I know this is WAY of topic but......

[Sky]

I know this is WAY off Topic but curiosity has got me, and if anyone could shed some info on this i'd greatly apreciate it..

see.. before my grandpa passed away, he gave me a very old shotgun...one that i will never part with becouse thats the only thing i have from him but the question is about the shotgun, now this appears to be a very old shotgun, from the 20's? is my guess. it's not a name like i recognise usually, on the side of the shotgun or rifle, it has the name C.G. BoneHill on the side of the rifle, stamped into the metal, with curly western like desighns on it, and around the name if you know what i mean, design wise, and has a picture of a moose burnt or stamped into the very end of the but of the rifle. it appears to be a 12 guage, very old, double barrel with the "mule ears"
very old rifle and is so wore out the barrel shakes kinda sorta, i might have it restored some day but for now...i'll let it set. i dont have a picture though it would be very usefull i know...but would anyone know about something like this?...what abouts worth wise? i looked all over and i cant find any rifle numbers on it, just the name, C.G. BoneHill


Very odd i though,....not a name i've ever heard of before....most definitly.

[Sky]

a little update, down the middle seperator like thing in the middle of the barrels reads, C.G. BONE HILL LONDON FINE DAMASCUS.

[George & Helen Myers]

Just go to Google and search for C G Bonehill for a pleasant surprise......Helen

[Sky]

Wait a minute, im finding all kinds of numbers now, i will read them all, on the right barrel under neeth this wooden peice you snap off to take the barrels off reads 17 B choke, then under that it says 10M
then on the left barrel under neeth that wooden peice you remove to take off the barrels reads numbers 54438



any idea's?

[Farmall]

Found this information doing a Google Search (this should help):

Name C G Bonehill
Other Names C G Bonehill Ltd
Address 1 33 Charlotte Street
Address 2 Belmont Firearms Works, Belmont Row
City/Town Birmingham
Country United Kingdom
Trade Gun & Rifle Maker
Other Address Morville Street; Price Street?
Dates 1872-1965

Notes:

Christopher George Bonehill was born in 1831, son of a manufacturing ironmonger. He was apprenticed from about 1844 to 1851 to a Mr Aston (possibly William Aston & Co).
He established his own firm in 1851, but it was only in 1872 that he was recorded at 33 Charlotte Street with a factory in Morville Street.

In 1873 he moved the whole business to the Belmont Firearms Works, Belmont Row. It was probably about this time that the firm were appointed contractors to Her Majesty's War Department.

C G Bonehill was a Guardian of The Birmingham Proof House.

In 1880 he patented a shotgun action and stocks (No.1952).

In 1884 he registered four patents, No. 8469 covered barrels, No. 8471 covered a shotgun, and No.12586 taken out jointly with A J Simpson covered a shotgun.

In 1877 patent No. 3718 covered a shotgun action and in 1878 patent No. 2323 also covered a shotgun action.

In 1888 No.7823 covered double barrel breech actions and safety catches.

At about this time Thomas Naughton worked for the firm, he left in 1887 to join Holloway & Co as manager.

In 1895, patent No.12578 with A Tunstall covered a Martini action with a detachable barrel. There may have been another patent for a .22 conversion.

Virtually nothing is known about the firm from about 1900 to 1965 when they closed. Presumably, they contributed to the war effort 1914-1918, and presumably they suffered a lack of business in the period 1920-1935. From 1939 to 1965 they would have seen a gradual decline in business.

The firm were volume suppliers of sporting guns and rifles for export. They produced ball & shot guns and combination guns, and they made the Britannia air rifle. They were pioneers in the mechanisation of gun manufacture, making the "Belmont Interchangeable" shotguns.

From about 1900, C G Bonehill were the main suppliers of rifles to the "Society of Miniature Rifle Clubs". The Society was founded to encourage rifle shooting amongst working class men, and it was largely responsible for establishing smallbore rifle shooting as a sport in England. For this purpose, old .303 Martini-Enfield rifles were re-barrelled to .22 rimfire and sold at very reasonable prices.




Christopher G. Bonehill was born in 1831 in Birmingham.
In 1851 he founded the firm C.G. Bonehill for the manufacturer of Firearms, including military and miniature rifles, Sporting guns and Air rifles.
He was based at :-
Belmont Firearms Works
Price Street.
Birmingham.

He pioneered the use of machinery for the manufacturer of Shotguns, and the interchangability of components.
Many of his guns were marked "Interchangable"
Bonehill made the "Belmont" range of Anson & Deeley actioned shotguns along with a range of Sidelocks, with optional removable sidelocks and single triggers.
C.G. Bonehill was Guardian of the Birmingham Proof house for 28 years.
The firm continued until 1965.

http://www.4-10.freeuk.com/nostalgia21.html


Bonehill, C. G. Also known as Belmont Firearms Works in Birmingham, England, c.1851.


