BloodHill 16 gage shotgun

ELIZABETHGRACE1962 · April 11, 2006, 01:00 PM

I am searching for information on a 16 gage shotgun, the only name on the gun is BloodHill. I know that gun is from the late 1800's. Any help would be greatly apreciated

James K · April 12, 2006, 12:55 PM

That was an era when a plentitude of game combined with the build up of industry (plus no firearms or hunting laws) to make what could well be called the "era of the shotgun." Millions of guns were made, under thousands of different names, with quality ranging from junk, even when new, to the finest hand made guns the world has ever seen.

The guns sold for anywhere from the equivalent of $25 to the equivalent of $42,000 for a "best" gun from some English makers. Custom made, engraved, or inlaid guns could cost even more.

Sixteen gauge was much more common in Europe than in the U.S., so it may be that the gun originated in Europe, perhaps Belgium. Belgium was the country of origin of hundreds of thousands of inexpensive guns sold here under hundreds of trade names, though "Bloodhill" does not appear on any of my lists. Many of the names used on inexpensive guns, both imported and domestic, were similar to the names of famous makers ("Barker" for "Parker", "Breener" for "Greener", etc.) in a deliberate attempt to deceive the customer.

One thing you can do is to look on the bottom of the barrels, and/or on the flat part of the breech where the barrels close, for proof marks. If you see an oval with the letters "E L G" in it, that is a Belgian proof mark and shows the gun was made in Belgium. If some other mark is present, post it (or pictures) and we will try to help further.

I would not hold out a lot of hope for its being a valuable gun; the ratio between the $25 guns and the $40,000 guns was pretty high. Most of those old guns are not only in bad shape but are positively dangerous if fired due to the type of metal used in the barrels. They are best deactivated and retired to decorator status.

Jim

James K · May 5, 2006, 09:48 PM

Just for the info of folks on this site. I received an e-mail with a picture from the lady. The name is not "Bloodhill" but "Bonehill", a fairly well known English maker in Birmingham. The company seems to be still active, selling gun accessories and sporting good, but is no longer making guns.

Jim

RJay · May 6, 2006, 05:34 PM

(Smile) I had found information on Bonehill, but I couldn't see how anyone could get Bloodhill out of Bonehill. So I surmised that it must be either a small maker or a Trade Name gun. Assuming always gets me in trouble.

James K · May 7, 2006, 09:56 PM

I think she just misread it. I blew the picture up and it is definitely "Bonehill", but there is a bit of dirt or rust that could have caused misreading.

Jim

April 11, 2006, 01:00 PM	#1
ELIZABETHGRACE1962 Junior Member Join Date: April 11, 2006 Posts: 1	BloodHill 16 gage shotgun I am searching for information on a 16 gage shotgun, the only name on the gun is BloodHill. I know that gun is from the late 1800's. Any help would be greatly apreciated

April 12, 2006, 12:55 PM	#2
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	That was an era when a plentitude of game combined with the build up of industry (plus no firearms or hunting laws) to make what could well be called the "era of the shotgun." Millions of guns were made, under thousands of different names, with quality ranging from junk, even when new, to the finest hand made guns the world has ever seen. The guns sold for anywhere from the equivalent of $25 to the equivalent of $42,000 for a "best" gun from some English makers. Custom made, engraved, or inlaid guns could cost even more. Sixteen gauge was much more common in Europe than in the U.S., so it may be that the gun originated in Europe, perhaps Belgium. Belgium was the country of origin of hundreds of thousands of inexpensive guns sold here under hundreds of trade names, though "Bloodhill" does not appear on any of my lists. Many of the names used on inexpensive guns, both imported and domestic, were similar to the names of famous makers ("Barker" for "Parker", "Breener" for "Greener", etc.) in a deliberate attempt to deceive the customer. One thing you can do is to look on the bottom of the barrels, and/or on the flat part of the breech where the barrels close, for proof marks. If you see an oval with the letters "E L G" in it, that is a Belgian proof mark and shows the gun was made in Belgium. If some other mark is present, post it (or pictures) and we will try to help further. I would not hold out a lot of hope for its being a valuable gun; the ratio between the $25 guns and the $40,000 guns was pretty high. Most of those old guns are not only in bad shape but are positively dangerous if fired due to the type of metal used in the barrels. They are best deactivated and retired to decorator status. Jim

May 5, 2006, 09:48 PM	#3
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	Just for the info of folks on this site. I received an e-mail with a picture from the lady. The name is not "Bloodhill" but "Bonehill", a fairly well known English maker in Birmingham. The company seems to be still active, selling gun accessories and sporting good, but is no longer making guns. Jim

May 6, 2006, 05:34 PM	#4
RJay Senior Member Join Date: November 2, 2005 Location: Arizona Posts: 1,936	(Smile) I had found information on Bonehill, but I couldn't see how anyone could get Bloodhill out of Bonehill. So I surmised that it must be either a small maker or a Trade Name gun. Assuming always gets me in trouble.

May 7, 2006, 09:56 PM	#5
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	I think she just misread it. I blew the picture up and it is definitely "Bonehill", but there is a bit of dirt or rust that could have caused misreading. Jim