re: J & W Tolly

[Safarigent]

I had visited some one i knew in rajasthan recently and he had this gun. unfortunately, i did not have my camera with me at that time, so he emailed the pictures to me. Its quite a rare one i am led to believe because of the cartridge restriction of 2"case as opposed to a 2.5" or 3" case.
have a look at the wonderful marbling on the stock. it took my breath away!!

[Vikram]

Lovely gun,Arjun.Thanks for sharing.


Best-
Vikram

[Safarigent]

it is isnt it.
a lot of these smaller towns in india are where these little treasures are to be found.
right from guns to motorcycles to cars to houses to you name it. i will post something unique again if i come across it,

[Grumpy]

That`s a cracking little gun ...... and a sidelock.
A 2" lightweight sidelock by Tolley in what looks to be exceptional condition ..... that`s rather valuable - and very rare.
Make sure your friend never uses anything other than 2" cartridges in the gun. Using 2 1/2" or 2 3/4" cartridges will likely destroy the gun as the chamber walls are very thin.
One big problem is going to be getting hold of cartridges as I think Lyalvale Express are now the only company in the whole world making 2" 12-Bore cartridges.

[sa_ali]

lovely looking gun

[Vikram]

That`s a cracking little gun ...... and a sidelock.
A 2" lightweight sidelock by Tolley in what looks to be exceptional condition ..... that`s rather valuable - and very rare.
Make sure your friend never uses anything other than 2" cartridges in the gun. Using 2 1/2" or 2 3/4" cartridges will likely destroy the gun as the chamber walls are very thin.
One big problem is going to be getting hold of cartridges as I think Lyalvale Express are now the only company in the whole world making 2" 12-Bore cartridges.

I was checking yesterday online for 2" cartridges.

http://www.gamebore.com/page.php?id1=2&id2=3

Gamebore are offering one load in 2".Lyalvale are offering one load too.


Best-
Vikram

[Grumpy]

Gamebore are still offering 2" cartridges are they ? I looked earlier and couldn`t find them.
The Express are a bit punchier by the way.
Only problem with the 2" cartridges - apart from availability - is the price. OUCH !

[The Doc]

Lovely gun, thanks for sharing Safarigent.
Welcome back Grumps, it indeed took a nice English Double to break your silence on IFG .

best,
Rp.

[Grumpy]

Hi Doc - how are you doing ?
You haven`t sent me any filthy jokes recently. LOL.
Blame Vikram for my appearance here - he forwarded the link to this topic ..... probably because he knows that my favourite game gun is my little 2" lightweight. That`s a nicely - heavily - engraved boxlock by the way, and worth about £3,500 here in the UK. I reckon that this Tolley Sidelock ( assuming it`s an ejector ) will be worth something over £10k.
2" lightweights are not at all common, always expensive ...... and in the case of the Tolley, exceptionally rare - I`ve never seen a sidelock 2" lightweight before.
The gold lettering on the barrels is usual with 2" lightweights - the warning needed to be very apparent and lasting. The lettering is real gold inlay by the way.

[Bespoke]

I was offered the same gun 4 years ago and the old gentleman who owned it was selling it with .405 Imman Mefferet (If I remember correctly) Double Rifle in similar condition very well kept guns.This shotgun had very nice wood and had barrel selector.

[prashantsingh]

Wow.
Nice one. Very well kept.

[Sakobav]

Nice looking gun..agree small towns do have treasures

best

[marksman]

These guns were refereed to as 12-20s in colloquial lingo of the royalties. Meaning a 12 bore shotgun with the feel, balance, weight and gentle kick of a 20 bore shotgun. I was offered an engraved sidelock H&H 12-20 self opener in mint condition with Boot case by a Bombay dealer Tarachand, some 30 yrs ago..I think it was model "Centurian" and belonged to the Kutch royalty. Frankly, then I Didn't know much about these bespoke guns and the odd sounding gauge deterred me from buying it for 12k. IMHO, It is of no use in present Indian scenario, unless one wants the juniors in the family to start off shotgunning and provided one has managed to acquire enough supply of the 2" 12 gauge ammo.

Cheers !!!
Marksman

[Eoinsloan]

By Eoinsloan
Gamebore certainly do 2" as I needed them for my 1860 Masu London gun because the cones at the chambers were very abrupt. A true 2 1/2" (65mm) was OK but a 67.5 crimped cartridge was not and had to be rodded out. The gun was a non-ejector pinfire conversion. As said ONLY use 2" in this gun
Best regards
eoin s