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Jan - Feb, 2006 www.doublegunclassics.com Volume 1, No. 4

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Editor:John Campbell

Editorial Office:Double Gun Classics,

PO Box 75, Howell MI 48844 USAPhone: 517-552-1600

e-mail: editor@doublegunclassics.comwww.doublegunclassics.com

Contributing Editors:British Gunsmithing -- Kirk Merrington

Work In Progress --Steve DurrenMetal Finishes -- John Gillette

Engraving -- Ken Hurst

The Cover: Welcome the real Parker backinto the fold! This AAHE 28 Ga. is nowavailable from Remington, holder of the

original Parker name and heritage. Less than12 will be made in 2006 at $49,000 each. 2

Jan - Feb, 2006 www.doublegunclassics.com Volume 1, No. 4

Departments:3 Both Barrels. -- John Campbell5 Classics Revisited.-- Sir Payne-Gallwey46 Double Talk -- Lomas Leather Pads54 Good Tools. -- Manson Wall Gauge57 Good Shooting. -- Pat Lieske31 Provisonal Proof. -- Kirk Merrington58 How It works. -- Welding on Springs64 Classified ads.

In This Issue:7 The Bill McPhail Collection.High end custom doubles from America’s past.

12 Bosie’s Gun, Part III.Lord Alfred and his Westley return to shooting.

16 The Parker Gun Reborn!Remington and CSMC team to remake a legend.

23 That Dirty Little 20 Gauge.It was buried alive in a farm field for years.

26 The Birmingham Tests.High pressure strains Damascus and fluid steel.

33 The Reilly Factor, Part IV.Careful stock work finishes the project.

49 A Remington Restoration.Durren takes an 1889 on the road to salvation.

Double Gun Classics is copyrighted and published bi-monthlyby PAC Associates, 1322 Pin Oak Bluff, Howell MI 48843.

On-line subscription, $18 per year at doublegunclassics.com Pleaseaddress all correspondence to Double Gun Classics, PO Box75, Howell MI 48844. All content, advertising, products or

services reflect only the opinions or experiences of the authors,or companies, and do not constitute an endorsement by Double

Gun Classics or PAC Associates. No part of Double GunClassics may be reproduced by any means without permission.The reader assumes all risks and responsibilities. Please, donot attempt featured projects if you are not confident in your

skills. Consult a competent gunsmith instead.

Bill McPhail doesn’t hunt with guns.In fact, he doesn’t even shoot guns.But he does collect guns… and for

that, we should all be grateful.Why? Because Dr. Bill McPhail col-

lects high-end double guns made from theend of the American Civil War until about1890. These are guns designed and made byAmerica’s most skilled 19th century gun-smiths, and were produced in limited num-bers. Their quality was exceptional, and theirintended market was the moneyed anddemanding clientele that normally choseimported brands. The reason was that thiselite niche market insisted on something evenbetter than anything available from Americanmanufacturer’s special order shops.

“I collect these guns mostly as artobjects,” said McPhail. “To me, it’sAmericana from an entirely different era.”

If different includes the concept ofunderstated beauty and precision craftsman-ship, we wholeheartedly agree. In addition,McPhail’s collection encompasses breadth…he has nearly 80 such guns.

“One important thing to keep in mindabout most of them is that they sold for $100to $600 when they were made. That doesn’tsound overly expensive in today’s economy,but these were luxury goods prices back inthat time.” McPhail said.

Indeed. By using the year 1872 as arough example, the $100 to $600 price rangeof would translate to nearly $1,500 to $9,000

The Bill McPhail Collection.The Bill McPhail Collection.

Classic DoublesClassic DoublesMade In Made In America.America.

Photos By Steve HelsleyPhotos By Steve Helsley

This Patrick Mullen 10-bore of the 1860s is based on a W. & C. Scott barreled action.

7

If you’re into classic cars, you know thatNOS stands for New Old Stock… anexact recreation of an original “period”

item. So, aficionados of classic double gunsshould understand that Remington’s newParker AAHE 28 Gauge is pure NOS.

In other words, this is a real honest-to-goodness Parker; not a copy, reproduction orreasonable facsimile. It represents the long-awaited rebirth of the genuine Parker brand.What’s more, it’s made right here in the U. S.of A., and offered by the company with legal

ownership of the Parker name and heritage.To prove the point, serial numbers for

these AAHE guns will begin at 242510…right from where the last classic AmericanParker left off prior to WWII. However, dueto current ATF regulations, there will be a“P” prefix (Parker) to each number.

