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Old October 20, 2015, 12:39 AM   #5
James K
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Join Date: March 17, 1999
Posts: 24,383
That gun is "legit" in that it certainly was made by Greener; it is not some piece of Belgian "junque" with a fake name. But it also is not a top quality gun. All the English makers produced guns ranging from heavily engraved and gold inlaid pieces literally fit for a king to plain guns meant to be used on a day to day basis by game keepers and less affluent sportsmen.

That gun would probably have cost (around 1910) about £13 or £14, about $3000 in today's dollars, not cheap, but well made and sturdy. (A top grade gun would have run around £75, over $16,000, or more.) It is probably chambered for 2 1/2 inch shells

Now I am going to get into troulble with the English gun folks. I strongly recommend not firing that Damascus barrel gun, even with black powder. There are those who will condemn me to the deepest reaches of Hades for even implying that an English gun can blow up, and others who will assure that they fire their Damascus barrel guns all day with 3 1/2 inch Super Magnum loads and have no trouble.

I do not agree, even if the gun was originally proved with smokeless powder (NP proof mark). Many things can happen to a built up barrel over the years, none of them good. Of course, you can find someone who will offer to proof test it for you. But will he pay you the value of the gun if it lets go?

So, expecting the crowd with pitchforks and torches, I will say again that I recommend not firing the gun.

Value? With the understanding that this is a wild guess, I would say around $2500-3000, about what it cost when it was new, but I will gladly defer to anyone who has a better WAG.

Jim
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