With the rise of American pride in its industrialized arms industry after Samuel Colt's efforts at the London International Exhibition of 7851, foreign made arms became increasingly viewed as inferior to those made within the borders of the United States This impression grew and spread throughout the 1850s, 60s and 70s to the point that foreign arms were viewed with almost universal disdain by American sportsmen To many the growing importance of the American arms industry found its best expression in the displays set up by firms such as Colt, Remington, Smith & Wesson and Winchester at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition held in Philadelphia. The varied nature and uniform high quality of their product lines assured the public that American arms had no equals. Thus, it would appear to be somewhat of an anomaly that a mere four years later the Winchester Company began importing English shotguns for sale under their name in New York City.

The reasons for the Winchester Company's actions were purely economic. Having established a dominant position within the repeating rifle market, the firm wanted to expand its influence into other areas. Recognizing that the dynamics of the arms trade were rapidly changing and that the demand for double barrel shotguns would soon exceed the production capabilities of those American companies manufacturing such arms, Winchester's management decided to aggressively attack that market. Though Winchester could have easily built its own shotguns, the costs of developing and then tooling up for such a new model would have been both cost prohibitive and time consuming. As he had been advised that conditions were ripe to take over the market, Oliver F. Winchester decided that the simplest expedient was to import first quality shotguns from abroad. Consequently, in early 1880 Winchester entered into an agreement with Christopher G. Bonehill of Birmingham to produce double barrel shotguns bearing the name of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Sold through the company's New York City Depot, these shotguns retailed for prices between $40 and $85-not insignificant amounts for the period (as a point of comparison a Colt Model 1873 Single Action Army Revolver sold for approximately $20 at that time). In 1881 the Winchester Company changed contractors and began purchasing shotguns made by Richard Redman of Birmingham. Though of the same design and quality, Winchester was able to sell Redman's shotguns for considerably less (from $36.50 to $66.50) than Bonehill's. In addition, the company began marketing even lower priced English shotguns by other makers.

[Chuck Parcher (Ks.)]

One Tip: Do Not Shoot A Modern Shell In That Damascus Barrled Shot Gun.

Just in case you already did'nt know
chuck

[Sky]

oohhh no.....not me...i'll never shoot it.....it's kinda wore out anyway...im thinking of hanging it somewere, as it just sets in the closet now.

[JBoogie]

Originally Posted by Chuck Parcher (Ks.)

One Tip: Do Not Shoot A Modern Shell In That Damascus Barrled Shot Gun.

Just in case you already did'nt know
chuck

what is "damascus barrelled"? i own a few fire arms (Ruger, S&W pistols, Rem. model 29 and a SKS) but have never heard this term before.

[Scott]

49. Damascus Bbls - Barrel tubes built up by twisting alternate strips of iron and steel around a fixed rod (mandrel) and welding them together in varying combinations according to the intended quality and the skill of the maker. The rod was withdrawn, the interior reamed and the exterior filed until the finished tube was achieved. Damascus barrels may be recognized by any of a variety of twist or spiral patterns visible in the surface of the steel. Before the 20th century, barrels were typically built in this manner because gunmakers did not have the technology to drill a deep hole the full length of a bar of steel without coming out the side.

Damascus barrels were usually intended for use with black powder---the standard of the day. The contour of the barrel wall thickness, intended for the fast explosion of black powder, was quite thick at the breech and tapered thinner towards the muzzle. It is not advisable to shoot modern smokeless powder in a damascus barrel. Apart from giving due deference to the age of such barrels and to the method of their construction, smokeless powder burns more slowly, lowering the pressure at the breech end, but considerably raising it further down the barrel to a level such barrels were rarely designed to handle

[JBoogie]

thanx for clarifying for me. sounds like some really old technology. like the next advancment after building gun barrells in the "beer barrell" style with staves and hoops?

[Phillip Hutchinson]

G'DAY. Thought i'd add my 22 cents worth (20 cents + GST)
My dad used to tell me of a side by side double barrel shotgun that his father owned but unfortunately got hocked years ago,I cant remember the name but it was a highly decorated gun with scroll work all down the stock and breach,BUT it had DEMASCUS barrels on it.His description of what this meant is that the barrels where made of a single stip of metal rolled in a spiral to make the individual barrels and then silver soldered together he said that you could see the twist of the silver solder in the barrels,if memory serves me right i think he said that it may have been Spanish.
Regards Phillip

[sparkplug54]

Demascus barrels are just spiral twisted barrels. I think Phillip is right about that particular gun being soldered in.That "twisted barrel" gun first arrived in Pennsylvania and to the south towards the end of the French and Indian War.A modified European gun,and revampt by a Pennsylvania Dutchman gave birth to the "Kentucky Rifle" Dan Sheldon

[Rolla L Corle]

Is it a rifle or a shotgun