Indians For Guns

The 'Holy Grail' of the gun world: TRIPLE-BARRELLED shotgun from 1891 goes under the hammer (it was so difficult to handle no-one made another)

By Eddie Wrenn

PUBLISHED: 11:37 GMT, 11 June 2012 | UPDATED: 06:42 GMT, 12 June 2012

Even if we have never touched one, most of us will have seen a double-barrelled shotgun in a movie or two.

From Night of the Living Dead to The Eagle Has Landed, the shotgun is always the final arbitrator of justice, whether against zombies, aliens, or Wild West villains.

However, back 1891, one gun-manufacturer came up trumps - developing the world's only triple-barrelled shotgun, subsequently dubbed the 'Holy Grail' of the gun world.

Now the gun - built by Edinburgh gun makers John Dickson & Son - has a new owner, having just been sold in London for £43,000.


Triple trigger: Edinburgh-made gun, just sold at auction for £43,000, makes it possible to shoot three game birds with one shot
The lightweight weapon, which weighs just 7lb, is fitted with a leather case and a gold Dickson label.

It was made for Scottish aristocrat John Adrian Louis Hope, who became the first Governor General of Australia in July 1900.

But with its three-barrelled ejector and three triggers, the 16-gauge gun was so complicated that no more were ever made.

The unique weapon was last seen in the public eye when it was sold to an un-named bidder for £43,000 at Holt's Auctioneers London last month.


One-of-a-kind: The 16-bore shotgun, with the manufacturer's insignia still attached, was so complicated that no more were ever made

Dubbed the 'Holy Grail', the gun was made for the first Governor General of Australia in July 1900
Auctioneer Nicholas Holt, said: 'This is completely unique, the holy grail for any shotgun collector.

'The gun maker, which still exists in Edinburgh, looked back in their records and found this was the only single 16-bore, round action side by side by side ejector ever made.

'The mechanism was too complex to make more, but it still works fantastically well today and is capable of shooting three game birds with its three barrels.'