Nonetheless, the new Parker AAHE isactually more than a real Parker. It is, andwill always be, a tangible milepost offirearms history. That’s because this gun her-alds the return of a true legend, and the end

The ParkerThe Parker GunGun

Reborn!Reborn!With Appreciation To The Parker Gun Collector’s Association and Bruce Day.

16

of a 65+ year hiatus for America’s mostfamous double gun.

In fact, there was a time when no realexpert would have thought that any qualitydouble could ever be made in this countryagain. In his classic work, The ShotgunBook, the great Jack O’Connor wrote:

“… the manufacture of high-qualitydouble-barrel shotguns in the United States isjust about a thing of the past… basically, it ishigh labor costs which have shot down themakers of double guns one by one. Fineshotguns are largely made by patient andskillful human hands.”

One of Jack’s favorites, the WinchesterModel 21, soldiered along for years, but eventhis fine shotgun withered and virtually died.Then something magical and almost unbe-lievable happened. The Connecticut ShogunManufacturing Company appeared. Underthe leadership of Tony Galazan, the greatModel 21 was revived… along with a host ofother great double guns.

With this in mind, a small but passion-ate group of Remington employees lobbiedfor the resurrection of the incomparableParker. And with the cooperation and sup-

port of Remington management, CSMC wascommissioned to recreate The Parker Gun.

To lead off this historic effort,Remington said they chose the Parker AAHEbecause not many of this grade were made(indeed, not many of any A grade and aboveParkers were made). They also selected themystical 28 Ga. for much the same reason:Not many 28s were made… in any grade.

This dimension of rarity will also carryover to the new Parker AAHE 28s. The retailprice of these guns will be $49,000, so noteveryone will have the ability to own one.Initial non-cancelable orders will also requirea $24,500 non-refundable deposit, and willbe limited to only as many guns as CSMCcan make and Remington can deliver in a 12-month period. Remington estimates that vol-ume to be less than one gun per month. Afterthat, a waiting list will be compiled for futuredeliveries. Yes, future deliveries. Remingtonintends to make The Parker Gun a limited butcontinued product offering, so there may wellbe other grades and gauges available asthings progress.

For now, sources have told DGClassicsthat several orders have already been placed

This is Parker AAHE No. P242510. It is the first real Parker made in over six decades.

17

through. I wonder what 30" barrels on thisgun would feel like? The AAHE was solid,the wood was extraordinary, and all fittingwas very well done. All markings on the gun

were consistent with late Remington Parkermarkings. I saw nothing indicating manufac-ture by CSMC” Day said.

“I shot about 20 rounds through it. I

The first test shoot and evaluation of the new Parker was conducted by members ofthe Parker Gun Collectors Association, including Bruce Day, left, and Ross Berck.

21

It was back in 2003 when I spotted thisyellow thing in the mud. My wife and I,along with our German Shorthair hunting

machine, Reggie, were tramping across ashort-cut farm field in search of quail. We’djust put up a pair of bobs under Reggie’snose, fired a total of four shots, and managedto drop one bird. I have no idea who hit it.

Anyway, shortly after our nearly futilefusillade, I reached down to pick up my 20Ga. empties when I spotted a third yellowcylinder. Only this one was barely stickingup out of the field mud. Actually, I thought itwas one of my own empties that I’d acciden-tally stepped on. When I picked up the dirt-impacted object, it proved to be a loaded 20Ga. shell. It wasn’t one of mine, and it hadobviously been there for quite some time.

As I looked closer, the condition of theshell suggested that it had been dropped inthis field by another hunter at least a yearearlier. And there was so much mud on itthat I could not honestly tell what brand it

was… let alone the loading. Piqued, I care-fully put it into my hunting vest pocket,thinking that there might be a story in it someday. Writers are like that.

When I returned home, I put the shellon my workshop shelf thinking that I wouldget to it some day. You guessed it. A fewyear’s worth of days went by until I spotted itagain. But when I did, it was with a distinctmental “aha!”

