Bailey

UK

Breech loading hammer gun

 

Bore 12

 

Serial Number 3804

 

This gun is a fairly conventional top lever opening, twin bite locking with a dolls head extension.

The engraving would indicate a mid range gun with floral scroll work on the side of the action and the trigger guard with the addition of the ‘Perrins Bird’, a rather plump fowl with a long beak, engraved on the underside of the action.

Like so many guns of this age someone has ‘started to have a go at it’ by cleaning up the barrels. They have been rubbed back to the shinny metal, I daresay with the idea of getting them re browned. The work has never been completed and they would need to be rubbed back again as patches of rust have reappeared.

The big problem with this gun is the stock. As you can see it has broken through the hand and an amateurish repair has been carried out. It is difficult to know what to advise on a gun like this. It would be a great shame to see it scrapped or de activated but the cost of a professional repair would certainly be difficult to justify on purely economic considerations as it needs the barrels sorting out as well. I guess it will remain as a ‘collector’s piece’ until hopefully someone with the skill and time decides to put it back into working order as a labour of love.

Again the barrels are marked ERP.