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mehulkamdar
.416 member


Reged: 09/01/04
Posts: 3688
Loc: State of Ill-Annoy USA.
Anyone have a Beesley Shotover in the UK?
      #258015 - 18/12/14 08:46 AM

British gunmaker Richard Barnes and his team are looking at building a 470 or 375 double rifle on the Beesley Shotover design. They would like to examine a gun if someone is willing to let them have a look. Richard served at Purdey for 25 years, and then worked at Boss and then at Holland and Holland before building guns in his own name.

If someone here could help, please let me know, and I would be happy to put you in touch with him. And, if someone would like to put their name down for possibly the first such gun in 70 plus years, they would be welcome to talk to him. I plan to talk to a very reputable authority on fine guns to consider doing an article on this new gun. As you might guess, I do not expect the gentleman to refuse to do it.

Thank you in advance for any assistance, and good hunting!

--------------------
The Ark was made by amateurs. Experts built the Titanic.

Mehul Kamdar


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Dutch44
.275 member


Reged: 23/02/06
Posts: 80
Loc: Missouri
Re: Anyone have a Beesley Shotover in the UK? [Re: mehulkamdar]
      #258017 - 18/12/14 09:37 AM

Do we have a price point yet, Mehul? Delivery time?

Dutch


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mehulkamdar
.416 member


Reged: 09/01/04
Posts: 3688
Loc: State of Ill-Annoy USA.
Re: Anyone have a Beesley Shotover in the UK? [Re: Dutch44]
      #258021 - 18/12/14 10:13 AM

Dutch,

Thank you for the very fast reply. I do not have any idea of prices or anything else - just chatted with Richard, his colleague Ian Clarke, who is another master who will be working on the gun, and the great Robin Brown of A. A. Brown. I do know that they would be happy to have a commission, but they plan to go ahead even if they don't have one, from what I understand.

I would be happy to put you in direct touch with Richard. He is a very nice person to talk to, if you are interested. I just offered to try and find him a gun to examine in the UK.

Please let me know if there is anything that I can do. Good hunting!

--------------------
The Ark was made by amateurs. Experts built the Titanic.

Mehul Kamdar


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mehulkamdar
.416 member


Reged: 09/01/04
Posts: 3688
Loc: State of Ill-Annoy USA.
Re: Anyone have a Beesley Shotover in the UK? [Re: mehulkamdar]
      #258038 - 19/12/14 01:38 AM

OK, gentlemen, I can confirm that Doug Tate will be doing an article on this project from start to finish, and Matt Brown will do the photography. This is coming together beautifully, except that we don't have a gun to examine in the UK yet, because of the rarity of the design. everyone of the craftsmen and writers involved are already looking for a sample to examine, so we hope to find one to look at very soon.

If an NE member decides to commission the gun, please do remember to share the good news. You know where the information is from, and I posted it here first, as I always do!

Good hunting!

--------------------
The Ark was made by amateurs. Experts built the Titanic.

Mehul Kamdar


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mehulkamdar
.416 member


Reged: 09/01/04
Posts: 3688
Loc: State of Ill-Annoy USA.
Re: Anyone have a Beesley Shotover in the UK? [Re: Dutch44]
      #258039 - 19/12/14 01:43 AM

Dutch,

Ian Clarke hopes to show the finished rifle at SCI in 3 years' time. I can confirm this too.

Good hunting!

--------------------
The Ark was made by amateurs. Experts built the Titanic.

Mehul Kamdar


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xausa
.400 member


Reged: 07/03/07
Posts: 2037
Loc: Tennessee, USA
Re: Anyone have a Beesley Shotover in the UK? [Re: mehulkamdar]
      #258040 - 19/12/14 01:47 AM

The name Beesley Shotover was unfamiliar to me, but this article enlightened me: The photographs of the locks should be pretty useful in analysing the mechanism. There is also a discussion of it in Burrard's "Modern Shotgun".
Beesley Shotover
I once owned a Westley Richards Ovundo in caliber 400/350, with hand detachable locks, but sold it due to the unavailability of the 310 grain bullets for which it was regulated and which John Taylor was so complimentary of. Also, my Krieghoff "Teck" over and under .375 H&H made the caliber somewhat redundant.



