elephant gun

[kirat]

Hi ,
My dad has a .500 bore hammer double barrel elephant gun manufactured by I. Hollis and Sons. How can we determine the true market value for the gun??

[gatsby]

You have posted in the shotgun forum. Does your gun have rifling? Do you know what the rifle is proofed for and what is the condition of the firearm?

[Grumpy]

The value of the rifle depends upon the condition and whether it is a .500 nitro or black powder. As a hammer gun I assume that it is one of the black powder variants.......and there are at least three different versions of the .500 BPE with the .500 No.2 being the least desirable.
In very good condition A .500 BPE rifle could be worth in the region of £3000/$6000 in the UK/USA.
Goodness knows what it would be worth in India as ammo would have to be handloaded ........ and I very much doubt the components are available.

[HydNawab]

Basically the price of the gun depends on the make, calibre, condition, mechanism : sidelock or boxlock (Boxlock being more preferable in double rifles.) grade off gun eg., wood grade and engraving, and also you might get a better price if there is some history behind the gun.

But please also remember there is a lot of difference between prices in India and abroad.

Also, value of the gun might have nothing to do with the price, or vice versa in India

Cheers

Ashar

[Shamsher]

The Hammered I Hollis is probably a No.2 semi blackpowder 500

The true 500 NE is one with the 3 1/4" Shell.

There is no kick but a very strong push when fired. sounds like a cannon & u can see a metre long flare when fired.

I almost had the butt plate design embossed on my shoulder once.

I saw a No.2 in Chandausi for 20,000/- 3 years back & another with an arms dealer in Aligarh.

Both were double barrel box locks & hammerless.

No idea if they are still avaliable.

Shamsher

[Grumpy]

HydNawab, it`s a hammer gun so has to be a sidelock.
The business of a boxlock being more desirable than a sidelock is mostly a matter of reverse snobbery - a .500 BPE is highly unlikely to snap the stock. As far as actions are concerned a back-action sidelock is stronger than a boxlock anyway.........and nitro sidelock doubles are far more expensive - and desirable - than boxlocks.

[HydNawab]

Grumpy

I was mentioning on how a gun is to be valued and was referring to any gun and not the 500 BPE double rifle.

Ashar