Old Boggy

Just looked into my contacts -: Rodney Ford 51 South End Basisingham Herts SG8 5NL Tel: 01763 243736 Hopefully he still owns the records and is at the same address as it was a couple of years since I made contact.

That's a lovely little gun and will be a joy to own and shoot. Rodney Ford owns the Pape records and for a small fee will be able to tell you when it was made, who for, etc. Well worth it for knowing a bit of the guns history. If you google ' Pape records Rodney Ford' you should be able to make contact. He has provided me with some interesting information on a couple of Papes that I had.

Good for you. It's a pity that we cannot do the same with the BBC licence, as it is they who allow his diatribe.

I hope to shortly start using my James Woodward 'The Automatic' push forward underlever (Woodward & Southgate patent No.600 of 1876) No. 1 of a pair built in 1878 after having it checked out by a gunsmith who has confirmed that it is sound and will see me out, albeit that it still requires a little cosmeticTLC. So still a bit of a project. Also use 1901 W.R. Pape, 1913 W.H.Symons and 1930 Charles Hellis 16 bores. Just cannot beat the feel and handling of a good old English gun, in my opinion. So a 1948 gun is 'nobbut a lad' and providing it's still in proof, tight on the face etc. has years of use ahead of it. As had already been stated, AYA Coral's are good guns, so enjoy owning and using it.

Many thanks for the replies. I thought that cleaning every time the gun is cleaned was a bit OTT but wished to check with those far more experienced in such things than me so will take a balanced view from the replies. Thanks, OB

Being a bit new to under & overs having shot mainly with side by sides all my life, although I did have a 20 bore Macnab Highlander which had fixed chokes, so the query never arose, I now have a Ceasar Guerini 20 bore with multi chokes which I use quite frequently. My question is, how often should I remove the chokes for cleaning ? I am not obsessed with forever changing chokes and stick generally to I.C & 1/4 for all my shooting which these days is mainly pigeon decoying and walked up game in season, with perhaps 1/4 & 1/2 for flighting, so the chokes remain in the gun for long periods unchanged. Maybe I'm wrong and stand to be corrected, but firmly belief that with the confidence of whatever cartridge is being used and the gun held straight, then it does the job so don't wish to become paranoid about whether the correct choke is being used. To remove the chokes each time I use the gun and clean it seems somewhat excessive. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated, although I suppose using common sense would tell me every so often, whenever that is !! Many thanks for any replies, OB

Done. Enjoy Disneyland Mason

Just checked, the Highlander was made by B.Rizzini, so if the same goes for the Lowlander, which I think it does, then that too should be very reliable and spares available. Best of luck with the purchase if it goes ahead.

Pretty sure that they are fixed choke. Imported by Patrick Keen but cannot remember what make. No longer made/imported, so not sure about spares availability. I had a 20 bore Highlander and it was a great gun with 1/4 & 1/2 chokes, semi pistol grip and solid top rib. Regretted selling it. Hope that this helps.

Hi Mel, Thanks for sending pictures. Lovely work by Lin. Please send her my best wishes to keep up the excellent work. OB

I was non toxic shot, thought it was a DUKW

Following on from my original thread and nowhere near Fenboy's great story of his Grandfather's gun, I will bore you with the following :- When about eleven, I found whilst scrabbling about in some bushes, a small stash of Netsukes ( small Chinese ivory carvings, pronounced Netskies for those unfamiliar), believed to be from a burglary probably during or shortly after the war. These were handed in, never claimed and so became mine. However, my older brother realised the potential value of these and agreed to swap them for his single barrel Belgian folding .410, one of thousands made and as we all know were regarded as a poachers gun probably worth about £1 in those days. This deal was made on the basis that he kept the Netsukes and did not sell them. He still has them to this day so kept to his word. There were eight of them and have been valued totally at £1000. You are probably thinking that I got a bad deal, but the adventures I had with the little gun, stalking and potting rabbits, shooting rats in the garden from my bedroom window etc.etc. by far outweighs the value of those Netsukes. The selling of rabbits to the village butcher covered the cost of the Eley Fourlong cartridges purchased from the local ironmongers and the licence 5 bob from the post office. At secondary school I used to take the odd rabbit for Biology dissection lessons and received 3 bob and 3/6d if it had tapeworm as this was more interesting to the class. Just cannot see this happening today. Those were the days ! But the best bit, I still have the little gun to this day, so it's at least 56 years old, probably nearer 80 I wondn't wonder.

