A few years back I entered a postal tender in an Arms and Antiques sale. I had an interest in obtaining an under-lever hammer shotgun and much to my surprise, I had a win.
The gun in question was a 12 gauge 2 ½ inch black powder under-lever hammer shotgun with Damascus barrels. Obviously a Birmingham trade gun, it was in good condition with all its original fittings. As can be expected of a gun of this age, there was some pitting in one barrel and a crack in the butt plate from an over-tightened screw, but on the whole it represented good value for money as a collector's piece and a shooter with care.
As to the finer points of the gun, the 30 inch barrels choked modified and full have a nice brown patina with very little exterior rust, and the rib extension supports a dolls head. The butt-stock shows a nice grain and the snap-on fore-end has the obligatory horn insert. The standing breech has a plain grey finish with rebounding hammers, although the firing pins are not bushed. Metal to wood finish is good overall with no cracks in the wood-work. The butt plate appears to be bakelite with a Germanic-style scene of three dogs bringing a boar to bail. The underside of one barrel is stamped “not for ball”.
What makes this gun a little more interesting is the provenance attached to it. On the top rib is engraved “W E Ekins, King William St, Adelaide S A”. The back action locks also have “W E Ekins, Adelaide” engraved on them but this appears to have been done at a later date as the lettering is larger than on the rib.
William Emery Ekins was a prominent Adelaide gunsmith born in North Adelaide in 1853 to George and Mary Anne Ekins. William was apprenticed to “The Practical English Gun-maker” R. Marjoram who had a business at 37A King William Street. Ekins became a partner in the business and eventually bought out his partner in 1878. William Emery Ekins died in 1937 but the business was carried on by his son Archie as general manger until his death in 1959. Archie’s son Dennis, together with his son Ashley, carried on until the business was wound up in 1969 after 91 years service to the shooting public.
It appears William Emery Ekins was a man of many talents, from being considered one of the best shots around Adelaide to winning an Order of Merit at the 1887 Adelaide Jubilee International Exhibition for a display of guns, pistols and other implements. He also held patents for an automatic cartridge loading machine, wind gauge, and elevating rifle sight, and produced his own line of shotgun cartridges. From all accounts William was considered not only a fine gunsmith but also a very competent gun maker.
A more detailed account of the Ekins business can be found in “The Ekins Story 1882-1969” by Dennis Daley, which was used as a reference for this article.
Firstly some low-brass compression-formed Winchester cases were trimmed from 2 ¾ to 2 ½ inches. Wads, over-powder and over-shot cards were duly acquired, and in deference to the pitting in the barrel, a reduced load of 2F powder was used. This worked fine in a gun around 100 years old and still managed to break a few clays, although the second barrel is always a bit of a challenge as most black powder shooters will know!