Description
ALFRED FIELD .410 SIDE BY SIDE BOX LOCK NONE EJECTOR SHOTGUN.
.410 English Side by Side Box lock None Ejector Shotgun from Alfred Field & Co. London.
JUST TO KEEP THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE CHECK OUT THE MARCH 2023 SALE AND LOT 757 IN SOUTHAMS AUCTION HOUSE. A SLEEVED Watson Bro’s had the hammer drop at £2900. There is also commission and VAT to factor on to that so roughly an additional £750 in round numbers.
TOTAL OF CIRCA £3650!
THIS IS ORIGINAL!
26 7/8” (682mm) fixed choke barrels at and restrictions. Sunken Concave sight rib with a single brass front bead. A FULL Length 14 ¼” (363mm) VERY WELL Figured Strong Straight Grained Right Handed Walnut Stock. Excellent Colour Contrast with lots of Dark Grain Stripes. Forend to match with inset Buffalo Horn tip. Chequering is still very clean and crisp.
A plain Bright Finished Action with absolute minimal engraving. Very much a case of less is more, especially on such a small framed gun. Zero sign of any colour at any time. However for some reason the underside of the Forend Iron is coloured and all but perfect still. 2 ½” (65mm) Nitro Proof Chambers.
Overall length is 42 7/8″ (1088mm) with a ‘staggering’ weight of 4 lbs 11 1/2 oz (2.142 Kg).
A None Ejector….. WOW.
WHY do you realistically need them anyway? It just confuses me that people insist they think they do. OK, the following is not probably entirely relevant to a gun like this but the points are valid for any.
Sat in a hide? Generally you set it up with a good background of a nice thick Holly or Hawthorne bush. Have a ‘red letter’ day and go through several boxes of cartridges. Get your 100 plus birds. FANTASTIC! A GREAT DAY! WELL DONE YOU! Then spend the next two hours trying to pick your cartridge cases up that have been ejecting so beautifully. ….Straight into that thick SPIKEY bush that hid you so well. Go home looking like you went three 10 minute rounds with two wildcats. (4 or 2 legged variety) in a cloth sack.
A day on a driven shoot? Lucky enough to have that many birds coming over AND someone to gather up your mess after each drive? If so then an ejector MIGHT be justified. Even on walked up they are nothing more than a distraction!
Even shooting clays the vast majority of people call pull. They mount the gun. They take their shots. THEN they put their hand over the action as it breaks to stop the ejectors ejecting the spent cases! Pull the cases out and drop them into a bin or pocket.
An EXCEPTIONAL SMALL Bore London Gun. EXTREMELY RARE even in the days this was made. This will make a SUPERB addition to any collection. Alternatively a WONDERFUL present for a lady, youngster or anyone else who enjoys the challenge of shooting with minimal recoil.
£2499.99
THE STEEL SHOT DEBACLE?
FIRST THING: Given lead is SO dangerous, can we ask about getting every lead water main replaced? After all, ANYONE with one of those still supplying water has zero choice. LETS PUT THAT QUESTION TO HEALTH AND SAFETY EXECUTIVE AS WELL AS THE GOVERNMENT.
That is every child’s grazed knee washed out with lead infested water (direct into their blood stream. Every glass of juice. Every cup of tea or coffee, Vegetables washed and cooked in the stuff. ALL that DELICIOUS Gravy. Cloths washed in it. Then we bath in the sodding lead infested stuff!
HOW DO THEY DEFEND THIS FACT?
THEN THERE ARE more and more Non-Toxic Shot alternatives being produced. WITH near matching performances to traditional lead and close to, if not matching pressures. Take a look at Horton Gunmakers for their own entry into this debacle of modern-day shooting. APPARENTLY so lethally deadly to shooters and game eaters? How is it every old lead water main supply pipe is not getting ripped out and replaced? To my mind it’s a DISGRACE that the shooting industry did not simply ask that one simple question. NO, they saw an excuse to charge a fortune and that mainly to the detriment of the quarry. Just my opinion …..for what its worth?
Anyway, take a look for yourself:
NOW, TRY and help speed up availability. I WILL suggest that YOU pass on details to everyone you know who shoots. Then ask whoever we buy from WHY they are not DEMANDING cartridges made in this material? Basically VOTE with your WALLET.
YES, it will take a little time for everything to filter through, but patience IS a virtue. It also allows everyone who wants to keep hold of their ‘old favourite’ for the rest of their lives. Even pass it on to the next generation and hopefully beyond!
On that note I AM looking into the possibility of stocking some direct from Steve at Hortons. RING for an update and keep checking the web site.
