Unsolved mystery

Diggory Hadoke works his magic to resurrect a ‘nice little wand’ that proves to be a mystery from start (as a supposed 28-bore) to finish (as a reworked .410)!

- DIGGORY HADOKE

I bought the gun seven years ago from a retired gamekeeper. It was supposed to be a 28-bore. It isn’t. He told me he sent a friend ‘down south’ to buy it when it was advertised in Shooting Times 30 years earlier. His friend brought it back. Then they discovered a 28-bore cartridge didn’t fit. It was too big. A .410 cartridge was also too big.

Without any ammunition to feed it, the gun sat in a cabinet until I was presented with it. I bought it, telling myself I’d work something out. Well, today it came back from the proof house ready to be used. The gamble was to bore out the chambers to 3 .410, then submit it for re-proof (after lapping out some pits). Thankfully, it passed and now we have a serviceable shotgun – actually, quite a desirable one. I never did work out the original calibre as it was not stamped on the barrels and nothing I had as reference fitted the chambers, but I suspect it was a .360. These were made in small quantities as overseas ‘collector’s guns’ for the shooting of taxidermy specimens, with tiny shot.