Brian Beechey

UK

The Gun was given to me by our local farmer, in 1976 as a wall hanger.  I lived in the West Midlands, mid way between Birmingham and Coventry and worked in engineering in Birmingham .  The recession had started so we were reduced down to a 4 day working week.  He offered me work repairing machinery on the farm and finally building a large grain bin.  During that time he had bought himself a new gun, and made a gift of the Perrins to me.

The Perrins belonged to his father who had it for a good part of his life.  There is no number on the gun and the chamber is sized to take a 12 bore cartridge.  The bore of the gun is proofed at 16 gauge black powder only (1855 – 1868). At no time can he remember the gun being altered in his time or his fathers.

About 4 years ago I decided to re-brown the barrels, and discovered them to be Damascus but not the two or three iron type, one I have never see before.  The first attempt was not very successful, so I purchased a browning agent from Peter Dyson, and what a difference.  My next challenge was to rub down the stock, rechequer it and polish it with walnut oil, and their you have it, the story of my under lever gun.

Because of the different chamber and bore size, I’m trying to insert a 16 bore case inside a 12 bore cartridge and reload with Black Powder using 16 fibre wad, this will reduce the pressure down the tubes, and let me shoot the old girl again.

 

JC writes - Since Brian wrote this I understand that Lew Potter has written an article on the gun. It would appear that the barrels are tapered which was an experimental type of choking which is being experimented with again at the present time - so Perrins were well ahead of the game and at the forefront of technical advance. The gun looks to be conversion of some type - I will see if I can get more information from Lew.