Theate Freres 28 gauge SxS

[texasvaquero]

I have a 28-gauge hammer side-by-side shotgun that I am having trouble finding info about. I would like to know who is the manufacturer and what is the approximate value of this cool old gun. It has a stamp of 1890 on it in several areas. Acier and Cockerill are also on the barrels. E with LG underneath and a crown over the e is stamped on the barrels bottom side. My grandfather bought the gun in 1947 for $50 w/ case. Thanks for any information anyone can give.

 

[sm]

Welcome to THR.

I don't know and / or if someone on this Shotgun Forum does or not -

I bet our own Harley Nolden of Harley Nolden's Institute For Firearms Research Forum just might - or any one of a number of other smart folks will.

Don't be alarmed if you get moved - we haven't lost any folks yet.

 

[Dave McCracken]

Welcome aboard. Hard to tell from your description, but it sounds like a Belgian or French gun. Acier is "steel" in French.

The Belgian stuff varies from trash to treasure. This sounds more like high end. The cheap stuff didn't come with a case. Lots of shotguns got dufflebagged back from Europe post WWII. This was probably one, and got sold to your father by the GI who "Liberated" it. $50 in 1947 equates to maybe $500 now, which falls right into the range of prices for off brand shotguns of this sort.

As with all old guns, a good smith should go over it before firing the first shot. Chances are the chambers are on the short side and modern length ammo will spike pressures too darn high.

If it can be used with modern ammo, Huzzah!! The 28 gauge is enjoying a real boom right now and for good reason.

Posting on Harley's Forum may give you more input, but I'm not moving you yet. Let's see what happens here.