That's a really touching story, and good that you were able to buy the gun back. There's no price that can ever be put on sentiment. Good for you. They're the type of stories that we can all relate to but not all of us experience. Thanks for sharing.

My other regret is that I really should get into the habit of proof reading my missives before posting. Post now corrected I hope.

I'm sure many of us, if not all, during our shooting lifetimes have bought, sold or part exchanged guns that we have later regretted. The gun bought on impulse as the next 'must have' that turned out to be totally unsuitable or the one that shot like a dream but was later sold on for something newer and regretted ever after. We have all done it I'm sure, except of course 'The man with one gun' who of course should be looked upon with caution as he's the one who is totally at one and satisfied with his weapon, which is an automatic extension of his arm and he rarely misses ! So what have you either bought or sold and thereafter regretted ? I will start this off by stating that I shot for years with an AYA 25 boxlock until such time that my shooting deteriorated and I blamed the gun. Little did I realise that over the years my eye dominance changed resulting in a poor performance. A visit to a shooting coach at the time would have highlighted this, come up with a solution and I would probably still have the gun today. So regret No. 1 Later on in life I started shooting with 16 bores, mainly side by sides, but fancied an over and under so purchased a Macnab Highlander 16 on impulse having previously shot with similar in 20 bore. This 16 was not true to scale as the Lincoln range and was on a 12 action, albeit that felt felt OK in the shop, but I did not shoot well with it despite having it fitted and so the purchase was instantly regretted. So regret No.2. I will not bore you with my other mistakes, which have been many, but leave you advise of your own regrets, if any of course. Many thanks for reading about one or two of my many mistakes in life, and that's not to mention those unrelated to shooting !!!

Eagerly await the response as I have a set of barrels that I would like to do myself and if I could get anywhere near that finish would be well pleased.

+1 for Lincoln, good and reliable. There is a Lincoln 20 bore Premier multi choke on Gunstar for £600. Doesn't state barrel length though.

+1 Must have been good for Purdey to buy the company for the patent and still make today

I have a 20 bore CG Ellipse Ltd which is the cheaper and plainer option to the EVO but nevertheless is a lovely gun to shoot. I particularly like the solid top rib and semi pistol grip stock. It has what appears to be a colour case hardened finish to the action, but this is in fact a hard lacquer finish which could, if abused, be scratched off. Whilst most of my shooting is done with one of my side by sides, I find that I shoot better with the CG as it just seems so easy to shoot. Being vertically challenged, short in the arm, left handed and having a right master eye, this gun which has a LOP of 14.75 inches and is very slightly cast off, by all accounts 'should' be completely unsuitable for me but for some reason it feels just right. I cannot explain that, but with regards eye dominance, I do close my right eye just before shooting. Perhaps I was influenced by the excellent reviews that these guns received and have not been disappointed. I too am not concerned about resale value as this one is for keeps. Hindsight tells me that the Evo would have been aesthetically more pleasing but my budget said otherwise. Hope that this helps.

Never heard of him. Not a relation of Lonnie Donegan was he ?? Shall I sign out now ?

This will make you feel even younger ( or me much older) My first vinyl 45 was Buddy Holly's 'It doesn't matter any more'. Anyone remember that first time round in the fifties ? Hopefully a few or does that make me the oldest on here. Never had a record player so had to borrow one to play it !!

in the bedroom - Lucy Verasarmi ( sp ) If you are talking about Lucy Verasamy the weather forecaster, I go along with that, she is gorgeous.

Terry, You really do epitomise the hand of human kindness in everything you do and say. Well done. I also wish Mike all the best for a speedy recovery. Old Boggy