WC Scott 10 Bore. Superb Lockwork

[Altitude sickness]

Early WC Scott 10 Bore made in 1889 is in excellent original condition. The engraving is sharp and well executed.

The Lockwork is of the highest quality with Bridle exhibiting good case color. The mainsprings and sear springs are polished to a mirror finish.
Rebounding hammers
This gun is fully functioning and tight. Screws are perfectly timed. Chambers measure 2 7/8”. Bores are good. Barrels are 7 out of 10 and ring nicely with tight ribs. Wood to metal finish is excellent.

The straight grip stock and splinter fore-end are made from highly figured French Walnut.

Uncasing this gem at the range or field will make you proud that you paid 1/4 the price of a mass produced factory shotgun with cheesy fake engraving and cheap wood. I have killed Turkeys and Geese with great efficiency and effectiveness with this piece of art.

8.5 pounds

LOP 13 7/8”

Drop at comb 1 3/4” drop at the heel 2 5/8”

Slight cast for the right hand shooter

Chokes measure right barrel modified. Left barrel “light full”

Wall thickness at muzzle is 0.028 and minimum barrel wall thickness is 0.030

As Diggory Hadoke and our own @rookhawk say ; buy the gun not the name. This gun is an example of the quality that WC Scott produced.

$1800

I have RST and Salt Creek no. 2-4 lead and Bizmuth shells available for sale also. Most is temporarily out of stock at RST. I will make the buyer a great deal on safe shells for the gun.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Fine piece of functional art. All British 10 gauge shotguns (and Paradox style guns) featured 2 7/8” chambers (and a few early blackpowder 10 gauges even featured 2 5/8” chambers).

10 gauge side by side shotguns featuring the modern 3 1/2” chambers were built in the USA, Spain, Belgium & Italy. Ithaca started building them in 1932 and the first one was owned by Major Charles Askins Sr.

But I don’t believe anybody currently produces a 10 gauge shotgun anymore, at all. Not since the Browning Gold semi automatic was discontinued back in 2023.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Good Morning H-H, These British shotguns are more than the sum of their parts.
Anecdotally the loads from this shotgun seem to hammer birds without much felt recoil.

Apparently the 2 7/8” is a “Square Load”

A traditional 10-bore 2 7/8-inch black powder or early nitro load utilizing 1 1/4 ounces to 1 3/8 ounces of lead shot is widely considered a classic "square load". In traditional shotgun lore, a square load means the shot column height equals the bore diameter (roughly a 1 5/8 oz payload optimized for a 0.775-inch 10-gauge bore height-to-width ratio, though 1 1/4 oz was historically cited as the ideal patterning sweet spot for the shorter 2 7/8" case). I

Understanding the Square Load in 10 Bore

• • Definition: A payload where the height of the shot column in the barrel matches the interior diameter of the bore.
  • Historical 10-Bore Payload: Traditionally, 2 7/8-inch British 10-bore game and wildfowling guns were regulated for 1 1/4 to 1 3/8 ounces of lead shot (backed by proportional black powder dram equivalents). [1]
  • Pattern Performance: Shooters and old-school reloaders maintained that this balanced ratio gave optimal, even patterns without excessive deformed pellets or undue recoil.

 

[Altitude sickness]

 

[Russ16]

What a fantastic gun. You don’t see many hammer guns with that much engraving in that type of condition.

 

[KSummers207]

Very nice shotgun! GLWS

 

[BeeMaa]

What an incredible piece of history. I’m very much taken with the engraving. The fact that you’ve done load development is a huge part of the deal. Best of luck with the sale.

In case anyone is wondering, @Altitude sickness is a great person to do business with.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Listed elsewhere

 

[Ray B]

I am internet acquainted with a few Damascus barrel shotgun shooters. They report that as long as the loads fired are kept within the shotguns limits, they are perfectly safe to shoot. Comments seen where they they are considered "generally unsafe" appear to be the result of litigious risk version. Guns of that era that wee made with well constructed Damascus barrels were the best and strongest of the era and those that have been treated well, which this one certainly so appears is expected to continue to provide much pleasure. GLWS and congrats to the purchaser.

 

[Kynoch2015]

Beautiful gun! If the buyer doesn’t want the RSTs, I have a home for them.

 

[gizmo]

Oh man. I’d give my left arm for that. Do you take left arms.

 

[Altitude sickness]

If you pay for shipping. I’ll take the arm. Next day air on ice of course.

 

[rookhawk]

This is a really nice shotgun @Altitude sickness

W.C. Scott was the maker to the makers. During this timeframe the guns of Holland & Holland were made by W.C. Scott.

What makes this gun quite interesting is its era. It has the best, full coverage engraving on the locks and rebounding hammers. It also has a top lever, indicating it is from the most modern and improved era for hammerguns.

A lot of people don't realize that 10 bore guns of this era were carrying a 1-1/4 ounce payload, so they have a far superior pattern than 12 and 20 gauge, but they are producing less recoil than a modern 12 gauge. This would be an absolutely excellent gun for Turkey and pass shooting waterfowl.

30" barrels are a huge plus too.

It's a dandy of a shotgun for a paltry sum of money. GLWS.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Thank you very much Rookhawk for the positive comments.