Give them serial number and ask for advise. Also you may ask about hystory of this fine piece of art, previous owner, or at keast first owner. Such companies keep their records and you may even find some interesting information!
Mark Hunter
That is very sensible advise. I have made my niece send Westley Richards an electronic mail asking for more information. This fine shot-gun used to belong to Lord Justice Shohel Majid previously.
 

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