Edited by 4seventy (19/12/14 05:19 PM)


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mehulkamdar
.416 member


Reged: 09/01/04
Posts: 3688
Loc: State of Ill-Annoy USA.
Re: Anyone have a Beesley Shotover in the UK? [Re: xausa]
      #258042 - 19/12/14 02:09 AM

Sincere thanks, XAUSA!

I shall pass the link on to Richard, Ian and the rest of the team. The pics are invaluable.

Sad about your Ovundo. In any case, you have guns that you can hunt with in its place, which should compensate for the sale.

The project continues with the support of the Nitroexpress Forums and its learned members!

Good hunting!

--------------------
The Ark was made by amateurs. Experts built the Titanic.

Mehul Kamdar


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xausa
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Reged: 07/03/07
Posts: 2037
Loc: Tennessee, USA
Re: Anyone have a Beesley Shotover in the UK? [Re: mehulkamdar]
      #258047 - 19/12/14 03:59 AM

Quote:

Sad about your Ovundo. In any case, you have guns that you can hunt with in its place, which should compensate for the sale.




Since then I have acquired a Krieghoff Ulm Primus over and under in 9.3X74R, also with hand detachable locks, which is about as close as you can get to the 400/350 in a modern rimmed caliber, for which ammunition is still manufactured.


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Waidmannsheil
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Reged: 19/04/13
Posts: 2363
Loc: Melbourne Australia
Re: Anyone have a Beesley Shotover in the UK? [Re: xausa]
      #258054 - 19/12/14 06:27 AM

Xausa, that link you put up doesn't seem to work.

Waidmannsheil.

--------------------
There is nothing wrong with vegetarian food, so long as there is meat with it.


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doubleriflejack
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Reged: 11/11/07
Posts: 352
Loc: Oregon, U.S.A.
Re: Anyone have a Beesley Shotover in the UK? [Re: mehulkamdar]
      #258060 - 19/12/14 08:18 AM

A Beesley shotover 12 ga. is on sale by Steve Barnett Fine Guns (he has a website), in Mississippi, U.S.A.; maybe something could be worked out with him.

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Dutch44
.275 member


Reged: 23/02/06
Posts: 80
Loc: Missouri
Re: Anyone have a Beesley Shotover in the UK? [Re: doubleriflejack]
      #258069 - 19/12/14 01:56 PM

Mehul:
I had Keith Thomas, who was working at WR and now working at Purdeys, build me a H&H style back-action sidelock for my 450-400 3 1/4. Excellent workman. He also built a Beesley action for a customer in London who uses it, if you can believe this, as a paper weight. I saw photos of it and it was beautiful colorcased. I would have your friends contact him as he probably has access to one.

Dutch


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4seventy
Sponsor


Reged: 07/05/03
Posts: 2210
Loc: Queensland Australia
Re: Anyone have a Beesley Shotover in the UK? [Re: xausa]
      #258079 - 19/12/14 05:25 PM

xausa,
I took the liberty of trying to fix the link in your post.
Please let me know if it is not the correct webpage.

What an interesting design!

Beesley Shotover


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xausa
.400 member


Reged: 07/03/07
Posts: 2037
Loc: Tennessee, USA
Re: Anyone have a Beesley Shotover in the UK? [Re: 4seventy]
      #258086 - 19/12/14 10:04 PM

Quote:

xausa,
I took the liberty of trying to fix the link in your post.
Please let me know if it is not the correct webpage.




Thanks! Some day I will have to learn how to do that, although at age 75 I'm a little doubtful.


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Waidmannsheil
.400 member


Reged: 19/04/13
Posts: 2363
Loc: Melbourne Australia
Re: Anyone have a Beesley Shotover in the UK? [Re: xausa]
      #258147 - 21/12/14 04:01 PM

Extremely interesting thread. Great enlarged photos of the side-locks and of how the rising bite works.

Waidmannsheil.

--------------------
There is nothing wrong with vegetarian food, so long as there is meat with it.


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bouldersmith
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Reged: 23/03/06
Posts: 608
Loc: Boulder Colorado
Re: Anyone have a Beesley Shotover in the UK? [Re: Waidmannsheil]
      #258165 - 23/12/14 01:27 AM

Interesting project and some top shelf people involved but I just can not warm up to that action aesthetically.

--------------------
New website http://www.bertramandco.com


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