Lyon & Lyon Calcutta Express

[grewal]

Hello everyone,
Yesterday I was offered a gun by some close friend contact. The 12 bore DBBL by Lyon & Lyon Calcutta Express. The condition of the gun is as following- It has a 30" barrel with lot of rust scars at the forend with original bluing ( what ever is left on the barrel ). The stock although original but has been polished by the owner. He says it was done when he bought it i.e. somewhere in sixties.It's an exposed hammer gun . There is no play in the barrel upon closed. Non ejector. Although there is a lot carving done on the gun.The proof markings on the gun are very clear and it's made in England. No name regarding the manufacturer. The asking price is 20k.

[snIPer]

It is a good company. My friend has one.
20k is a good rate for the condition it is in.
/S/

[winnie_the_pooh]

It is a good company. My friend has one.
20k is a good rate for the condition it is in.
/S/

They(Lyon and Lyon) never made any guns but were merely retailers.

[grewal]

They(Lyon and Lyon) never made any guns but were merely retailers.

Condition can and will be improved once purchased but what about the credentials of the gun. How do you rate it .

[shooter]

They(Lyon and Lyon) never made any guns but were merely retailers.

Please tell the gunsmith to open the locks and check the amount of rusting inside.

[Vikram]

Check for rust and pitting within the barrels.Also,what about the condition of the rib?Any loose contact,rust underneath etc? As Shooter said,have the locks checked by a competent gunsmith,if you can find one.

The presence of the sights make me wonder if it is a Paradox gun.Could you please check for any rifling at the muzzle end?If it is indeed a Paradox gun,shot patterns out of it may not be like the regular ones.But,I am not an expert.

Thanks for sharing.

Best-
Vikram

[Bespoke]

The proof marks are not clear in the picture.

Vikram,

One thing is for sure that this is a shot and ball gun and it was not necessary that all shot and ball guns should have rifling,They could be smooth and still be accurate at 50 to 80 yards.

Grewal,

As far as rusting is concerned it looks like this gun has not been cared for long time and the barrels might be badly rusted between the ribs
These were one of the best selling types of guns for oficers in the british army going to the colonies before WW 1
Price seems fair enough to me

Caution : please get it checked from competent gunsmith before using any modern ammunition.if it is not proved for cordite dont use anything but BP in it.Cleaning the gun might improve the condition but at same time it can reveal some horrible things too.

[snIPer]

Please rub some chalk on the flats and take a few more good res pics.
Pics of the barrel and innards too please.
That will help.
/S/

[grewal]

Sorry for the poor quality of the pictures, cause these were taken with my mobile camera and the light angle was not correct when i took the pictures. I'll update tomorrow with new pictures taken by my cyber shot.

-- Thu Oct 14, 2010 19:57 --

As far as rusting is concerned it looks like this gun has not been cared for long time

The owner lives in Canada , so most of the time gun had been lying deposited in the Gun house. This time he wants to sell it before returning back.

[winnie_the_pooh]

Grewal,

1.Hold the barrels from the lugs and strike them with a metal object.If there is a dull sound,it indicates rusting between the barrels underneath the ribs.If you get a metallic ringing sound,all is well.

2.Check if it is proofed for nitro and not black powder(Highly unlikely but does not hurt to check)

3.Check the chamber size.Ensure that it is not chambered for 2" cartridges(again highly unlikely).In all probability it is chambered for 65mm cartridges.

Seems to be in ok condition considering the neglect and for a reasonable price in Indian conditions.

[shauryapratap]

Guys I also have a double barell 12 gauge gun like the gun in picture it has been in my family for decades and it has been used as my family is in army it has silver plating near hammers and triggers only thing i am able to read is that on the sides where it is written Lyon &Lyon Calcutta is there any way i could know what year it is aur from which time something like that..
It could help a ton ...

[Vikram]

Guys I also have a double barell 12 gauge gun like the gun in picture it has been in my family for decades and it has been used as my family is in army it has silver plating near hammers and triggers only thing i am able to read is that on the sides where it is written Lyon &Lyon Calcutta is there any way i could know what year it is aur from which time something like that..
It could help a ton ...

Please post a clear photograph of the barrel flats such as this one.



Best-
Vikram

[Rodda]

If it has sights on the rib it is definitely a shot and ball gun with no choke in either barrel. It will date to1904-1910 and would have been made in Birmingham. The proof marks would confirm this. I have just bought an R B Rodda shot and ball gun dating to about 1895. The gun was re-bored in 1957 to create a shallow taper along the length of the barrel from chamber to muzzle with an 8-10 thou constriction near the muzzle. As we have no Tiger or leopard in London the gun was bored to improve the shot patterns for bird shooting. I'll be using it tomorrow for partridge and pheasant.

[Gurpartap]

I have friend who has this lyon & lyon london calicut gun. As we dont know much about gun.some help could be usefull
Thank you.

[Shivaji.Dasgupta]

I have friend who has this lyon & lyon london calicut gun. As we dont know much about gun.some help could be usefull
Thank you.

It's not Calicut but Calcutta. It's Lyon and Lyon London/ Calcutta 500 nitro double rifle. That's what I think. Experts and seniors in the group expected to throw more light on this weapon.
Regards.