Side by Side Club

[ips]

31 minutes ago, EMT said:

Well I couldn't resist any longer. Bought this yesterday and love it.

Nice ?

What is it..AYA ?

[AYA117]

Lokoks like an AYA No.2 ! Good amount of case hardening still there, very nice !

[matone]

44 minutes ago, EMT said:

Well I couldn't resist any longer. Bought this yesterday and love it.

Looks almost as new,nice !

Edited April 25, 2018 by matone

[ips]

4 minutes ago, AYA117 said:

Lokoks like an AYA No.2 ! Good amount of case hardening still there, very nice !

Yep, looks lovely.

I have had /(and have) some very nice OU however i can no longer get excited by them

[AYA117]

2 minutes ago, ips said:

Yep, looks lovely.

I have had /(and have) some very nice OU however i can no longer get excited by them

OU that is a swear word in this club 

Edited April 25, 2018 by AYA117

[Fil]

This is my go to gun. Had it a number of years now having rescued it from a fellow gunsmith who doesn't do barrel work. Had a scrapper of a dent in it which I managed to save and clean the rest up. It's a Clarke of Leicester with the Midland Gun Works address. It's essentially a Webley action made for Clarkes with interceptor sears. I absolutely love this gun. Fits me like a glove and no matter what might be tempting to take shooting from all the guns I have access to I always take "Clarkey". 

Don't get me wrong I can miss birds too but I get lots of comments from my o/u shooting friends like, "how can you shoot so well with old thing"? Or, "you're not bringing that old gun of yours on our big day are you"?...... Of course, why wouldn't I?

And it's nice to keep the Damascus barrel flag flying. 

28 or 30g 6's for everything. Whatever I have at the time. Roll on shooting season.

[ips]

18 minutes ago, AYA117 said:

OU that is a swear word in this club 

Ok, in that case we need a word or phrase instead, such as "upside down gun" ??

Edited April 25, 2018 by ips

[JohnfromUK]

25 minutes ago, Fil said:

 It's essentially a Webley action made for Clarkes with interceptor sears.

It is a nice and relatively unusual feature to have intercepting sears on a boxlock.

[EMT]

57 minutes ago, ips said:

Nice ?

What is it..AYA ?

It is an AYA No. 2 with 28" barrels.  It was bought new by a Colonel Pickard from the Royal Artillery and he took it all over the world, shooting with maharajas etc.  He sold it to a very good friend of mine. When my friend bough it, he spent a day with the Colonel looking through all his old game books and looking at his shooting photos.  He said it was very impressive.

I  have watched my friend shoot with it, a lot better than I do with my O/U for years and when he bought a new AYA No. 2 he said I could have his old one.

[Fil]

Just now, EMT said:

It is an AYA No. 2 with 28" barrels.  It was bought new by a Colonel Pickard from the Royal Artillery and he took it all over the world, shooting with maharajas etc.  He sold it to a very good friend of mine. When my friend bough it, he spent a day with the Colonel looking through all his old game books and looking at his shooting photos.  He said it was very impressive.

I  have watched my friend shoot with it, a lot better than I do with my O/U for years and when he bought a new AYA No. 2 he said I could have his old one.

What lovely history.

Can't go wrong with an AyA No.2. 

[ips]

6 minutes ago, EMT said:

It is an AYA No. 2 with 28" barrels.  It was bought new by a Colonel Pickard from the Royal Artillery and he took it all over the world, shooting with maharajas etc.  He sold it to a very good friend of mine. When my friend bough it, he spent a day with the Colonel looking through all his old game books and looking at his shooting photos.  He said it was very impressive.

I  have watched my friend shoot with it, a lot better than I do with my O/U for years and when he bought a new AYA No. 2 he said I could have his old one.

Lucky you ?

[matone]

1 hour ago, ips said:

Ok, in that case we need a word or phrase instead, such as "upside down gun" ??

`Ovundo`......at least that`s a classic English name....lol.

Edited April 25, 2018 by matone

[farmer7]

My offering for the club. AYA No.2.

I started out at 8 years old with an AYA No.3 20 bore which I still have. I was given this by an elderly uncle who I used to watch as a youngster using it to shoot clays on the farm every year before the season opened.

