description

A lightweight, Purdey style side by side game gun by one of modern gunmaking’s most celebrated makers, Hartmann & Weiss. The gun was a specialty of the “London” side of the “Hamburg – London” address on the barrels, one of England’s finest gun makers, Peter Nelson, who worked in concert with H&W making best guns only until Mr. Nelson stated making guns under his own name in the late 1980’s. 

The gun is based on a Beesley style self-opening sidelock ejector action with a square bar, two triggers, auto-safety, disk set strikers, and cocking indicators with raised ribs. The gun is engraved in very well-cut traditional Rose & Scroll by Heinz Funk, who engraved many H&W guns and rifles over the years. The maker’s name is discreetly engraved on the bottom of each lock plate. The action and triggers are color hardened with bright blue cocking indicators and hinge pin and appropriately blacked parts. “SAFE” is inlaid in gold.

The 29” chopper lump barrels have 1978 London proof marks and original 2 ½” chambers, and a smooth concave game rib. The barrels are beautifully struck and bored, both barrels measuring precisely at .729”, the right barrel choked 5/8 (.025”) and the left barrel choked Extra Full (.044”).

The stock has wonderful color and figure with a 14 3/8” LOP over a checkered butt, a straight hand, traditional drop points and a blank gold oval. The splinter forend has a push rod release and is fitted with Purdey style ejectors. Both the forend and the butt were expertly checkered with a point pattern checkering and traditional Mullered borders. The forend’s iron is blacked and the push rod is a bright blue and the iron is initialed “PN”.
The gun is complete in the Maker’s V/C leather case with canvas cover that has the previous owner’s initials on the initial patch.

Despite being ordered in an era where short barrels were the rage, this gun is made up in a very desirable configuration by today’s standards. Built as a lightweight walk-up gun, the 29” barrels have 2 ½" chambers and were expertly struck, helping the gun weigh only 6 lbs. 6.3 oz.

As is expected with guns and rifles by H&W, the gun was built to the highest standards with a beautiful “London” black on the barrels and furniture, vivid case colors on the action and triggers, and spectacular wood all finished superbly. Save for some very minor handling marks in the wood, this gun remains in excellent-plus condition and represents a rare opportunity to acquire a gun from this very esteemed maker.

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