I used my favored "London`s Best" Joseph Lang sidelock side by side shotgun with single trigger (!!) for years. It is built in 1908 and was sold on the 10th of August 1908 to Captain M.Fitzgerald in London. It is in the original case with full shotgun equipment and I never had any problems with the marvelous rifle. Great pigeon shotgun which pointed automatically. Yes the old english gunmakers know there job over hunderd years ago very well. The shotgun was light and easy to lead. Take a new double shotgun in your hands and you know what I mean. Because the 12/65 Lang had 2 1/2 chambers, I always used the right ammunition for that chambers with a maximum shotshellsize of 6 (2,7 mm).
Last year when we had a pigeon hunt with many hunters in a great district, many pigeons where in the air. I was sitting with my german shorthair pointer "Casper" in a camouflage tent, from which I shot in 2 hours over 20 pigeons. "Casper" had to work hard and he loves it to bring me the birds. The sun was shining and all was fine. The Lang works perfect, when I made a shot that sounds difficult and the pigeon I pointed at a short distance was flying away.
I thought it was a misfire or a limp cartridge. Was not - I saw the right barrel was rolled up to the side in the front part of the barrel. It looks as when I had used a tin opener.
My fingers are ok, my dog, sitting beside , was okay - so I congratulated me to my luck at that moment. But I am sad for the destructed expensive Lang.
My gunsmith found out that is was an material fatigue of the barrel. The barrel thickness of that old nitro proofed gun was much thinner than shotgun barrels of today. Maybe that the pressure of the older gunpower was also weaker than that of our times.