Now was the time to tell the story ofthis crusty cartridge. But what kind of storywould it be? How much crud was on thiscartridge? What brand was it? What load?And had it been able to withstand the ele-ments and remain “live” for all thosemonths... or maybe years? And if it was live,and would go off, would its power suffer?Interesting stuff.

My first thought was to try to under-stand why the whole “challenge” had an oddbut familiar character about it. It finally hitme in the middle of the process… and it went

This cartridge looked even worse than this when it was dug out of the farm field mud.

That Dirty Little

20 Gauge.

23

For some time now, there has been gen-eral knowledge of a series of gun bar-rel strength tests conducted by the

Birmingham Proof House shortly before theturn of the 20th century. The primary pointof interest is how Damascus barrels fared incomparison to those made from fluid steel. Italso seems that a great many inconclusivepronouncements have been made regardingthe results of these tests. So, DGClassicsnow offers you the chance to judge for your-self. We reprint these historic tests now asthey were reported in The Field in early1891. The only liberty we’ve taken is tocompress spelled-out numbers to digits.

Executive summary: These testsbegan with the standard BirminghamDefinitive Proof load and went UP fromthere. It should also be made clear that this

standard proof load was 80% to 100% abovethe standard cartridge field loading. In test,most bulge failures occurred at a point 13 to24 inches from the breech. Four of the top-six strongest barrels were Damascus. AndNo.1 absolutely was. Here are the tests. – Ed.

A REPORT UPON TESTING THESTRENGTH OF VARIOUS KINDS OFGUNBARRELS, ALL MADE TO THE SIZEINDICATED IN THE PREVIOUS DIA-GRAMS.

“The Board of Guardians of theBirmingham Proof house having by resolu-tion, dated January 26, 1888, appointed acommittee to test the strength of the variouskinds of English and foreign barrelsemployed in sporting guns, the said commit-tee was composed of the following gentle-

Damascus And Fluid Steel Barrels Are Submitted ToVastly Over-Proof Pressures. Results: Highly Strained!

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This time out, we’ve asked Kirk Merringtonto lend his expert commentary to the issuesinvolved in the famous Birmingham Tests.Above all else, Kirk is a barrel man. Helearned his trade in the UK, and is now rec-ognized as one of America’s foremost author-ities on the shotgun barrel. --Ed.

DGC: How much of a “bulge” do youthink it would have taken to get the testbarrels rejected by the Proofmaster?Kirk: Anything that’s able to be seen by agood eye. In other words, any movement ofthe steel at all. Remember, these fellowswere used to looking at and judging gun bar-rels. Anything that visibly moved metal afterthe explosion likely failed the barrel.

DGC: Was the Proof Powder they usedback then analogous to any powder we’refamiliar with today?Kirk: I don’t know. But I do know that itwas black powder. In fact, they used blackup until very recently. In Birmingham, theproof house had its own lab and would makeproof powder right there. I don’t know theexact composition, but when I was in

Birmingham, I remember that they experi-mented with a new formulation or two… andmanaged to unexpectedly blow up someguns!

DGC: Why weren’t these tests conductedin London? Did Birmingham makers havea special interest in the strength issue?Kirk: I don’t think they had any specialinterest at stake here. There were a lot ofnew things coming along at this time in gunbarrel development, and I simply believethey were trying to find some answers. But,why weren’t such tests done in Belgium?Were they afraid of anything? Perhaps theydid make some tests, but I’m not aware ofthem. Again, there was a lot of old technolo-gy and new technology coming together atthat time and there weren’t a lot of answers.

DGC: English Damascus held its ownagainst the renowned Whitworth fluidsteel. Any thoughts as to why?Kirk: I think the answer lies more in theductility and elasticity of the material ratherthan a Damascus versus fluid steel issue. Ofall the blown barrels I have around here, the

31

Provisional Proof.Answers From An English Trained Gunsmith.

WithKirk Merrington.

One of the advantages of being a gun-smith in a rather large gun shop is theopportunity to examine and some-

times, acquire, the many firearms brought inby the heirs of the original owner.

The scene usually unfolds with thecustomer saying, “This wasDad’s/Grandpa’s/Uncle Bob’s shot gun and Iwould like to know how much it would costto make it like new again”.

I generally respond with a few ques-tions to get a feel for what the customer istrying to accomplish. Do they just want itcleaned up to hang on the wall? Do theywant a few minor repairs to restore it to

shooting condition? Do they want a full-blown restoration? More questions are passedback and forth; mostly to determine thefinancial ballpark the customer is willing toplay in. Often, the gun is left with me and theexamination for an accurate quote begins.

