ian-bradley
AH senior member
This is my new to me unknown maker French 12ga hammer gun. I am really a sucker for color case hardening, let’s see if I can hit a woodcock with it in a few months.
the pic Had some problemsWould love to see a pic of your new shotgun. I love wingshooting with hammer guns. and at some point hope to find a break action 6.5x57 single with hammer and underlever.
Hammer operated shot-guns are a beautiful piece of art. The pictures which l see here all have the switch on the top to open the breech. During my youth , hammer shot-guns used to have a crank at the bottom of the gun which would end under the trigger guard. You would turn this crank and the breech would open.
One of my students has inherited such a shot-gun from his father and acquired the license for it. He shoots it well , but initially he would raise the gun at targets or birds and pull the triggers without remembering to pull back the two hammers.
Hammer GuyThe guns you remember from your youth were/are called Underlever, more specifically Jones Underlever. Quite a popular bolting mechanism especially for real serious double rifles.
The Toplever is what we see the most of, especially in shotguns.
A Sidelever is a wonderfully unique mechanism that I think looks very elegant on hammer guns.
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There are a few other interesting versions, including a Pushlever and the opposite pull - or Snaplever, which I think may be the easiest to use and most beautiful since the entire lever is engraved.
Gotta double like thatYesterday.......
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