My "new to me" SXS and the "Late Percussion Period"

[riverrat]

Hope this is the right forum. Its at least as old as me and that makes it an antique! At the 2nd annual Alabama, Kentucky Rifle show,( thanks for your work putting this together Jim Parker) I acquired a nice old percussion, 12 ga. SXS that is marked Atwell on the rib close to the breech. The seller ( great guy!) bought it in an estate sale at Friendship. The story goes that the gun is American made and was hunted with up until the time of the owners health problems. I've done a few Google searches but can't find a reference to Atwell made shotguns. Has anyone run across the name? I'd really like to have an idea of the approximate date of manufacture. Its in good shape and was well taken care of. It doesn't rattle, the hammer springs are strong, the hammers stand equally and the triggers are nice. The bores are bright and shiny. With these 32 inch barrels, it might just be a turkey gun! At any rate, I posted some pictures on another forum and asked if anyone could place an approximate date on it and I got a response telling me it was of British manufacture from the "late percussion era" and that the name Atwell doesn't appear in any provincial gun makers list. I really like the old girl and look forward to getting my cards and wads so I can pattern her this next week. I still would like to know just how much older she is than I though.


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