American & British 410 Shotguns. Ronald Gabriel

and ceasing in 1983 when two American dealers brought into the United States the last of the FN-built 410 guns (see Browning chapter). The boxlock Olin Winchester Model 21 410 bore was brought out in 1952.

      The British socialized economy of post World War II accelerated the hitherto gradual decline of the great British gunmakers. Some ceased to exist, some amalgamated with other firms, and some, such as Holland & Holland, Purdey, Westley Richards, and Boss limped along in a post-World War II atmosphere of envy, sloth, and hatefulness, the triple engines of British socialism. During this time, the high-quality bar-action sidelock 410 would appear rarely from one of these great makers, usually custom made for an American swell or an Arab potentate. Holland & Holland’s Northwood model and Webley & Scott’s Model 700 series continued to make a rare high-quality hammerless boxlock priced at least 75 percent cheaper than a comparable “Best”- quality British sidelock.

      Today we look back upon the 1980s as a time when some of the pre-eminent British gunmakers such as Purdey, Holland & Holland, and Westley Richards began once again to thrive in Margaret Thatcher’s market-driven economy. Increased numbers of custom-made special-order bar-action 410s were made, usually for the American market. The 1990s, with these gunmakers retooling and with some being bought by large industrial or commercial multinational firms, ushered in a renaissance of quality gunmaking. Additionally, today the greatest volume of quality double 410s is being produced in Europe. The Spanish, Italian, and Belgium gunmakers are producing 410s in sidelock and boxlock actions with and without exposed hammers.

      Except for the brief Browning Superposed interlude, a high quality American double 410 had not been made in many years. Very recently, the Connecticut Shotgun Mfg. Co. has resurrected the classic A.H. Fox shotgun in greater splendor and workmanship than the original [19]. They will now build small bores including the 28 and 410 bores, not built by the original firm.2

      Tony Galazan, the mechanical wizard behind the Connecticut Shotgun Mfg. Co., has designed and is now building a unique over/ under shotgun offered in the 410. David Winks, the former Holland & Holland gunmaking expert, describes it as “brilliant” [20].

       Various Actions Used to Build the 410 References

1. Boothroyd, Geoffrey, British Shotguns, 1993, Sand Lake Press, Oregon.

2. Boothroyd, Geoffrey, S.T.C.M., 15 Feb. 1996.

3. Boothroyd, Geoffrey, 1985, The Shotgun, A&L Black, London.

4. Keith, Elmer, Shotguns by Keith, MCMLXVII, Bonzana Books, N.Y.

5. Baker, David, Sporting Gun, March 2002.

6. Gough, Thomas (G. T. Garwood), Shotguns & Cartridges, 1975, Adam & Charles Black, London.

7. Tate, Douglas, Shooting Sportsman, July/August 1996.

8. Greener, W.W. The Gun and Its Development, 9th Ed., 1910, Cassell & Company, Ltd.

9. Boothroyd, Geoffrey, 1986, Shotguns & Gunsmiths, A&L Black, London.

10. McIntosh, Michael and David Trevallion, “Top Fasteners,” Shooting Sportsman, Nov./Dec. 1997.

      11. DiGiacobbe, B.H., Shotgun Sports, October 2000.

12. Burrard, Major Sir Gerald, 1934 1st Edition, The Identification of Firearms and Forensic Ballistics.

13. Baker, David, Sporting Gun, July 1996.

14. McIntosh, Michael & David Trevallion, Shooting Sportsman, July/August 1996.

15. Personal communication 1991 with McKenzie.

16. Boothroyd, Geoffrey, Guns Review, January 1993.

17. O’Connor, Jack, The Shotgun Book, 1965, Alfred A. Knopf, N.Y.

18. Crudgington, I.M. and D.J. Baker, The British Shotgun, C. & B., Vol. 2, 1989, Ashford, South Hampton.

19. McIntosh, Michael, A.H. Fox, Country Sport Press, 1994, Traverse City, MI.

20.Personal communication 1999.

      1 Throughout the 20th century, firing pins have been made of steel with varying mixtures of manganese and carbon for strength without brittleness. More recently, many are made of titanium, which has the strength of steel and the weight of aluminum [11].

      2 The 410-bore Fox Model B and Fox Sterlingworth guns were built after Savage Arms acquired the A.H. Fox Co. in 1929. These were relatively inexpensive boxlocks. The Model B 410 was cataloged in 1940.

CHAPTER FIVE

      THE BROWNING SUPERPOSED 410

      Perhaps the most used and beloved of the modern American double 410s for small winged game and clay pigeon shooting was and remains the Browning Superposed. This gauge was first introduced by Browning in 1960 in the Lightning model, and upgraded in 1967 to the Superlight version if the customer so chose. The 410 represents the pinnacle of John Browning’s gunmaking genius, although he died long before he would see his Superposed produced for the American market [1].

      Browning filed the original B25 action patents October 15, 1923, and September 29, 1924. The patents were granted March 30, 1926, numbers 1578638 and 39, a landmark in gunmaking history and the end of the era of the world’s greatest inventive gunmaker for the ages, John M. Browning (1855 to 1926) [2].

      Browning received 128 different patents for 80 different firearms in almost 50 years, from smoothbores to rifles, and from sporting arms to military automatic weapons. His gun designs were and continue to be made by many American and European firms, including Browning, Winchester, Colt, Fabrique Nationale (FN), Remington, Savage, etc.

      FN of Liege, a Belgian Company and one of the premier continental gunmakers of this century, produced the Superposed in 1930. Proofing took place at the Liege Proof House and the guns were hand-assembled and finished in the FN custom shop. In 1931, the company began marketing the 12-bore Superposed in America under the “Browning Arms Co.” name. Browning was never a production company, except in the late 1800s, when they made the 1885 single-shot rifle [3