Occasionally the customer decides thecost of restoration would be greater than thesentimental value involved, and they ask if Iwould be willing to buy the gun. When theproject looks interesting and a price can beagreed upon, I sometimes do purchase thegun.

This Remington Model 1889 hammergun came into my possession through just

Restoration.

AA WWell-Used 1889ell-Used 1889StarStarts ts The PrThe Process.ocess.

49

Work In Progress.By

Steve DurrenGun shop work has its advantages. Like a chance to snare a great old 12-bore double.

A Remington

hammer on both of them. Ialso notice that if I wiggle the hammers I canhear the sears click into place and hold thehammers. I have either a slight timing prob-lem here, or there is something binding. It’stime to remove the locks and see what’sgoing on in there.

The safest way to remove the locks isto back out the lock retaining screw severalturns and then gently strike the head with a

soft faced hammer. This will gently lift onelock out of its mortise in the wood. I can theninsert a punch through the lock screw holeand tap out the second lock.

When I look inside the locks, I see afair amount of dirt and crud and a little bit ofrust, but the rebound timing is fine. I believethe problem with the locks is from the woodshrinking over the years, and the lock

The top lever’s left of cen-ter position suggested lock-ing bolt wear. Other testsshowed the gun was indeedloose, but fixable. However,the top rib and doll’s headextension were in very goodcondition. At right, push-ing the hammers forwardprovides a good test ofrebound and correct strikercontact.

51

The evolving double gun aficionado iswise to acquire a few basic tools… aswell as a few “advanced tools.” The

basic ones come first, but it won’t be toolong before you crave the more refined items.

One such tool is a barrel wall thicknessgauge. With this, you will finally be able todiscern the hidden aspects of an old gun’sbarrels. You can tell if they’ve likely beenhoned in the past, or will withstand anotherclean-up if necessary. You can tell if theywill possibly pass proof or not. And you cantell if they are generally safe to shoot. Insome cases, you can also gain a fairly goodidea of whether or not pits and blemishes canbe removed without compromising safety.

While that’s all good stuff, the majorhurdle to owning a wall thickness gauge formany enthusiasts has been cost. Certainmodels will run almost $500 in today’s mar-ket. And that’s a lot of money for a tool thatyou may not use that often. What’s more,wall thickness for a specific set of barrels isinformation that you just might be able to“beg” off a cooperative gunsmith when it’snecessary. Hence, a lot of us haven’t beenable to justify a wall thickness gauge.

Now, thanks to Dave MansonPrecision Reamers, any excuse not to have awall thickness gauge has evaporated.

This company has recently introduceda very accurate wall thickness gauge thatretails for only $95. And at that price point,there is no reason in the world not to have

this important tool in your workshop.Like everything else engineered by for-

mer Clymer guru, Dave Manson, this wallthickness gauge is a precision-crafted toolwith a number of common-sense features. Ingeneral appearance, it resembles a tuningfork. Two 18-inch long precision-groundrods extend from a block of aircraft alu-minum. These rods can be shortened ifdesired by simply loosening a set screw andslipping them further into the block.

At the end of one rod is a machined“ball.” At the end of the other rod, anotheraluminum block is attached that holds a dialindicator gauge, aligned to zero on the equa-tor point of the ball. This integral ball issized so the Manson gauge can read wallthickness on 12 through 28 Ga. barrels.

Good Tools.The Manson

Wall Thickness Gauge.

54

The Manson Wall Thickness Gauge issolid, accurate and quite affordable.

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DDDDoooouuuubbbblllleeee GGGGuuuunnnn CCCCllllaaaassssssssiiiiccccssss

Coming... In The Next Issue:Poor Man’s Purdey.

When your heart says Purdey, but your budget says Bonehill, there’s only one solution.

The Perfect Gun.A visit to England’s famous Game Fair results in instant synergy.

The Birmingham Tests, Part II.The first round tested barrels to a bulge... now the Guardians blow them up!

Remington Restoration, Part II.Steve Durren analyzes the stock problems of this old Remington and plans next steps.

In Defense of The New 12 Ga. AA.This classic American shotshell hull changed... and took some undeserved criticism.