Well, here's the reveal of what I was loading 2 1/2" black powder shells for...a Burgess Takedown shotgun (same guy behind the Colt Burgess lever action of the 1880s). These were slide-action (what we call pump action commonly, now) shotguns of the late 19th Century (1892-1899, although guns really only were produced 1893-1898) marketed as inertial semi-automatic shotguns by Andrew Burgess (famous for the portrait of Lincoln on the $5 bill). It's not a totally false statement...and they are very fast to fire in the right hands. They had 2 5/8" chambers, and came in both folding and takedown shotgun varieties, as well as a few very very rare similar rifles. This one has a true 27" damascus barrel. Winchester bought the company in 1899 to eliminate them as any competition for the Model 1897, and the company was more or less shuttered overnight. This one is circa 1895 mid-production (about 4-5000ish were built, but likely closer to 4000). I bought it from another member in rough shape for a price we both liked and agreed upon; then I sent it out to David Stavlo from Lodgewood Mfg, and a few months later....here it is. Here's what work was done:
1. The toe was chipped and poorly brass tacked on...twice (original wood chip was still there, miraculously) and butt plate was blown out with the toe break. David repaired the toe, and I had a new repro Burgess butt plate sourced and fitted. The butt plate honestly looks period...it has the perfect amount of wear...if I didn't mention it I would almost guarantee you would never know it's not an original. The toe repair came out impossible to know it ever was broken, just about...it's invisible unless you know EXACLTY where it was...and even then it's extremely hard to see. Well done.
2. The little screw and collar on the grip/slide was wallowed and loose, causing the action to be like cocking it past boulders and constantly backing itself out loose. Rough is an understatement. The piece was epoxied and refitted and now holds true. This problem compounded with bullet point 3, below...
3. The biggest problem by far...it had a giant blobby mess of solder holding in the bottom screw for the lifter assembly together; the screw's original fine threads were totally stripped. This was a common problem and the glaring flaw on Burgess shotguns, and it's common for them to not feed properly because of such. They have to be JUST right, there is no room for wear or slop, or the lifter will simply not feed correctly from the tube. Andrew Burgess (or one of his guys) must have figured this flaw out somewhere in the production of these guns, as at least a few were retrofitted with what is shown on mine (the one in the NRA museum has the same exact modification, and I can guarantee those aren't the only two). David sorted this whole mess out, and added a larger screw so the whole assembly was 1 piece for any future disassembly. It's 10X better now and simply put, works like it should.
Overall, this sucker is finally ready to shoot again as it was intended. There's not much else left to do but let 'er rip, now. That'll happen next week at the range...you can bet I'm way too excited for it, too.
1. The toe was chipped and poorly brass tacked on...twice (original wood chip was still there, miraculously) and butt plate was blown out with the toe break. David repaired the toe, and I had a new repro Burgess butt plate sourced and fitted. The butt plate honestly looks period...it has the perfect amount of wear...if I didn't mention it I would almost guarantee you would never know it's not an original. The toe repair came out impossible to know it ever was broken, just about...it's invisible unless you know EXACLTY where it was...and even then it's extremely hard to see. Well done.
2. The little screw and collar on the grip/slide was wallowed and loose, causing the action to be like cocking it past boulders and constantly backing itself out loose. Rough is an understatement. The piece was epoxied and refitted and now holds true. This problem compounded with bullet point 3, below...
3. The biggest problem by far...it had a giant blobby mess of solder holding in the bottom screw for the lifter assembly together; the screw's original fine threads were totally stripped. This was a common problem and the glaring flaw on Burgess shotguns, and it's common for them to not feed properly because of such. They have to be JUST right, there is no room for wear or slop, or the lifter will simply not feed correctly from the tube. Andrew Burgess (or one of his guys) must have figured this flaw out somewhere in the production of these guns, as at least a few were retrofitted with what is shown on mine (the one in the NRA museum has the same exact modification, and I can guarantee those aren't the only two). David sorted this whole mess out, and added a larger screw so the whole assembly was 1 piece for any future disassembly. It's 10X better now and simply put, works like it should.
Overall, this sucker is finally ready to shoot again as it was intended. There's not much else left to do but let 'er rip, now. That'll happen next week at the range...you can bet I'm way too excited for it, too.
Attachments
Last edited:
