AN ENGLISH COMBO SHOTGUN

[Buck Conner1]

AN ENGLISH COMBO SHOTGUN (16 GA SMOOTHBORE) - RIFLE (38 CAL. RIFLED), ca. 1870-1890.

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The gun has 33 inch barrels, overall length is 48 inches, engraved back action lock-plates unmarked, top of solid rib unmarked, no proof or makers marks. The bores have been cleaned by a gunsmith and look very good, the dimensions are ideal for 16 gauge wads and .375 round ball with a .015 patch. The tail of the lock plate, and hammers are engraved with a floral pattern. These percussion hammers are of the 1870-1890's style with a European influence on the architecture. Stocked in walnut the butt does have a few mild stripes of figure, but is essentially straight grain which is ideal for such a combination bore shotgun/rifle. The wrist and forearm are both checkered to provide a secure grip. The barrels are fitted to the stock with a single captured key. By putting the locks at half cock, and drift the wedge key loose, then the barrels can then be removed for easy cleaning. Instead of a capture slot, a groove and pin prevent the wedge key from being completely removed from the stock, which prevents loss of the fitted key.

This shotgun has a 14” and 13" trigger reach, which should fit today's average size shooter well. It weighs 10.8 pounds. Stocked straight, it could easily be used by a right or left hand shooter. The brass trigger guard has a engraved bow and grip rail. The trigger guard is threaded to the front trigger plate, and a single screw mounts the grip rail to the stock. The ramrod is fitted with a large brass loading tip and looks to be original to the gun. The front sight uses the broad band and a flat wide barrel rib seen on English SXS and combination guns.

The sighting arrangement is of the European style with the rear sight having a double notch. Which side do use, right notch for the right barrel or the left notch for the right barrel - crossing over, interesting?

With some research it is believed an importer in Philadelphia by the name of J. E. Evans, 226 South. St. was bringing these guns into this location as a wholesaler in the late 1800s.

This gun was cleaned and the bores honed by a professional gunsmith in the 1970s and again recently and it has sat in a gun safe since then.

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[patocazador]

I've heard those called "cape guns" (maybe after the Cape of Good Hope?). If I could find an inexpensive replica in .54 and 12 ga., it would be ideal for me.

 

[Okie Hog]

That's a very nice combination gun.  Thanks for posting.

 

[exMember]

oooooh pretty!! I'd need at least a 54cal though for hunting. Wouldnt that be awesome? grouse and elk with the same gun, ready to go?

 

[Buck Conner1]

I've heard those called "cape guns" (maybe after the Cape of Good Hope?). If I could find an inexpensive replica in .54 and 12 ga., it would be ideal for me.

Named after South Africa, Eastern Cape Province.

Cape Gun.

A cape gun is a long side-by-side double-barreled firearm, where one barrel is rifled and the other one is smooth. The user can use the rifled barrel to fire long range accurate shots against large game and use the smooth barrel to shoot shotgun shells at smaller animals. The gun has two triggers and allows the user to pull either one as needed. Cape guns were once very popular in South Africa, especially in the Eastern Cape province, but the guns themselves were mostly made in Europe. Cape guns made in Germany and Austria usually have the rifled barrel on the right side, whereas British made cape guns tend to have the rifled barrel on the left side.

Click on image to enlarge.​

In the above image, we see a cape gun from the breech end. Note that the barrel on the left side has rifling visible and the barrel on the right side is smooth. This particular model is loaded from the breech, but there were many muzzle-loading models made as well. Hunters often used these in South Africa, where a wide variety of game could be expected.

Vintage advertisement for a Cape Gun by T. Bland and Sons​

The author W.W. Greener, in his book, The Gun and its Development, mentions that these guns were much esteemed by South African sportsmen and that it was useful in countries, where the kind of game that may be encountered cannot be determined beforehand. It was also found useful by poorer emigrants, who could not afford two different kinds of firearms. On the other hand, he mentions that it also has some drawbacks: A cape gun is pretty heavy compared to ordinary shotguns and the balance is also somewhat affected, making wing shots more difficult. As a rifle, it is light compared to ordinary rifles and has a larger recoil, when used with heavy-load cartridges. Therefore he recommends getting a separate rifle and a double-barreled shotgun instead, if it is practical to do so. It must be mentioned though, that Greener also manufactured combination guns and choke-bored rifles, which we will study in the near future.

Cape guns were made by a large number of manufacturers and are still found in auctions today. In the next post, we will study some more types of combined rifles and shotguns.

Firearms History, Technology & Development

 

[Buck Conner1]

oooooh pretty!! I'd need at least a 54cal though for hunting. Wouldnt that be awesome? grouse and elk with the same gun, ready to go?

Jon,

Do you want me to find one for you, original or reproduction?

 

[exMember]

Man I wish! If I could afford something like that, that would be fun as hell to hunt with.

 

[Buck Conner1]

Man I wish! If I could afford something like that, that would be fun as hell to hunt with.

Depending on who made the gun, condition, and how bad the seller wants to move the firearm will all play into the asking price. Then you make an offer of what your willing to pay and be comfortable with the price (that's the hard part $$$). Percussion guns can be found in the $2,500 or less range depending on what was just mentioned. Flintlock combination guns can get real pricey being what everyone wants or dreams of getting. Usually for good flinters they run around $6,500 and up. It's all about desire and how deep are your pockets ......

 

[Buck Conner1]

Lead Round Balls
 

Speer® and Hornady® offer a variety of lead balls for the traditional round ball shooters. They both use great care to ensure smoothness and shape uniformity for a better accuracy over the long haul. Their Lead Balls are packaged in plastic boxes for added protection and convenience. This way they are more stable in transport over loose packed lead ball in plastic bags, if that makes it understandable?

I use to cast everything we shot until a few years ago when a guy bought everything I had in casting material, 40 lb. iron pots, commercial melting pots with burner (even a 40 lb. propane bottle we were using), a couple dozen molds for anything from .32 cal. to .72 cal. By the time he was done I was cleaned out of the lead business, a pair of 1874 Sharps rifles and a .72 cal. punt gun.

That's when I starting buying Speer® and Hornady® round balls, really can't see any difference between them; sizing, hardness, or performance...