Help with J.Manton & Co, 10g. sxs shotgun, please!

okcorral1881

okcorral1881

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Hello,

I have a belgium copy of a an english J.Manton....
Before I bring it to a gunsmith or sell it, I would like to have your opinions, please...

It is stamped J Meurice.
RF 21
There is no BP stamping!
It has a real twist barrel wich is a sort of damascus!

So would this gun be safe to shoot and what would be the it's value.

Thank you for answering!:)
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The ELG in the oval is your black powder proof mark. There were I think 4 grades of damascus barrels with twist barrels being the lowest grade. No one can tell you if it is safe to shoot without having the gun in hand so that means it should be taken to a gunsmith who knows about damascus barrels to be inspected. Then you would know. As far as value, most people won't pay very much for a Belgian knock off hammer gun. You would have to find the right person to get any real value out of it and that would depend on its condition after being checked over. I am thinking the RF stamping might be a mark designating that the gun had a repair of some sort but I could be wrong.

Might I suggest that you post pics of your gun on doublegunshop forum. There are many very knowledgeable people on there who live and breathe double barrel shotguns. They will give you accurate information.
Maybe canvasback will chime in.
 
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Jos. Manton, the English maker, is widely considered to be the father of fine English shotguns.

"J. Manton" from Belgium (Liege) is just a brand name put on guns for the mass market. Just like Sears has manufacturers put the name "Craftsman" on many of their products. These sorts of guns are general known as "Hardware Store" guns by anyone with an interest in old shotguns. Meaning they were inexpensive and widely distributed in the marketplace.

Your J. Manton would have zero collector value and was likely made to a fairly low end level of quality. It is my understanding that a "twist barrel" while ostensibly similar to a damascus barrel, is again likely not up to the same level of quality. From a value standpoint, it probably not worth much. I don't pay much attention to relative values for guns that are likely going to trade at less than $500 so I can't tell you if this should be a $150 gun or a $450 gun, but it's under $500.

That said, if you like the gun and want to use it, do as Gunsaholic suggests and have a competent gunsmith check it out. I would agree not just any smith but one with experience with twist and damascus barrels. Your hand is presumably worth the expense.

Despite originally being from Winnipeg, I don't know any smith in Manitoba I would recommend to have look at the barrels. If someone else does know, I'd be interested in hearing.
 
I do not know of any gunsmith in Manitoba either that would be considered well versed in twist or damascus barrels. In fact, I don't think the gunsmiths in Manitoba even work on antique or vintage double guns. Mind you, I don't know if the OP is from Manitoba.
As far as value, I would put a maximum value of around $200.00.
 
LOL, I don't know why I thought the OP was in Manitoba when his location says "east of Toronto" which is pretty much where I am. FAIL.

OKCorral, if you want, there is a pretty competent guy at SC Gunworks in Markham. Not cheap but for a simple, careful inspection he can't charge that much I wouldn't figure.

To your knowledge does the gun work or are you aware of anything that is specifically wrong with it.
 
There's nothing wrong with a wall hanger especially one with hammers. Personally I wouldn't fire it even if a gunsmith gave his OK given the age, but that's a personal opinion.
 
YukonWolf said:
There's nothing wrong with a wall hanger especially one with hammers. Personally I wouldn't fire it even if a gunsmith gave his OK given the age, but that's a personal opinion.
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Yukon, I shoot guns regularly and rarely do I shoot one that is less than 80 years old. The oldest I shoot was made in 1885 or 1886. Properly checked out and with appropriate loads they can be great guns and generally are a little more interesting (at least to me) than more modern guns. With a bit of self education you can also acquire very well made guns, that in today's terms would cost well into the 10's of thousands of dollars for relative pennies. But don't tell anyone...they'll just drive up the prices. LOL
 
canvasback said:
Yukon, I shoot guns regularly and rarely do I shoot one that is less than 80 years old. The oldest I shoot was made in 1885 or 1886. Properly checked out and with appropriate loads they can be great guns and generally are a little more interesting (at least to me) than more modern guns. With a bit of self education you can also acquire very well made guns, that in today's terms would cost well into the 10's of thousands of dollars for relative pennies. But don't tell anyone...they'll just drive up the prices. LOL
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:agree: 100% but remember, keep it a secret!!
 
John303 said:
can & gun - now you've went and done it, some myths should be aloud to live. JMHO --- John303.
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Now that I think about it canvasback and I were wrong. Old damascus shotguns should not be shot and they should be left in closets where people will not be prone to injury. I realized I must look out for my fellow man!!:D
 
canvasback said:
To your knowledge does the gun work or are you aware of anything that is specifically wrong with it.
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To my knowledge the gun is mechanically perfect, the only thing missing are the firing pins!

I don't think that gun was very much shot and it's been sitting greased up in a plastic bag in my father's safe since June 1976!:)
 
gunsaholic said:
Now that I think about it canvasback and I were wrong. Old damascus shotguns should not be shot and they should be left in closets where people will not be prone to injury. I realized I must look out for my fellow man!!:D
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And it's only now you're telling me...after I chopped mine to 18", installed a rail with a red dot, a bayonet lug , a flashlight/laser combo, and a telescopic stock!w:h::D

OK
 
OK, that sounds like a slick custom job. Did you also spray paint it black? Parkerize? Camo it? Any of those treatments would skyrocket the value. lol
 
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