Sorento Posted August 21, 2016 Report Share Posted August 21, 2016 Hello. Is there anyone out there who can help me date a gun ? It is a W & J Davis ( Birmingham ) Damascus S/S Hammer gun. The Proof Markings seem to indicate more than one year band. A diamond with 12 C starts from 1887 to 1989 A crown with BNP from 1954 to present A crown with STD from 2005 to present. Does anyone know anything about W & J Davis ? I can't find any information. Purchased Yesterday and put 60 + through today. Shoots good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panoma1 Posted August 21, 2016 Report Share Posted August 21, 2016 (edited) The proof mark on the bottom far right, partially into the word "choke"......can you put up a clearer picture? It was proofed in Birmingham at .701 thou (i.e. 14/1 bore) which was stamped on between 1887 to 1954 (nom 12 bore is .729 thou) the only older marks I can decipher which are useful are the Bham "view" proof marks which are prior to 1904, it was probably originally chambered to take 2 1/2" (65mm) cartridges? Reproofed in Bham sometime after 1989, at 18.2 (nom 12 bore is 18.3 thou) 12 -70 is 12 bore 2 3/4" chambers. I don't recognise the STD under a crown stamp as my info is prior to the date you give of 2005. I think you will find the barrels have been lapped out by around 25 thou, so I would check the wall thicknesses! I would guess? the chambers have been elongated from 65mm to 70mm prior to the last proof test. Is it a hammer gun? I think it is a Gun made in the Bham guntrade and sold by Davis Edited August 21, 2016 by panoma1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorento Posted August 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2016 Hi. I think I will have to take more photos. This is a good as I can get it. Are you looking at the symbol underneath the word Choke ? Thank you for your interest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McSpredder Posted August 21, 2016 Report Share Posted August 21, 2016 Worth having a look at these: http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/topic/266541-help-identifying-an-old-bsa-shotgun/ http://www.hallowellco.com/proof_date_codes.htm http://www.gunproof.com/Proof_Memoranda/RULESOFP.PDF http://bilder.kammeret.no/albums/userpics/10110/Notes_on_the_proof_on_shotguns___other_small_arms.pdf The re-proof for 12g - 70mm chambers is quite recent, but you will probably be using fairly gentle cartridges in deference to the age of this gun. Among the earlier markings, 14/1 means it was originally proofed as a 14-bore (but on the wider end of the range for 14-bores). It is quite usual to see older 12g barrels proofed at 13-bore, but I guess something as tightly-bored as 14/1 would be much less common. Proof marks from 1920 onwards often include a date code within the crossed swords, so a clearer photo might help, but a Damascus-barrelled gun is likely to be older than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panoma1 Posted August 21, 2016 Report Share Posted August 21, 2016 Hi. I think I will have to take more photos. This is a good as I can get it. Are you looking at the symbol underneath the word Choke ? Thank you for your interest Yes the symbol under the word choke! In the absence of a good photo.......Can you describe it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorento Posted August 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2016 I hav just looked with an eyeglass. a photo won't be possible. It looks as though it is Two crossed swords X in the top it looks like a B to the left a 1 to the right a 3 and at the bottom a 3. The barrels are now choked approximately Cylinder and Half. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panoma1 Posted August 21, 2016 Report Share Posted August 21, 2016 I would guess it was reproofed in 2013 at Bham proof house by tester No 3...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorento Posted August 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2016 Worth having a look at these: http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/topic/266541-help-identifying-an-old-bsa-shotgun/ http://www.hallowellco.com/proof_date_codes.htm http://www.gunproof.com/Proof_Memoranda/RULESOFP.PDF http://bilder.kammeret.no/albums/userpics/10110/Notes_on_the_proof_on_shotguns___other_small_arms.pdf The re-proof for 12g - 70mm chambers is quite recent, but you will probably be using fairly gentle cartridges in deference to the age of this gun. Among the earlier markings, 14/1 means it was originally proofed as a 14-bore (but on the wider end of the range for 14-bores). It is quite usual to see older 12g barrels proofed at 13-bore, but I guess something as tightly-bored as 14/1 would be much less common. Proof marks from 1920 onwards often include a date code within the crossed swords, so a clearer photo might help, but a Damascus-barrelled gun is likely to be older than that. Lots of interesting information there. I will have a good read. I think I will use 21g to be on the safe side. I will only normally use the gun once or twice a year so hope it will last a good long time. Thank you to all who have given me help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted August 22, 2016 Report Share Posted August 22, 2016 The STD is standard (proof pressure). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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