Need help on ID of Percussion Shotgun w/pictures

[KY Shinner]

My bother in law wanted some help in identifying a percussion shotgun.  His father found it in  a attic of a house that had been in the family for years.  The side plates has the name C. Moore.  I am not sure if the is the maker of the locks or the gun.  On top of the barrel is " Time Laminated Steel".   The stock looks to be walnut but I am not an expert at wood.   Looks to be about a 12 gauge.  One of the hammers is stuck in the midde position.  I do not think the ramrod is original to the gun...not sure.  My brother in law does have the powder horn but is not in good shape.








Thanks for taking a look.  I hope the pictures work out....first time I tried to post and I am not the computer savy.

Ed Griffin

[nord]

Remove the wedge holding the barrel to the stock and the ramrod. You'll almost certainly encounter proofs on the underside of the barrel. I suspect that they'll be either Brit or Belgian. (Go to the General Discussion board at Antiqueguns.com where I've posted proof information.)

Moore in different forms is a common name.  In some cases a Birmingham maker and in others a name "borrowed" to make the gun appear to be British.

Most times I advise folks at AG to come to ALR with their questions about Long Rifles and other non mass produced antique arms. In this case you may wish to present the piece at AG as one of the members (Bill Curtis) is an expert on this type of gun.

Send a message to me here at ALR with your EMail address, a preferred user name, and a password. I'll activate the AG account immediately.

Please understand that I'm not taking anything away from the folks here. It's just that we generally focus less on this type of gun here and that you may well get a better answer elsewhere.

[490roundball]

British marks

http://proofmarks.tripod.com/englishproofs.html


British and Belgium

http://www.phoenixinvestmentarms.com/archives/Proofmarks.pdf

there was a British maker named Charles Moore who made some nice firearms

they should look something like this

[KY Shinner]

Thank you for responding.  I found the proofmarks.  Rick that looks exactly like the touchmarks on this gun except for the E.T.  Can you tell me anything about this guy?

[490roundball]

ET in that example is most likey the initals of the barrel finisher.  the number (14 in the pic) is the bore size.

I know that Charles Moore (Not to be confused with Wm Moore) had a couple London  addresses through the years,  some of his higher grade guns are quite striking,  and an internet search will find a few for sale.   Pedersoli chose one of his pistols as the model for a reproduction project.   James Woodward ( a well respected maker) apprentised to him.   

There is a member by the moniker of Feltwad who might be able to help with more Moore info. 

[Feltwad]

Charles Moore 1821-25 at Regent St, Waterloo Place .London .He then moved to Kensington Gravel Pitts 1825-42 which also was reputed to be his shooting ground.The name changed to Charles Moore and James Woodward 1844-72.
Belgium gunmakers stamped  their guns with well known English gun makers of which the name Moore was one ,this was because they sold well on the American market.
There are several discrepancy's with your gun you say it has Birmingham proof marks  which would have been London proofed, the checkering on the forend is not correct and the name C.Moore has been stamped on and for a top London Maker it would have been engraved in Script lettering this suggest to me that this is a rebuild from parts to hand.
Feltwad

[Buffalochip]

It was quite common for gunmakers to borrow the name of better known gunsmiths of the time. W. Richards for Westley Richards, H. Derringer for Henry Deringer, etc. I suspect this is the case here. The ramrod is likly a period replacement, the broken lock can be fixed. I have an unmarked gun of similar quality--forestock checkering is a bit sloppy/crude, wood is plain, engraving is fairly minimal. I'd date it to about 1870 or so, maybe a bit earlier or later. It is basically a fancied up utility grade weapon, fairly common.

[490roundball]

Charles Moore 1821-25 at Regent St, Waterloo Place .London .He then moved to Kensington Gravel Pitts 1825-42 which also was reputed to be his shooting ground.The name changed to Charles Moore and James Woodward 1844-72.
Belgium gunmakers stamped  their guns with well known English gun makers of which the name Moore was one ,this was because they sold well on the American market.
There are several discrepancy's with your gun you say it has Birmingham proof marks  which would have been London proofed, the checkering on the forend is not correct and the name C.Moore has been stamped on and for a top London Maker it would have been engraved in Script lettering this suggest to me that this is a rebuild from parts to hand.
Feltwad

and that kind of knowledge is why I hoped you would chime in