Unidentified 24ga

[jethro224]

Can anyone give me any information about this 24ga smooth bore? I don't see any identifying marks on it altho I have not removed the lock or barrel.
I was told the lock and furniture are German silver not chrome. Don't know if that is correct or not. The barrel is about 31.5 inches with the first 10 octagonal and the rest round.
The gun is very light weight.
Seems to be in good usable condition.

Has a small shell patchbox.

Back action percussion lock. No external marks.

Barrel has neat pattern stripes on it. Damascus? :idunno: I can partially see some proof marks but the barrel is pinned on and I'd rather not remove it.

Thanks in advance for any info. :hatsoff:

 

[Mike Brooks]

Not sure for sure but I believe Spanish and made in the 1950's. The lock is polished steel and the mounts are probably German silver.

 

[Va.Manuf.06]

Mike is correct. They were sold by Dixie Gun Works and several others back in the '50s through the '70s. Priced around $25 back then. Never heard of one blowing up.

 

[sniper68]

I agree, Dixie Gun Works.. Had one with a round .40 cal barrel. Other than their catalog, I'm not a big fan of Dixie. However back then, they did accidentally import a few neat guns and that was one of them. :2

 

[zimmerstutzen]

That scalloped cap box is a trademark of the early 1950's repros that Dixie and others imported. I have one in about 410 ga that weighs about 18 oz. Another thing is that they appear to have Twist barrels. Barrels made by twisting metal around a mandrel and forge welding it. As with any twist barrel get it checked for pits and corrosion before shooting and keep the loads moderate to low.

 

[jethro224]

Thanks to all of you guys for the quick replies. :hatsoff:

I might try and work up a light dove load for it. Seems like any load other than light would kick like a mule anyway. This gun hardly weighs anything!

 

[Dphar]

Thanks to all of you guys for the quick replies. :hatsoff:

I might try and work up a light dove load for it. Seems like any load other than light would kick like a mule anyway. This gun hardly weighs anything!

I would proof it first even if marked as proofed.
Lots of this stuff was made for African "trade guns" and the quality was not all that great.
Greener gives a definitive proof for the 1st class as 232 grains of powder and one 262 grain ball (.559") and for 3rd class the provisional proof is 186 grains with the same ball.
These were wadded and not patched I believe.


Dan

 

[Zonie]

Now, I know that hanging my hat on a little Cap Box is jumping to a conclusion but, when I first got into blackpowder back in 1972 I bought a Kentuckian .44 caliber flintlock which was a nice gun and I bought a 28 guage smoothbore.

My smoothbore had a cap box exactly like that one. In fact, the gun looked just like yours except it was a 2 piece "full stock" with a cheap brass sheet metal band covering the split between the stock halves.

Anyway, I was all charged up about the idea of shooting my 28 guage which as I recall was made in Spain with Spanish proof marks on the barrel.

I went out and bought a box of 28 guage shotgun shells and pulled the wads and shot for use in my new gun.

I did a lot of research about what load to use and as I recall it was about 48 grains of 2Fg powder under 5/8 ounces of shot. (ref; HODGDON'S NEW BLACK POWDER POWDER DATA MANUAL NO. 1, 1971).

Taking it out on the desert I loaded her up, took aim at a can about 15 yards away and fired.
The can died.
Something seemed strange though.
The stock around the breech had smoke coming out of it and this smoking continued for quite a while. I decided to stop shooting my shotgun and switched to my Kentuckian.

When I got home I took the barrel out of the stock and saw the wood in the entire area of the breech plug was covered with black fouling.
This had blown out thru the breech plug.

Now, I'm not saying the gun was unsafe but it was the first and the last time I ever fired that gun.

Be careful with your new gun.
We don't want to loose any of our members.

 

[arquebus]

I've also seen those shell-motif patchboxes fitted to Belgian trade muskets built in the late 19th & early 20th centuries.

 

[Curt LaManna]

That is what I thought it may be as well.
A Belgian Trade gun from the 1970s. These were made to trade with the African natives in exchange for mineral rights and other trade goods such as Cocoa beans, furs,(God forbid) and other materiel wealth from there. I have a couple of Belgian Trade guns and the all have the Liege trade mark on the barrels. Which is an Oval with a LEG marked inside of the border. As well as the metric bore size. The quality varies from each gun and go from junk to serviceable. None were "show pieces".