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Churchill XXV


Glensman
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Hi guys,

 

I've often wondered what value to place on the Churchill 25 I have in the cabinet. It is absolutely Mint, comes in it's original leather case- also mint. My Dad bought this gun about 15 years ago (maybe more) and only fired 2 shots with it, I think it was partly bought as an investment.

 

Anyway, there is one on Guntrader but it has hardly any blue on it and I was trying to figure out what a good one was worth. :hmm:

 

 

Cheers in advance lads- any kind of ball-park figures would do. I have literally No idea what the thing is worth :good:

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Is it boxlock or side plate? as boxlock is sometimes half what a sidelock is think 1300-1500 is about right not many around for sale so could be more. I've been locking at XXv's boxlocks just recently as fancy on.Nice looking churchhill rib'd gun lovely ballance.

 

Haggis.

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Churchill xxv,s once had some dedicated admirers e.g. Gough Thomas the former gun editor of the Shooting Times. Recently the demand for 25inch and other short barreled shotguns has fallen of somewhat as 30 inch barrels are now the fashion again. Churchill was a first class maker and the xxv is a super gun for those who like the somewhat dated features that they incorporate.

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We've got four Churchill XXVs in the Baldrick family at present, one of which is mine, and I deal with the insurance for the Baldrick armoury. I've consequently kept a close eye on auction prices, so I may be able to give a relatively knowledgeable ball-park figure. Need to know if it's a BLE or SLE for starters. Does your gun have a file-cut rib? A scalloped action? Model name on barrels, or engraved onto action (look for Utility, Regal, Hercules, Windsor etc)? Is it an assisted-opener?

 

They are indeed dated, Manton, but if you're a skilled Shot fortunate enough to get a fair bit of partridge and grouse action, the XXV is a superb tool.

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Baldrick they should pay you to be on this forum ;)

 

To begin with I'm in Galway all this week and the gun is at home... But I can tell you it is SxS 25" barrels (BOX-lock) and as I've never fired the gun I'm not sure if it has ejectors or not. I think it does ??? . Has lovely engraving and wood- both are immaculate.

 

Goin on that much Baldrick what would you think? When I'm home next week I'll PM you everything about the gun and I'll stick up some pictures. :good:

Edited by Glensman
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I didn't realise so many people shot with them. The way Dad talks about the thing he says it's too valuable to use! However, I don't know if he will bother to renew his licence. Which could mean (I pray!) his guns going on mine. Problem is they don't like you having a lot of guns on your licence over here so I would probably be of a view to selling the Churchill.

 

On the one hand it's eatin no grass, but on the other I'm not going to use it!

 

Just off the phone with Dad, all he could really confirm is that it's box-lock and has ejectors. I'll have to have a right good look at the thing next week to see what else I can figure out about it.

Edited by Glensman
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Goin on that much Baldrick what would you think? When I'm home next week I'll PM you everything about the gun and I'll stick up some pictures. :good:

 

Glensman, take some good quality photos of the action and barrels, and have a good look over the gun for identifying features. Send me a PM when you're ready. There's no point me plucking a figure out of the air without being aware of the details of the gun.

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Hi,

I got in touch with the current Churchills and was sent a copy of the workshop order for my XXV Regal complete with the names of the gunsmiths who made it. The Regal was originally the Utility but the name was changed just after the war when the word "utility" started to indicate an inferior product. Mine was a "one arm" version, the owner having lost his left arm in 1944. It was originally a full pistol grip, easy opener, twin trigger (you could pull either trigger twice) and choked Full and 3/4 (yes, that way around). Now, the pistol grip, the twin trigger mechanism have gone and is now 1/4 3/4.

If you care to either post it or PM me, I can probably tell you in which year yours was made.

Cheers

Me, idiot! Meant to say "if you post or PM me the serial number"

Edited by wymberley
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As I say lads I'll be home next week so I'll take a load of pics and put them up... Maybe of both of Dad's guns because I've no idea what our Gamba is worth!

 

It's funny how I have no proper pics of any of my guns... I need to be more like a woman and start takin pictures of everything!

 

Cheers Lads! :good:

 

I'll get on to Wymberly and we'll figure out the year of it too and I'll stick that up with the photos

Edited by Glensman
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Proteus, hi,

We've all now got to wait patiently until Glensman can get back to us. However, if you're really interested, see if your local library has a copy (if they haven't it costs about a £1 to get it if they have one within the county library service) of "The House of Churchill" by Don Masters; DA Masters in the international book code thingy which is ISBN 1-57157-218-X. If you do, you'll see why I didn't suggest buying it!

Cheers

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well lads, I'm home now! Nice to be back- it's ******* rain so I'm going to make a couple of larsens in the shed.

 

I've had no luck with pictures, we have 3 digital cameras which for various reasons are out of action- so I borrowed one and it's about 6 years old and the pictures aren't worth putting up!

 

All I can tell you is that it is a Churchill XXV, Box-lock with 25" barrels... The model is Hercules. My dad bought this gun in 1985 and fired 3 shots with low powered number 6's (he has some memory!) The gun wasn't new to him but it can't have done much shooting. It is absolutely MINT and has all the beautiful engraving and wood you would expect. There isn't a single mark on barrels or wood.

 

Myself, my Dad and both Brothers are all 6, 3" and the gun doesn't really fit any of us- add to that what we think it's worth and us not being well off and you can understand why it's been kept so good!

 

 

I'd love it if someone could put a value and year on the gun- I can PM the serial#. The man who sold it to Dad is a family friend but he has a tendency (IMHO) to over-value guns...

 

THANKS! :good:

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