E. M. Reilly exposed hammer double barrel shotgun - Need to learn more

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Tugnum

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I recently acquired an E. M. Reilly & Company double barrel shotgun from a elderly couple no longer wanting to keep it. The buttstock has been poorly repaired, but the family story of the shotgun is enough to keep it.

I searched the internet for information about the shotgun as well as the E.M. Reilly company, but I did not find much information about them. I learned they were from 1860's to 1915ish and Reilly put his name on rifles that may not have been actually made by him.

I found a damaged ser# on the trigger guard and another possible ser# on the bottom of the barrels, both appear to be 5 digits and are different.

trigger guard #: XX342 (the first digit may be a 2)

I will post images later today.

For the time being, here is my description:

- Detachable side by side barrels with wave pattern in the steel
- Double triggers
- Exposed hammers
- Lever under the trigger guard to break the barrels
- Ejector between the barrels

Here is a link to one VERY similar:

102_0821.jpg



Any information you could provide would be appreciated. The couple knew the ownership of the shotgun, but knew very little of the shotgun/manufacturer. I told them I would share what I could after I learned more.

Cheers
 
What I can tell you without seeing pics of the actual gun:

Reilly was in business from roughly 1835-1920. If the actual name engraved on the gun is E.M. Reilly & Co. ( not just Reilly & Co.) it would date from the 1880's onward. The barrels are damascus twist steel. |Chambers will be 2 1/2" most likely, unless they have been lengthened at some point. The locking mechanism is known as a Jones underlever.

It would be very unusual to have mismatched barrels; they were fitted to the individual actions and weren't interchangeable. Guns built as pairs were numbered 1 & 2, to ensure the right barrels were put on the right action.

It was very common practice to take a gun from another maker, engrave their own name and address on it, and sell it as their own. All English gunmakers did this to some extent, even the best of them.
 
Thanks 9.3mauser for the information!!

Unfortunately the buttstock of mine is not as the sample photo above. When I said poorly repaired... I meant it. It is unknown when the repair was done, but it was done with brazing and wood filler :(

I may look at the cost in rebuilding the stock and melting off the brass brazing.

I will be adding the images later tonight so you can take a look at the shotgun.
 
When you get around to posting pics, try to get some of the barrel flats where the proof marks are, and there should be an address on the rib or barrels.
 
Its hard to read in the images, but its 16 New Oxford St. London

I found a website forum with a bit more info that suggests the shotgun was made sometime between 1875 and 1898 as that factory was shutdown in 1898.
 
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Wow, that butstock WAS horribly done...;) But all the metal looks wonderful, A project that would be FANTASTIC to take on.

Very desirable shooter.....Ummm is the back of the right lock, soldered to a hunk of randomly found brass....Jeeze louise.
 
Yeah from what I can tell they put a reinforcement piece along the sides and grazed them on with a pile of brass. I don't even know where to start. I feel that the sentimental value is more than the dollar value at this time.
 
If you take it to a professional to get it restored it will cost way more than the gun is worth. It's a medium grade gun, when it was new it was actually higher quality than the one in the first pic.

Unless the bores are near perfect, and I don't expect them to be after seeing the rest of it, then it might be worth getting back into firing condition. The trigger gaurd needs to be reshaped/replaced, as well as the stock. The lockplate would need to be cleaned up. I know a guy who's expert at restoring these things, but he would charge $2-3000 in labour alone, and IF the gun were in VG-Excellent condition it would only be worth $12-1500.

Damn shame, really.
 
Bizarre; they seem to have sawed the back of the lockplate off and crudely brazed a spacer to the back part and to the forward part of the lock plate. The trigger guard is also a replacement. If it was mine, I think I would cut the stock off behind the repairs and scarf on new wood for the wrist area or more likely just start from scratch and make a new stock. Also strip the lock and remove that extension and silver solder the back end onto the front of the lock and finally replace the trigger guard. I think that would only be practical if you do the work yourself and you would end up with a gun that locally would only be in the$200 - $300 range, assuming the bores were not badly pitted. I would be semi suspicious that the internal lock parts might have lost their temper because I am suspicious that the lock may not have been stripped before the brazing took place

cheers mooncoon
 
From what I could tell, the barrels appear to be in quite good condition. Thanks for all the information and advice on restoring this shotgun. I feel it will sit on the backburner for quite a while until I get around to attempting a proper restoration.

Cheers
 
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