Birmingham Built Hammer Gun

[Mike Webb]

Recently picked up what I think is a nice little shotgun. It has Birmingham black powder proofs showing 1887-1896, choke bores. It is a round, back action with peninsulas, rebounding hammers, damascus barrels. Gauge shows 2 3/4 inch chambers. Gun has seen little use, action is tight and on face. Weighs a little over 6 1/2 lbs. has 30 inch barrels. Only marking is W Baxter on the rib. I think it may have been made for a merchant or hardware store back in the day. Checkering is good as is the walnut stock. Has ivory bead front and copper mid bead. What do you guys think?

 

[Stephen Nash]

You appear to be correct, "W. Baxter" was a ironmonger/whitesmith in the Ipswich-Woodbridge area, in Suffolk, UK, as far as I can tell. There was no "W. Baxter" in the UK gunmaking world. The gun is of a low-cost, generic type built by 'the trade' in Birmingham. This was the entry-level Cooey of its day. It has obviously been cleaned up, polished, re-checkered, and possibly cold-blued in places. The mid-bead would have been added later. The chamber, if indeed 2 3/4", was likely lenghtened afterwards (and not re-proofed), as it would have most likely started life as 2 1/2". The barrels are not damascus but twist, skelp, or laminated, depending on the terminology used, usually a less expensive option. How pitted are the barrels? Any dents? Has the wall thickness been measured? As far as using it goes, the usual warnings apply, have it looked over by a competent vintage-double smith, check for inappropriate repairs and bodges, use black powder and keep pressures down with light lead loads etc etc. My only trepidation in using such guns is the knowledge that they were the lowest-cost guns on the market well over 100 years ago, and never intended to last generations of use. Some, however, saw very little use. If it is still tight on the face without any modification, peening etc. of the hinge lump, chances might be good that it was not abused and still has many useful years left, if the chamber lengthening didn't overly weaken the barrels.

The fact that we don't have onerous proof laws on this side of the Atlantic means it is user beware, anything can be sold after any modification, visible or not. Your only point of reference is that the last person who used it didn't blow it up, which is only partly reassuring. I much prefer the proof system, whereby an authority tries its very best to destroy it, and if it fails to do so, then it is safe for general use.

 

[Mike Webb]

Thanks for the information. I have been cruising on British websites and found one gun pretty much identical marked Midland Gun Company. I have seen several period guns with 2 3/4 inch chambers that by the markings on barrel flats would appear to be original. Even a few heavy doubles of British make with 3 inch chambers. The Damascus term is kind of a catchall phrase, I realize these are laminated as they lack the eye catching appearance of high quality damascus many of which are nitro proof. Barrels have NO pitting whatsover and no dents. Bores haven't been reamed or polished to remove pitting as they are shiny but you can still see the twist on the inside of the bores in places, I have been told to watch for signs of polishing inside the barrels. Not sure that it has been recheckered etc. To me it just seems like a gun that hasn't been used much. Far from a best grade British gun for sure but good quality especially when compared to some of the Belgian clunkers out there.
I agree about the proofhouses. I see a lot of British guns that are reproofed for nitro when originally BP proofed. I could get this one reproofed in the UK for 1 oz. loads for a mere $500 us plus shipping then if the gun is destroyed you end up with nothing. Haven't had the bore walls measured as there are no double gun guys in my area that I know of. Also no signs of any efforts made to " tighten" up the action.

 

[Ashcroft]

Mike, for piece of mind here are a couple of simple tests that will help qualify the integrity of your gun.
1. Hang the barrels vertically by the hook ( the U shaped recess on the part protruding down from the breech end of the barrels that bears against the action cross pin and rotates as the gun opens and closes), muzzles down, then tap each barrel with something hard enough to make a sound but not hard enough t o mark the barrel, maybe a pencil or screwdiver handle. Good barrels should ring like a bell. A clunk, clank or dull sound indicates a loose rib or worse. Do not use in this case. You can hang it from your fingertip or a piece of string.
2. Remove the forend from the assembled gun. Hold the gun vertically muzzle up with one hand supporting the butt, the other holding the action in the vicinity of where the barrels face up against the action. The gently shake the gun in all directions. If there is any looseness in the jointing ( lockup) you will feel it. If perfect it will feel tight, no movement. Slight movement signifies wear and using the gun will rapidly accelerate the wear, leading to possible breakage, maybe popping open as fired.
This gun could be a nearly unused survivor, everything looks crisp and correct. If it has been refurbished it was done to a professional standard which would be unusual on a relatively inexpensive piece. If the barrels ring true, the lockup is tight, the wall thicknesses are good ( .025”+) and the bore diameters are within original proof dimensions you have found yourself a fine old hunting companion, perfectly usable with suitable pow pressure ammo. Be advised, low brass, low velocity,factory ammo may still be quite high pressure but there are many recipes for low pressure reloads, both 2 1/2” and 2 3/4”.

 

[iron cat]

I actually looked at a back action double last weekend , nitro proofed with 1 1/8 oz loads in Birmingham.
Not often you see a back action nitro proofed.
Tight lock up, but the left hand hammer wpuld not hold full ####

Cat

 

[Mike Webb]

Thanks Ardent. Done the barrel thing already, forgot to mention that. Ring like a bell. Plus action displays no looseness with forend removed. Like you I can't imagine anyone putting the time and money to refurbish an inexpensive gun. I was thinking of low recoil target loads, Winchester makes a 7/8 Oz. Load with 2 1/2 dram equivalent. Kinda like the old thing, light and balance point is about 3/4 of an inch forward of the hinge pin.