Heroes Of The Hammerless Era
Sporting Shooter|February 2018

Diggory fills us in on a time when the hammerless side-by-side ruled the roost, from Anson & Deeley’s game-changing boxlock to Mr Lancaster’s distinctively phallic-shaped creation

Diggory Hadoke
Heroes Of The Hammerless Era

Gunmakers had a relatively small number of improvements to make regarding the efficiency of mechanical operation during the last quarter of the 19th and first quarter of the 20th centuries. If we are to broadly chop the phases of predominance of certain types of sporting gun into chunks, this period could best be described as the Era of the Hammerless Side-by Side.

The hammerless heyday

Anson & Deeley kicked it off in a major way with their 1875 boxlock. It may not have been the first hammerless gun, but it certainly was a game-changer, having been in continuous production ever since at the firm that started it (Westley Richards) and used by every major – and most minor – gunmakers in the world.

Half a century later, in 1925, a perusal of the sporting estates of Britain would have shown sportsmen almost universally wielding hammerless side-by-side shotguns.

The over-and-under style had certainly been introduced successfully, with the Boss, Edwinson Green and Woodward patents all filed before World War I. Die-hards and older men could still be found using the odd hammer gun, but over-and-under guns were something of a novelty at this time and hammer guns were considered distinctly old-fashioned. It seemed the settled style for most sport was either a box lock or a side lock of the type with which readers will be very familiar.

The quest for perfection

While Purdey and W.M. Scott kept up their patent privileges on the double underbolt and associated spindle respectively, other makers used a variety of alternatives in order to avoid paying royalties. However, lock-up of snap-action guns was, during the period, fairly settled.

Esta historia es de la edición February 2018 de Sporting Shooter.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición February 2018 de Sporting Shooter.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE SPORTING SHOOTERVer todo
RSPB gives mixed message on shooting
Sporting Shooter

RSPB gives mixed message on shooting

Having recently attended the RSPB’s virtual AGM, Conor O’Gorman discusses the outcome of the charity’s year-long review of game bird shooting

time-read
2 minutos  |
December 2020
Causeway for concern
Sporting Shooter

Causeway for concern

Alan Jarrett’s renewed interest in reading takes him down memory lane to an offshore island duck flight that very nearly ended in disaster

time-read
4 minutos  |
December 2020
Through a purple patch
Sporting Shooter

Through a purple patch

The Garrows Estate is taking a conservation-focused approach to restoring the wildlife populations and biodiversity on the Scottish heather moorland.

time-read
8 minutos  |
December 2020
When the wheels fall off
Sporting Shooter

When the wheels fall off

Losing form on a day’s shooting can be infuriating, especially if you’ve been shooting like a god up to that point. Simon O’Leary looks at some common causes and how to remedy them

time-read
4 minutos  |
December 2020
Beaches, books & bad behaviour!
Sporting Shooter

Beaches, books & bad behaviour!

The annual Kay family vacation to Northumberland offers a chance to give the cockers a blast on the beach – although they don’t always shower themselves in glory, as Ryan Kay recalls...

time-read
7 minutos  |
December 2020
Using the Stop whistle
Sporting Shooter

Using the Stop whistle

Now you’ve instilled the basics, it’s time to up the ante with some more tricky distance work. Howard Kirby explains how to take the core Stop whistle command to the next level

time-read
5 minutos  |
December 2020
The humble teal
Sporting Shooter

The humble teal

They may be tiny, but as far as Rupert Butler is concerned, the appeal of this little duck is huge. He recalls some of his most memorable nights in pursuit of these aerial acrobats

time-read
4 minutos  |
December 2020
Fab all-rounder
Sporting Shooter

Fab all-rounder

Mike is impressed with the Fabarm Elos B2 Field Notte, which offers great value for money, is suited to fieldwork or clays and is future-proofed for use with steel in all choke constrictions

time-read
5 minutos  |
December 2020
CALL OF THE WILD
Sporting Shooter

CALL OF THE WILD

Dom Holtam reconnects with one of the purest forms of shotgun shooting as he walks-up woodcock over pointing dogs in the Scottish Highlands

time-read
8 minutos  |
December 2020
A yen for the Fens
Sporting Shooter

A yen for the Fens

Tony Jackson recounts a memorable duck flight over an area of Fenland in Norfolk with his friend and author, the late Alan Savory

time-read
4 minutos  |
December 2020