Make: Isaac Hollis & Sons, Birmingham, England
Model: Percussion Double Gun
Serial Number: NSNV
Year of Manufacture: Circa 1860s-1870s / Antique
Gauge: 12 Gauge
Chokes: Fixed CYL.
Action Type: Side-by-Side, Double-Barrel, Muzzleloading Percussion Shotgun with Dual External Hammers and Dual Triggers
Barrel Length: 32"
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a brass bead fixed to the top rib. There is no rear sight.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The stock is one-piece walnut with a checkered wrist, straight comb, long forend with metal wedge escutcheons, and steel buttplate. A wood ramrod is retained beneath the barrels by the ramrod thimbles. The stock shows considerable age and handling wear including scattered scratches, nicks, compressions, finish loss, and worn checkering. There is a small loss on the left side of the stock immediately forward of the lockplate. The initial plate in the belly of the buttstock has been removed, leaving the inlet vacant. The LOP measures 13" and 14" from the front of the triggers to the rear of the buttplate, respectively. The buttplate has worn to a dark patina with scattered oxidation and pitting. Overall, the stock is in Good condition as Antique.
Type of Finish: Browned Laminated/Twist Steel Barrels, Finished Steel Furniture, Engraved
Finish Originality: Original metal finish. The percussion nipples have been replaced.
Bore Condition: The smooth bores are dark with erosion throughout. In this writer's opinion, the bores rate 3/10.
Overall Condition: This shotgun retains about 5% of its original finish. Most of the finish has worn to a dark patina. There is scattered corrosion, scabs, and fine pitting. The ramrod is replaced. The nipples are replaced. There is more notable erosion on the bottom metal.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. The hammers cock and release, though both have some looseness/play. The percussion nipples have been replaced. We did not fire this shotgun. As with all antique firearms, a thorough inspection by a qualified gunsmith is recommended before attempting to fire.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This shotgun includes the wood ramrod presently mounted beneath the barrels.
Our Assessment: I. Hollis & Sons was a Birmingham gunmaking firm whose name came into use in 1861 following the departure of Isaac Brentnall Sheath from the earlier Hollis & Sheath partnership. The firm became an important producer of sporting, military, and trade firearms for the British home and export markets. This percussion side-by-side represents the traditional British muzzleloading sporting gun at the end of the percussion era, with long laminated/twist steel barrels, individually powered external hammers, double triggers, engraved locks, and a slender walnut sporting stock.
This example has clearly seen extensive use, retaining only traces of its original metal finish beneath a well-established dark patina. The surviving 32" Stub twist barrels are an early type of patterned gun barrel made by forge-welding short pieces of high-quality iron, traditionally salvaged horseshoe nail stubs, and steel strips into a spiral ribbon around a metal rod, then hammering them solid. The action remains functional, though the loose hammers, replacement nipples, eroded bores, missing initials plate, and minor wood loss should all be noted. It is an appealing surviving example of a mid-19th-century English percussion double gun from a recognized Birmingham maker.
