12 gauge, William Phillipson Side x Side

How I Found My Perfect Woodcock Gun
(Without even trying)

It was mid January, Christmas was over and I was broke. Hunting and shooting was the last thing on my mind when I entered the small town hardware store for a roll of duct tape.

Okay, so I’m lying (a little) since I felt compelled to go over and eye the rack of used guns that sat gathering dust in the back of the store. After all, most people were pretty drained this time of year financially so maybe somebody turned in a good one. Most of the guns there were probably not missed by their former owners; beat up .22’s and single shot shotguns mostly with a few old military relics mixed in and maybe a deer rifle or two.

Amid the row of faded guns, my subconscious caught sight of something with two barrels. My interest perked slightly. It looked old, grungy, long and awkward-obviously a 12 gauge with long barrels. Of no interest to a grouse and woodcock hunter like myself, but the wood looked ok so I asked to see it. It had 30" barrels bored cylinder and full that were slathered in ancient varnish and the wood, though dirty, was a very nice stick of English walnut. It had nice figure, better than you see on the typical Birmingham boxlock, which it was not. It was made by William Phillipson (never heard of him) and it was a sidelock non-ejector. It had a grooved butt, nice checkering and a round knob half pistol grip. It had very nice hand done scroll engraving and the whole receiver was well browned by time.

I didn't have any money so I told a friend about it, thinking he might snatch it up. At $400, it seemed like a pretty good deal. There was some light pitting in the barrels and the top rib had a screw down through it into the bottom rib, which I found would fall off if the screw was removed. It did have steel barrels and the stock length was right for me though it had too much drop. I took my friend in to see it and he immediately dismissed it. After all, he was a partridge hunter too and had no interest in long barreled 12’s. He sniffed at the gun and told me that if I wanted it, he'd be glad to lend me the money. I took him up on his gracious offer and we took the gun home.

I knew very little about English guns but set out to educate myself. I wrote a letter to a fellow who had written an article about English doubles in a now defunct gun mag. He wrote back and I discovered that my gun was made between 1904 and 1915 by William Phillipson of 79 Weaman St, Birmingham. It had 2 1/2” chambers and was London Proofed for 1 1/8 oz. shot and nitro powder.

I set out to find a source of 2 1/2” ammunition but also discovered that I could handload low-pressure 2 3/4" shells appropriate to the Proof of the gun. I sent the gun to Rich Cole in Harpswell, Maine and had the ribs re-soldered and the barrels re-blued. I was told that there was plenty of wall thickness for the gun to be fired safely but to remove the pitting would make them too thin and I would be better off to leave it. Besides, light pitting does not generally impair function and even though it devalues a gun, it is safer to leave it . . . especially for the next guy.

I found that I didn't hit too well with the left barrel and I was a little pokey with the gun, which seemed a tad barrel heavy. I got out the hacksaw and removed two inches of barrel and re-installed the bead and soldered the end of the rib. A sacrilege to true double gun aficionados but I wanted this gun to go to work for me, not them. As I said before, the gun had too much drop for me so I sent it to Mike Orlen in Amherst Massachusetts and had him bend the stock for less drop. English walnut often takes and keeps a good bend and this piece proved to be no exception. When all was said and done, I had less than $700 invested (1996 dollars) and I had a 12 gauge, Side by Side double that fit me perfectly with 28" barrels that balanced exactly on the hinge or 4 1/2" in front of the front trigger. A 6 lb, 5 oz. real English game gun, bored cylinder and cylinder.

With a full ounce of #8 shot in the right barrel and up to 1 1/8 oz in the left, it has proven to be a perfect combination for early season grouse and Woodcock. I have had a lot of guns before and since but where the sweat drips and the raspberry thorns snag, it’s a pretty nice thing to have in your right hand when the sound of wings wakes you from an autumn daydream.

By Lee Sykes
Lee Sykes lives in a cabin in Maine with his wife and two hunting dogs. When not buying and trading shotguns and hunting upland birds he can be found strumming his guitar and singing to appreciative patrons in Waterholes across the state.