Thread: English & Spanish side by sides

A thread on English & Spanish side by side shotguns , engraving ,marbled walnut stocks , history of guns and makers and your photos of your guns and the work you are doing to restore your beautiful side by side be it a best gun or just your regular carry that you value .

I hope you all that enjoy this subject support it with loads of info and posts of your guns and story's of the old guns

I know there are some passionate people here who like myself have a love of the fine shot guns built many years before we were born . I am certainly no expert in this area but now would use in the field nothing other than my side by sides which are now starting to mount up "most cheap guns purchased for between $250 -$500 although I am yet to have anything of real note as far as a best gun goes -one day !

I thought this could be a good thread dedicated to old guns, restoration and the pains each of us goes through to make better a pitted barrel or a oil filled stock or any other fault that can be improves either by a competent smith or by a loving DIY man .

My latest purchase is from a well known London gun maker Charles Lancaster . A side by side , straight stock double trigger with a round box lock action . This gun weighs around 6.5 pounds pounds with 30 inch barrels .
The barrels need some attention and I recently purchased a bench grinder and a buffing pad and block abrasive to cut the rusty pitting from the surface of the barrel .I am a total novice but have observed another doing this and had a shot so will go with caution . I will strip the stock of its oil with a heat gun and what ever chemical will give me a hand - sadly the wood on this gun isn't worth a shit being totally without any marbling and couldn't be less boring . There is no engraving on the action of this gun and only the makers name appears -not unattractive though mainly due to the very attractive rounded shape of the action .The forgrip is a classic narrow piece of would with well worn checkering which will need cleaning of oil and re-checkered . Hopefully in time I can show what Ive done and if its a dogs dinner or semi respectable .