The newbie with the old rusty shotgun

[TheWoof]

Hello Everyone and Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you for letting me be part of the forum. I actually just want to share the story of a rebuild in progress.
I will update with pictures as I tug a long, I am looking forward to any comments, remarks, ideas, etc.!

Now I think that the rifle is not in a firing condition and I don't think it will ever be, so primary goal is to clean, restore and get the mechanical parts moving.

It all started with an old rusty rifle that spend sad days in the darkness of garages and closets and just recently resurfaced in a garage/house de-cluttering project.









Got some progress after dismantling the rifle and removing some surface rust. Discovered notches, marks, initials and engravings....

Next Step:

Investigating the marks, notches, initials and all the other beautiful things that are hiding under the rust.

[Jacob_S_P]

That appears to be some manner of late 1800s double barrel percussion shotgun
Frequently referred to as a 'Rabbit Eared' shotgun due to the hammers.

[TheWoof]

Rabbit Eared, I love that one! Hopefully later I will upload the pictures or the marks. Found out that the notches (4) are on every part, so I assume it was done to ensure all the individual parts get assembled together correctly.....

It is quite exciting to uncover, look, read, learn and hopefully in the end have a complete understanding of the piece.

[Daryl]

Depending on the condition of the locks and barrel interiors, will dictate whether or not it is recoverable as a shooting original.
My first ML shotgun was one such as this.

[TheWoof]

Hi Daryl,
well, one lock has a broken spring, but I heard about a local place that specializes on Muzzleloaders, so once I get closer, I will stop by there and see.
I know the barrel has a little ding to it and the nipples are pretty rusted....
We will see, worst case..... the look will be restored and a nice display will be build!

[Brent English]

Hi, as other have said, this is a shotgun, not a rifle. It looks like and inexpensive gun made in Belgium.  It's not worth a lot of money.  When you say restore, I hope you don't mean refinish.  What minimal value it has now will be pretty much destroyed by refinishing.  My friendly advise is to apply some good metal gun oil to the metal parts, and then perhaps rub a little linseed oil into the stock.  Keep those initials, don't sand them out.  Part of the history of the  piece - maybe they're your ancestor's?  If you intend to shoot it, it looks like the top rib is loose - that's the strip of metal connecting the barrels together.  Resoldering ribs is not for the faint of heart or run of the mill plumbers.  Having a gunsmith do it would cost more the gun is worth (whether as is or "restored").  Just my two cents, maintain it as a fun relic and part of history.

[Nordnecker]

Looks just like my gr grandfathers old W. Richards 10 gauge that leans against my fireplace. I wouldn’t touch it.

[TheWoof]

No worries, I am not planning on shooting the shotgun.
Well, the persons initial's are a relative, long story, my better half was promised the rifle as a kid, and as time went on, by the time it was passed on, it was in nowhere near the condition when the promise as made. So, that is my goal, getting it cleaned up, refinished and "handing it over" hopefully in the at least optical condition it was supposed to be. So that is partially my drive, and it is a "have fun and learn something" project.

Finally got some parts cleaned up on the locks and barrel, it says stub twist on the top and has what I believe to be English proof marks from Birmingham at the bottom.

The name on the locks is "Smith" and on the inside of them there are initials CWJ...

[Bob Roller]

The lock appears to be a good quality standard style seen on shotguns and I made a lot of these with a "fly"for use on rifles and a rifle plate.
This IS a shotgun and not a double barreled rifle.
Bob Roller

[TheWoof]

Thanks Bob, I tried altering the title of the post, but no luck....

[Feltwad]

The gun is a straight forward  restoration  and if the barrels  are OK it should make a shooter , I have worked on guns in worse condition .It is English make and built in the 1840-50 with the Birmingham  proof marks , a 11bore which is smaller than a 10  and larger than a 12  with Damascus barrels a standard  sxs percussion game gun . All I can say if it is intention to restore it  there is one golden rule  to not take it to far  and try  to make it look new straight of the shelf , a gun which is  200 years old should look its age . Good luck
Feltwad

[Feltwad]

Have you started with the restoration of the sxs percussion gun . Take your time do rush and if you come across a problem there are plenty of shotgun shooters in these forums who can advise ,
Feltwad

[Feltwad]

No reply must have given it  up has a bad job
Feltwad

[JTR]

The guy hasn't been back to this forum since Dec 4th.....

[TheWoof]

No reply must have given it  up has a bad job
Feltwad

Nah, I have not given up, and to be honest, I have a rather demanding job and simply did not have time or energy to get back into it. I finally got some time today and put the first coat of stain on, so far so good. Doing the second coat in a couple of hours!

She will look her age, not going for the new out of the box look.