J Manton & Co shotgun (can someone help?)

ThePoeticJester

ThePoeticJester

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I just got this old shotgun that my buddy told me belonged to his grandmother or great grandmother, he told me it was British made. He said its 12 gauge.. far from it, very small bore diameter (sorry don't have calipers to measure) but I would imagine this has been in a closet or something a long time.

I know basically nothing about antique guns like this so I figured someone on here must know a thing or two. From my awesome googling skills I have found some articles about it not being British but actually made in Belgium due to the proof marks, that's as far as I got so far.

Pics here: https://imgur.com/gallery/lOJoYm9

Would be awesome to know about this old gal
 
It is a Belgian made gun (playing on the English Manton name) and is a 24 gauge. It has laminated steel barrels which are a lower grade of damascus. It likely should not be shot without being checked over by someone who knows what he is doing and then only with proper low pressure loads.
 
thats pretty cool, whats the story behind Belgium gun makers copying this particular kind of shotgun? I understand the name used to carry weight?

Is there a place on it I can look for a date of manufacture or somewhere I can look it up?
 
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ThePoeticJester said:
thats pretty cool, whats the story behind Belgium gun makers copying this particular kind of shotgun? I understand the name used to carry weight?

Is there a place on it I can look for a date of manufacture or somewhere I can look it up?
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The action should have Belgian proof marks which will not tell you the year made exactly but a span of years in which they used the particular markings. The Belgian gunmakers made s lot of "field grade" doubles with names that were similar to famous makes. I have seen a couple marked LC Schmidt (LC Smith), one marked Barker Bros.(Parker Bros.) and several marked W. Richards(Westley Richards).
 
@OP - your link takes me to a Wikipedia entry that does not exist.

Regardless of the fact that it may be a Belgian-made rip-off of a famous British brand, it WILL have the type of propellant for which it was made to shoot, IF it was made to shoot nitro. The Proof rules of 1891 cover them in detail. If it has a rampant lion over PV then it has been proved for nitro after 1903. Similarly, a rampant lion over SCH or EC indicates that it is nitro-proofed after 1891 but before 1903. Before tha date, Belgian-made guns that shot black powder were not marked up as such, since it was implicit that that is what they were proofed for as there was no alternative.

I have a copy of a 1902 Sears. Roebuck catalogue that is chock-full of slightly off-key gun-makers. It was an accepted business practice at the time, and a selling point that fooled millions.

tac
 
as far as I can see I don't see the nitro rated proof marks but either way I doubt I'd ever try shooting it, not my cup of tea. Thanks to all of you for the help, its always nice to learn something new about gun history. I'll probably end up selling it to make room for other guns but in the mean time it'll look nice on display
 
ThePoeticJester said:
as far as I can see I don't see the nitro rated proof marks but either way I doubt I'd ever try shooting it, not my cup of tea. Thanks to all of you for the help, its always nice to learn something new about gun history. I'll probably end up selling it to make room for other guns but in the mean time it'll look nice on display
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No nitro proof = BP only, but of course, it won't actually bear the mark that reads BP Only. What it WILL have is an oval cartouche with the letters ELG over a star - that is the definitive proof for the type of propellant used when it was made - black powder.

Is there any way you can post a link that I can see?

tac
 
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