T T Proctor

[norfolk shooter]

Guys just wondering about the above gun and rifle maker? I know he is UK based and one of the best on the Mauser action builds. What sort of prices do they go for? Do they hold or gain value? I only ask as I have spotted one that I'm rather tempted by. Its not been engraved or anything fancy its just a good old fashion safari rifle.

Any thoughts would be splendid.

Many thanks

 

[Velo Dog]

Good morning Norfolk Shooter,

I've not heard of TT Proctor but, there have been many superb Gunsmiths building Mauser sporters in Europe for a long time (and some real sloppy ones as well).
The best of the best repeaters were the London and Birmingham built Mausers, and there were a couple in Scotland once upon a time as well.
Perhaps there are still some makers there who can build them like they used to but the recent ones I have seen are nowhere near as well made as their Pre-War versions were for some reason (they still cost an arm and a leg though).

The best today IMO is www.dorleac-dorleac.com of France.
They have taken over where the Pre-War best English makers have left off, back in the late 1930s (a Dorleac Mauser however will not be low priced either).

My recommendation is to have a proper Gunsmith look over this TT Proctor rifle before you buy it.
If it is a .404 Jeffery caliber, be especially cautious of the chamber dimensions, as this cartridge once suffered varying sizes of chambers for awhile.
New .404's today are standardized thankfully.

Cheers,
Velo Dog.

 

[spike.t]

i have heard of him but never seen any of his rifles. found this one, could be the one you are talking about http://stonehengearms.co.uk/centre-fire-rifles/. i think i remember being told he hunted zambia a few times, and not 100pcnt but believe he donated a rifle a few years ago that was auctioned at the phaz ball . as i said not 100pcnt on that , but its seems to ring a bell in my head.....

 

[norfolk shooter]

i have heard of him but never seen any of his rifles. found this one, could be the one you are talking about http://stonehengearms.co.uk/centre-fire-rifles/. i think i remember being told he hunted zambia a few times, and not 100pcnt but believe he donated a rifle a few years ago that was auctioned at the phaz ball . as i said not 100pcnt on that , but its seems to ring a bell in my head.....

Thats the one Spike!

 

[gizmo]

I saw that the other day my self. I had credit card in hand and was going to but. I talked my self out of it because I have spent waaaay to much money on stuff for my upcoming trip already and I already have bought a 416 to go with. My advise would be jump on it because I would be willing to bet it won't be there long. Once you get it if it needs some work you didn't spend a whole lot on it to begin with. Just my thought because I'm not kidding I was about a millisecond away from buying that rifle. Seems like a great buy to me. Rest assured you don't have to worry about me who, for the first time in my life, successfully talked my self out of buying it but I'm sure there are many people out there that lack the self control that I never knew I had.

 

[norfolk shooter]

did you have a look down the bore?? whats it like???

 

[gizmo]

did you have a look down the bore?? whats it like???

I just saw it on the Internet and was gunna buy it unseen. I figured even if it had to be rebarreled it would still be a good deal.

 

[Red Leg]

Nice looking rifle Norfolk (sounds rather Shakespearean doesn't it). All the bells and whistles one would hope for on a safari rifle (quarter rib, barrel band swivel, etc) plus detachable mounts and a fine scope (the two of which would cost you a thousand pounds to have put on a rifle). Assuming it goes bang when the trigger is pulled, that looks like a very good deal indeed.

Gizmo, getting a gun in from the UK is something I would suggest you explore before buying it unseen. Assuming you are still in the US, you will have to import it.

 

[norfolk shooter]

The nice thing is due to it being a DG cal not a lot of folk in the UK have the green light for it. I'm going to see what's around at the British shooting show in a few weeks then get in touch with the chap that's selling it. See if they can do it for £2k all in!!

 

[norfolk shooter]

sorry I was ment to say hav'nt got the green light

 

[gizmo]

Red leg that was part of the conversation I had with myself to talk me out of doing that. I have no clue what it takes to import a gun to the U.S. and I knew sure as I went off half cocked I would find myself in a huge mess. I decided it would be best to wait and get a good 375 here in the states once I've had time to recover financially from this trip and had proper time to research and find exactly what I want.

 

[norfolk shooter]

There is an up coming Holts auction http://www.holtsauctioneers.com/ !!! I have also been offered a cz 550. I'am still thinking about paying the bit more and getting something that may even appreciate in time.

 

[Lancaster]

i have heard of him but never seen any of his rifles. found this one, could be the one you are talking about http://stonehengearms.co.uk/centre-fire-rifles/. i think i remember being told he hunted zambia a few times, and not 100pcnt but believe he donated a rifle a few years ago that was auctioned at the phaz ball . as i said not 100pcnt on that , but its seems to ring a bell in my head.....

You are spot on Spike. We see a good few TT Proctor rifles here in North West of England and they are much coveted.

Cheshire based Trevor hunted several times in Zambia. I bought a TT Proctor from Tony Jackson this year, Tony is a great friend of Trevor's and took my rifle (a .375) to Zambia with Trevor a couple of times in the late 1980s.

He told the story that when Trevor was made redundant as a precision engineer in the aircraft industry he bought a gun shop but decided to build his own rifle to take to Africa (Zambia) to hunt a buffalo bull. It was built on a Mauser 98 action (as is mine.) This was 1976.

The PH liked the rifle so much he said that if he gave it to him he could come back and hunt for free the following year. So Trevor did that and set about building himself another rifle. The PH contacted Trevor and said he had a number of clients admire his work and ask if he could build them a rifle. That is how his custom rifle business was born. He built a lot of rifles for Africa (@SRvet also has one in .375 but also in .458 Lott) but also a number of rifles for deerstalking in the UK, many in 7x57 but I've also seen two 6.5x55,a 30:06 and a 25.06 and I'm sure he did in other calibres also.

He used a lot of Mauser actions but also Sako and Ruger No1 from what I can gather.

Trevor retired in the 2014 and moved to Greece.