I remember looking at the backs of the Countrysport magazine in the late 80's at the ads which usually featured an AYA of one model or other and wishing I could have an AYA No.2. The price then I remember was £800. 

It was a happy day 10 years ago getting a phonecall and to take my certificate with me! 

[AYA117]

2 hours ago, ips said:

Ok, in that case we need a word or phrase instead, such as "upside down gun" ??

 

1 hour ago, matone said:

`Ovundo`......at least that`s a classic English name....lol.

How about just plain 'wrong' ! Barrels wrong way round, wrong weight........  just wrong! 

Have you seen the new 'fad' of having plastic scaffolding on the top rib of wrong guns, what the hell is that all about ?

58 minutes ago, farmer7 said:

My offering for the club. AYA No.2.

I started out at 8 years old with an AYA No.3 20 bore which I still have. I was given this by an elderly uncle who I used to watch as a youngster using it to shoot clays on the farm every year before the season opened.

I remember looking at the backs of the Countrysport magazine in the late 80's at the ads which usually featured an AYA of one model or other and wishing I could have an AYA No.2. The price then I remember was £800. 

It was a happy day 10 years ago getting a phonecall and to take my certificate with me! 

That is a cracking No.2

Edited April 25, 2018 by AYA117

[panoma1]

Yep "a wrong un" seems appropriate.........or a "Horizontally challenged" jobbie?

 

[AYA117]

2 minutes ago, panoma1 said:

Yep "a wrong un" seems appropriate.........or a "Horizontally challenged" jobbie?

 

[motty]

4 hours ago, AYA117 said:

[islandgun]

21 hours ago, marsh man said:

I give mine a couple of days on pigeons in the summer on the stubbles so it can get some fresh air and doing what it was made for .

Have you any idea when they were roughly made ?

Hi marsh man I posted a short history of T Wild and family,  that Capt C sent me, you might be able to get a date from the different addresses, its on page 10 of this thread 

[marsh man]

19 minutes ago, islandgun said:

Hi marsh man I posted a short history of T Wild and family,  that Capt C sent me, you might be able to get a date from the different addresses, its on page 10 of this thread 

THANKS for that islandgun , I will trawl through it to see if I can gleam any information .

                                                                                                          All the best M M 

[JJsDad]

22 hours ago, AYA117 said:

I have a Thomas Wild identical to yours, had it since I was 17, shot my first driven pheasant with it

Hi AYA117. In response to your PM I can advise you as follows: (All info curtesy of British Gunmakers Vol 2 by Nigel Brown).

Addresses: Thomas Wild is shown as being at: 17 Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham from 1849 to 1857 he then moved to 29 Whittall street in 1857 till c1883 and then further down the road to 35 Whittall Street in c1886. He then formed a Ltd company & the name changed to  Thomas Wild & Co in 1894. He then moved to 17 Whittall street in 1900 and remained there until 1933. In his first 5 years at this later address it was sometimes listed as No 19. (Bet that confused the postman). He then evidently expanded as his address became 17 / 18 Whitall St in 1934 where he remained until 1962. In 1963 he moved (again) to 32 Lower Loveday Street where he remained till 1989. The last recorded move was to 63 Price Street in 1989.

Amalgamations: The business was amalgamated with Roland Watson in 1893, but guns were supplied with either the Wild name or the Watson name but not both.

Serial No: Guns (Both Wild & Watson) prior to 1905 appear to have 4 digit numbers starting with a 7. But some guns are recorded with a 4 digit number starting with a 1 from around 1898. The numbers commencing with a 7 appear to have been phased out around 1905. The 4 digit serial numbers ascended until 1921 when the numbers became 5 digits.

The numbers that span your gun serial number are: 1936 - Gun No: 17644         1937 - Gun No: 18553.   Which seems to indicate yours was built circa: Late 1936

If this is correct, the address on the rib should be: 17 or 17 / 18 Whitall Street as he was at the same address twice !

Trust this helps.

JJsDad

 

Edited April 25, 2018 by JJsDad

[JJsDad]

21 hours ago, marsh man said:

P M ..... Sent   ........ THANKS

Hi Marsh Man.

