Couple more BP guns.

[mm93]

Ups just dropped off a pair of old guns I bought from a seller back East. Both turned out to be much nicer than his pictures, and both have excellent bores.
One a Marlin Firearms marked .40-63 with lightweight barrel, very nice wood, great bluing, and just traces of case colors on the receiver and thimbles. Only addition is a Marbles tang sight added at sometime in it's life.

 

[mm93]

And this one from the same seller:

Not a shotgun guy, but this one interested me as it has "C. GOVE" engraved on each lock plate! Also has his full name engraved on the top rib of this 14ga. muzzleloader shotgun. "CARLOS GOVE DENVER, COL." Gove was the largest gun dealer West of the Mississippi from before the Civil War to the late 1800's when he died.
A very well cared for Damascus barreled shotgun, with all the various metal parts border engraved, and some nice wood. Very classic lightweight stocks and maybe weighs 7 lbs. Made in England, and Birmingham proofed.

 

[Jonny2guns]

Would love to find me an old side by side shotty like that, been looking for one for a while now.

 

[mm93]

Would love to find me an old side by side shotty like that, been looking for one for a while now.

I see them often, but always cartridge shotguns, not muzzleloaders like this one.

 

[hawg]

I've got one made in Belgium around 1850.

 

[mm93]

Wish I could figure out who in England made this shotgun? Not sure if it was a large maker, or some small guild shop one at a time?
Did some examination yesterday trying to maybe find identification, but no luck. I did discover the left nipple is plugged, so need to open the hole up before I shoot the shotgun.
Also did some inspecting of the Ballard Pacific and measured barrel length. It's 2" over standard 30" at 32". The shotgun barrels are 32.5" length. Amazing how nicely it points with two barrels that long. The slender wrist on the stock feels great.

 

[Dave T]

That Marlin Ballard is really impressive. Very nice! As for the shotgun, I'm a brass shell type shot gun shooter so...

And, I always thought his name was "Grove". The things you learn late in life. (smile)

Dave

 

[mm93]

That Marlin Ballard is really impressive. Very nice! As for the shotgun, I'm a brass shell type shot gun shooter so...

And, I always thought his name was "Grove". The things you learn late in life. (smile)

Dave

I'm not a shotgun guy of any kind really. I used to shoot trap every Sunday, and did a lot of bird hunting. But I did both with one shotgun, and never got into collecting them. But I do collect old 1800's single shoot rifles, and the Denver area is famous for having some of the finest gun makers in the West, and even in the whole USA. Guys like Gove, Schoyen, AW Peterson, Freund Bros., etc. all had shops there. Schoyen and Peterson both worked for Gove, and Schoyen bought Gove's Denver Armory when Gove retired in the 1890's. So the Gove name is what attracted me to this originally, and now that I have it in hand I like it even more.
Gove was the equivalent of a multi millionaire compared to today, and gave a lot to the city of Denver. He even bought the city a fire truck, and donated huge amounts of money to city water works, and other projects. He came to Denver in around 1860, and was not rich, but became wealthy in his business dealings. He was the largest seller of Sharps firearms in the US, and when Sharps was in financial trouble he bought 270 Sharps rifles at one order in 1880!

 

[hawg]

Wish I could figure out who in England made this shotgun? Not sure if it was a large maker, or some small guild shop one at a time?

If it was a maker of any size it would have their name on it.

 

[mm93]

If it was a maker of any size it would have their name on it.

Probably right, even if made for Gove I'd assume they'd also use their name too.

Spent a couple hours cleaning the shotgun. The plugged nipple was just dirt and popped right out. Tore it down and removed the hammers to give everything a good scrubbing with nylon brush and Hoppes. Then wiped it dry, cleaned the bores, and gave the wood and metal a wipe down with Old West Snake Oil. Really improved it even more than it was.
Taking it to our monthly Historical Arms collectors group dinner meeting tonight. We have some ML collectors that should get a kick out of seeing it I hope. At least they wont complain about another heavy old single shot I brought!

 

[hawg]

I doubt anybody made anything for Gove. It could be he bought the barrels and built the rest.

 

[Malachi Leviticus Blue]

Got me droolin' with that percussion SxS shotgun

 

[hawg]

Got me droolin' with that percussion SxS shotgun

If you can find an older Pedersoli from before they thickened the barrels for chokes they feel and handle like originals.

This is an original Ancion from Belgium.

 

[woodnbow]

Pietta has made some fine doubles as well. 7# or a little under and come up nicely.

 

[Malachi Leviticus Blue]

I'm lucky enough to have scored a 1979 Pedersoli 12 ish guage double and a 1971 Spanish made 20 guage marked <AMP>
They both point great in my opinion and make rabbit hunting on a sunny, snow covered January in Michigan pure joy.
The Pedersoli is definitely finished nicer.
That said, a 19th century specimen sure would be nice.

 

[hawg]

Pietta has made some fine doubles as well. 7# or a little under and come up nicely.

Both my Pedersoli and my Ancion weigh less than 6 pounds. Newer Pedersoli's weigh a little over 7 pounds.

 

[mm93]

I doubt anybody made anything for Gove. It could be he bought the barrels and built the rest.

I doubt Gove made very much himself, other than custom guns modified from factory rifles, like the Gove underlever conversions done on Rolling Block rifles. Everything else Gove sold from his Denver Armory was factory made to either standard versions, or Gove's Special Order requests.
Gove was the largest gun dealer West of the Mississippi, and had the buying power to have any guns made specifically for his shop. He was the equivalent of a Bill Gates today, and in 1880 he was able to place one order of 270 Sharps rifles from Sharps. Not many in the US who could place an order that large, and pay the bill.
Gove often ordered firearms from overseas to fill special requests, so having guns made especially for him wasn't unusual at all.

 

[hawg]

Gove often ordered firearms from overseas to fill special requests, so having guns made especially for him wasn't unusual at all.

I don't know that much about him. If he bought guns from overseas he most likely looked for the best prices. He probably bought guns from Belgium too. If it was a known maker they would have put their name on it somewhere.

 

[dickydalton]

I still have my old CVA 12 gauge that's pretty light. It hasn't been outta the safe in over 5 years.

 

[Acorn Mush]

I still have my old CVA 12 gauge that's pretty light. It hasn't been outta the safe in over 5 years.

Your stock looks beautiful. If you don't mind, what stain did you use and how did you finish it? Thanks.

 

[dickydalton]

Your stock looks beautiful. If you don't mind, what stain did you use and how did you finish it? Thanks.

I bought it this way in about 2012 or so as new.