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Double Rifles, Single Shots & Combinations >> Double Rifles
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iwantadouble
.300 member


Reged: 06/06/05
Posts: 104
Loc: Gallatin County, Montana
Hammer Gun trends; Nitro & Black Question
      #47120 - 20/01/06 02:32 PM

While I have probably looked at 500+ doubles in the last year, the most interesting ones to me are the most elusive in the results I have come up for a general price structuring.

What do the trends tend to be running for a decent hammergun in say .500 BPE or .577 BPE? No best gun, but a name English maker, with good bores, barrels that could be re-blacked and mostly missing case colors? In example, a nice clean shooter.

How do the NE hammer guns stack up versus a boxlock or sidelock of the same quality name and condition for price? I am assuming these beauties are far rarer than their smokebelching breathren.

There is just something about the looks of a back action hammer double with an underlever that I find exceptionally sexy. Not that I do not find a sex appeal in either a boxlock or a sidelock, but they just don't seem as graceful to me as a hammer.

Hearing that Purdey is producing hammerguns again is great news, and for what I would have commissioned, I can expect the price to be roughly $120,000, but that does not help me get a mental picture on the pre-WW2 rifles.

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500 is a nice round number, either followed by "Nitro Express" or by "cubic inch displacement".

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CptCurlAdministrator
.450 member


Reged: 01/05/04
Posts: 5284
Loc: Fincastle, Botetourt County, V...
Re: Hammer Gun trends; Nitro & Black Question [Re: iwantadouble]
      #47140 - 20/01/06 10:57 PM

I'm no expert, but my impression is that a good hammer double rifle in .500BPE starts at perhaps US$9,500. That would be for one with little or no original finish, and probably re-finished in the past. A gray gun with usable bores and wood. An example I would point to is an H&H being currently offered by Westley Richards for US$10k:



You will notice that the stock of this rifle is broken and repaired just behind the head, to the left of the top tang. Also notice this is a "Plain Jane". Little or no engraving adorns it. Here is a closeup from the WR website:



That should give you a feeling for what US$10k will buy.

It's all uphill from there, in terms of price and condition. I think I can assure you that you will not find a good original condition rifle at a yard sale price.

My heart also skips a beat when I handle a vintage hammer double rifle. Somehow I can't warm up very much to the poor examples that have been "gunsmithed" to death. I want good original condition with no refinish. That's a costly proposition. Here's a pic of my Purdey .500BPE, which has been shown on this site before:



This rifle was delivered in 1894. It remains in fine original condition throughout, still residing in its original oak and leather case.



Please forgive the barrel distortion in this photo. The case is straight and only appears bowed because of the aspect of the shot.

Here's a composite photo of the case label and the charge card:



I think it is interesting to see the black powder warning stamped on these labels. Here at the dawn of the nitro era Purdey was worried that someone might put a .500NE in the chambers. The same warning is engraved on the bottom rib under the forend.




In my opinion you cannot go wrong buying quality and condition. You pay more, but you get much more in the bargain. As the years go by that choice will repay many times over.

Curl

--------------------
RoscoeStephenson.com

YOUR DOUBLE RIFLE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND.



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iwantadouble
.300 member


Reged: 06/06/05
Posts: 104
Loc: Gallatin County, Montana
Re: Hammer Gun trends; Nitro & Black Question [Re: CptCurl]
      #47449 - 22/01/06 05:17 PM

Thank you for your opinions. That Holland is under what I had guestimated the values at. I was thinking roughly double, but of course, the Holland is also used and/or abused, so I might have been closer than I give myself credit for being.

While my double experience is very limited, I have come to one opinion that continues to ring through my mind. Your Purdey is an example of why the Purdey namesake is the only one I place any major importance over in regards to the field of doubles. There are doubles made by so and so and its quality ranges from not so good to great. And then there are Purdeys. Simply amazing rifle! I think your Woodward is stunning, and while it is like comparing apples and oranges, the Purdey tops it.

I would have never noticed the barrel distortion of the photograph had you not mentioned it. The case was the last thing I was looking at, and is the only real indication that there is a distortion to the photo.

--------------------
500 is a nice round number, either followed by "Nitro Express" or by "cubic inch displacement".

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