Posted by Lloyd McKissick on July 24, 2024, 12:08 pm
I've posted this elsewhere, but it applies here as well.
Will you be going afield this Fall? Are you in proper shape and ready for all the challenges a good bird hunt requires? Walking every cool morning in anticipation? Are your field guns also ready? Gunsmiths tend to get really busy in August, so now is the time to address any issues. Also, I was recently in contact with the good folks at RST and they are ready for the coming seasons as well (Smiths don't tend to be so-fussy about shell length, but the low-pressure option is always something worth considering).
I now have two Damascus hammer guns and would like to use them both this fall on Game. Even with similar dimensions and gauge, my 1901 Smith outweighs my British Lang by almost 2-pounds. The differences between these two guns couldn't be more stark. My Lang dates from 1866 and started life as a pinfire. Unlike my much-more modern(!) Smith, it has non-rebounding hammers and a very-unusual sidelever, along with a wedge-type forend fastener. Earlier Langs were all all breech-loaders, so it is fairly unusual. It's weight and quickness make it a better game gun (IMHO) than the Smith. The Smith gun, however, is the far-better all-around gun (& is clearly much better on targets w/it's weight & chokes).
Decisions, decisions...
The Lang has already proved itself on game, the Smith stands at the ready.
I misspoke earlier. The Joseph Lang guns built earlier than the one I currently possess were mostly all muzzleloaders. I have seen one that was within just a few serial numbers of this one that closely copied Casimir Lefaucheux's gun (the "French Crutch Gun", as it was derogatorily referred to in the English Gun publication of the 1850s, The Field) which was arguably the first successful breech loading shotgun design.
