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WildCattle
.275 member


Reged: 22/03/06
Posts: 95
Loc: Northern California
New arrival: Purdey .500 3" BPE
      #218706 - 31/10/12 03:25 PM

From the same auction (Pook & Pook) as Curl's Rigby .360.

It's a very classical, underlever rebounding hammer double rifle and a great companion for my .450/.400.
It was built in 1892 for the earl of Shannon (likely Richard Henry Boyle the 6th).
Snap action, sideclips, 28" barrels, 9#6oz, 50 yard sight + 2 leaves, pistol grip with cap, cheek piece and cased.
The gun is in really good shape. The bores are excellent: the left is pristine, the right has very few pits.
Strangely the locks are blacked, but otherwise the case coloring is all there, even on the breech face.
The case is quite beat up, but I think it's fixable. Unfortunately, the tools are gone.
The case has painted dark green and white strips on it. I believe that this refers to a British unit or regiment.
Does anybody have a decoder ring?

It's pretty scary to buy a gun at a remote auction, it's such a crap shoot.
In my experience, only Julia's has really good descriptions and accurate condition reports (most of the time). The others seem to believe that the less they say, the better off they are. Most don't know much.
This specific auction yielded a great deal of wonderful stuff even though that's all I got. This collector had very good taste IMHO.
Best regards,
WC


cased!


loading data


action


Belly


Action




Flats


More belly


Bore


Escutcheon

--------------------
You know you have reached perfection of design not when you have nothing more to add, but when you have nothing left to take away.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Edited by CptCurl (05/11/12 12:46 PM)

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DarylS
.700 member


Reged: 10/08/05
Posts: 26645
Loc: Beautiful British Columbia, Ca...
Re: New arrival: Purdey .500 3" BPE [Re: WildCattle]
      #218753 - 01/11/12 01:44 AM

Lovely!

--------------------
Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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CptCurlAdministrator
.450 member


Reged: 01/05/04
Posts: 5275
Loc: Fincastle, Botetourt County, V...
Re: New arrival: Purdey .500 3" BPE [Re: WildCattle]
      #218754 - 01/11/12 01:56 AM

Congratulations! A wonderful and useful rifle. I gave a close look to that one also. I have a couple just like it. They are very accurate and pleasant to shoot. You will have no regrets.

One I have is #14967, made in 1894. It also has the warning engraved on the bottom rib: "FOR BLACK POWDER ONLY".





Purdeys got carried away with warnings on that one. They used a rubber stamp to place warnings on the charge card also. I see they didn't do it to yours.





I have an earlier one, #13577, which should date to 1891. It does not have these warnings.

Curl

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

YOUR DOUBLE RIFLE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND.



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DarylS
.700 member


Reged: 10/08/05
Posts: 26645
Loc: Beautiful British Columbia, Ca...
Re: New arrival: Purdey .500 3" BPE [Re: CptCurl]
      #218758 - 01/11/12 02:38 AM

What weight bullets? 340gr. bullets or up to 440gr.?

--------------------
Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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StephenCoker
.300 member


Reged: 01/12/11
Posts: 140
Loc: AR, United States of America
Re: New arrival: Purdey .500 3" BPE [Re: DarylS]
      #218768 - 01/11/12 03:34 AM

And it's in the typically better-than-the-described condition than the descriptions they provided! Nice acquisition, and I'm so glad to hear this ended well. Not so glad that I decided not to bid against many of you based on the descriptions! Thanks for sharing such a nice rifle.

You describe it as a "snap" action. Wasn't that a Purdey version of the Jones underlever in which the lever closes under its own power? I've shot a Purdey hammerless .450 BPE double with this type of action and was curious if this rifle operated similarly. You simply lifted the barrels and the underlever snapped back around to close.

--------------------
www.stephencokerandco.com
Uniquely superlative rifles in the Scottish tradition.

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CptCurlAdministrator
.450 member


Reged: 01/05/04
Posts: 5275
Loc: Fincastle, Botetourt County, V...
Re: New arrival: Purdey .500 3" BPE [Re: StephenCoker]
      #218781 - 01/11/12 06:15 AM

Quote:

You describe it as a "snap" action. Wasn't that a Purdey version of the Jones underlever in which the lever closes under its own power? I've shot a Purdey hammerless .450 BPE double with this type of action and was curious if this rifle operated similarly. You simply lifted the barrels and the underlever snapped back around to close.



That's exactly right. Not only that, but these Purdeys have a third fastener. There's a bite in the back of the rear lump that is engaged by a typical Purdey sliding bolt - all this in addition to the Jones screw grip fastener. Here you can see the third Purdey sliding bolt in the rear action slot just below the face of the breech.



And here you can see the bite on the back of the rear lump.



These are really great rifles.

Curl

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StephenCoker
.300 member


Reged: 01/12/11
Posts: 140
Loc: AR, United States of America
Re: New arrival: Purdey .500 3" BPE [Re: CptCurl]
      #218783 - 01/11/12 06:36 AM

Alright, thanks for the additional information as to the locking...and reconfirming my dissatisfaction with not bidding! Very...very...cool! You saved me from having to go digging through my library until I found the patent. I remembered that the hammerless version Purdey that I shot closed with a great deal of authority. One did not want to get their fingers in the way of that lever closing. It seemed to gain a lot of momentum as that long lever rotated back around to close! Thanks again!

--------------------
www.stephencokerandco.com
Uniquely superlative rifles in the Scottish tradition.

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rigbymauser
.400 member


Reged: 15/05/05
Posts: 1971
Loc: Denmark
Re: New arrival: Purdey .500 3" BPE [Re: StephenCoker]
      #218808 - 01/11/12 10:18 PM


A backactioned hammerrifle from Purdey in .500Ex..How can it become any better?.

Thanks for sharing.

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tinker
.416 member


Reged: 12/03/05
Posts: 4835
Loc: Nevada
Re: New arrival: Purdey .500 3" BPE [Re: rigbymauser]
      #218850 - 02/11/12 07:47 AM

Really cool rifle!

I can't wait to see how it shoots.
Keep us posted!







Cheers
Tinker

--------------------
--Self-Appointed Colonel, DRSS--



"It IS a dangerous game, and so named for a reason, and you can't play from the keyboard. " --Some Old Texan...

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MikeRowe
.333 member


Reged: 23/11/11
Posts: 478
Loc: Arkansas, USA
Re: New arrival: Purdey .500 3" BPE [Re: tinker]
      #218861 - 02/11/12 01:25 PM

Island lock Purdey guns. As the locals say around here, "don't get no better'n that!"

They have been one of my favorites ever since I saw a picture of the Earl de Gray's hammer ejectors as a small boy.

You have a beautiful rifle, sir.

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WildCattle
.275 member


Reged: 22/03/06
Posts: 95
Loc: Northern California
Re: New arrival: Purdey .500 3" BPE [Re: MikeRowe]
      #219814 - 19/11/12 01:18 PM

For the record, here are the locks.



They look golden but they are just polished.
Only one pin secures both locks. See how the hook in the toe of the lock goes under an invisible pin that is in the stock to hold everything down.
The locks are rebounding but do not bear a patent use number. I guess that Stanton's patent had expired at that time (1895). Aside from the serial number, there is no visible marking.
The inletting is fantastic. True Purdey quality!

--------------------
You know you have reached perfection of design not when you have nothing more to add, but when you have nothing left to take away.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Edited by CptCurl (19/11/12 10:24 PM)

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