Friend of mine, now passed, sent a double Westley Richards 10 bore to Holland and Holland back in the very early 70's for 'testing' as the action was a bit stiff. H&H wrote back and said this was due to it not being fired - at all and that it would loosen up a bit with shooting. The they also requested to cordite proof the gun, due to it's excellent condition. This was agreed to and the gun now bears cordite proofs for the 2 7/8" 10 bore shell. This was an early 1880's shotgun.
I shot that gun on trap, at the Smithers R&G club. Nice!! Handled like a champ.