Never got your PM, but note you may have got info you required from A N Other. If you are still seeking dates drop me a PM albeit I have put a bunch of info up for AYA117.

Cheers. JJsDad

[panoma1]

23 minutes ago, JJsDad said:

Hi AYA117. In response to your PM I can advise you as follows: (All info curtesy of British Gunmakers Vol 2 by Nigel Brown).

Addresses: Thomas Wild is shown as being at: 17 Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham from 1849 to 1857 he then moved to 29 Whittall street in 1857 till c1883 and then further down the road to 35 Whittall Street in c1886. He then formed a Ltd company & the name changed to  Thomas Wild & Co in 1894. He then moved to 17 Whittall street in 1900 and remained there until 1933. In his first 5 years at this later address it was sometimes listed as No 19. (Bet that confused the postman). He then evidently expanded as his address became 17 / 18 Whitall St in 1934 where he remained until 1962. In 1963 he moved (again) to 32 Lower Loveday Street where he remained till 1989. The last recorded move was to 63 Price Street in 1989.

Amalgamations: The business was amalgamated with Roland Watson in 1893, but guns were supplied with either the Wild name or the Watson name but not both.

Serial No: Guns (Both Wild & Watson) prior to 1905 appear to have 4 digit numbers starting with a 7. But some guns are recorded with a 4 digit number starting with a 1 from around 1898. The numbers commencing with a 7 appear to have been phased out around 1905. The 4 digit serial numbers ascended until 1921 when the numbers became 5 digits.

The numbers that span your gun serial number are: 1936 - Gun No: 17644         1937 - Gun No: 18553.   Which seems to indicate yours was built circa: Late 1936

If this is correct, the address on the rib should be: 17 or 17 / 18 Whitall Street as he was at the same address twice !

Trust this helps.

JJsDad

 

I had a really nice G E Lewis bar lock Hammergun sleeved by the firm of Wild and Watson in the mid sixties, the guy I dealt with introduced himself as Roland? I recall their workshop in Lower Loveday Street was up an alleyway and was really 'atmospheric' like something out of the Victorian age! But they did a nice job.....stupidly sold the gun in the seventies.....needs must eh?

[Esca]

Time to share

[islandgun]

51 minutes ago, JJsDad said:

Hi AYA117. In response to your PM I can advise you as follows: (All info curtesy of British Gunmakers Vol 2 by Nigel Brown).

Addresses: Thomas Wild is shown as being at: 17 Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham from 1849 to 1857 he then moved to 29 Whittall street in 1857 till c1883 and then further down the road to 35 Whittall Street in c1886. He then formed a Ltd company & the name changed to  Thomas Wild & Co in 1894. He then moved to 17 Whittall street in 1900 and remained there until 1933. In his first 5 years at this later address it was sometimes listed as No 19. (Bet that confused the postman). He then evidently expanded as his address became 17 / 18 Whitall St in 1934 where he remained until 1962. In 1963 he moved (again) to 32 Lower Loveday Street where he remained till 1989. The last recorded move was to 63 Price Street in 1989.

Amalgamations: The business was amalgamated with Roland Watson in 1893, but guns were supplied with either the Wild name or the Watson name but not both.

Serial No: Guns (Both Wild & Watson) prior to 1905 appear to have 4 digit numbers starting with a 7. But some guns are recorded with a 4 digit number starting with a 1 from around 1898. The numbers commencing with a 7 appear to have been phased out around 1905. The 4 digit serial numbers ascended until 1921 when the numbers became 5 digits.

The numbers that span your gun serial number are: 1936 - Gun No: 17644         1937 - Gun No: 18553.   Which seems to indicate yours was built circa: Late 1936

If this is correct, the address on the rib should be: 17 or 17 / 18 Whitall Street as he was at the same address twice !

Trust this helps.

JJsDad

 

Thanks very much,   thats very useful, my number  is 18748 which indicates the late 30's, the gun is on page 4 if interested

[JJsDad]

4 minutes ago, islandgun said:

my number  is 18748 which indicates the late 30's,

Looking at the next set of numbers for 1938, yours would date from late 1937.