mydeacs - Bolt Action 12s Shotgun

Cost:

£95. inc p&p

Source:

Alan Jones Militaria.

Deac Type:

unknown

Details:

De- Act Single Barrel Bolt Action 12s Shotgun. Marketed as the 'Zulu' using old military breeches early 1900's.
This is a really nice item. I got it because its a shotgun with a bolt action. It was described as being a conversion from a military breach and you really get that felling. Its heavy and substantial. To be honest it might as well be a rifle. The bolt seems peculiar in that to cock it you dont need to open the breach, jut yank the bolt up and back down. You only open the breach to put the round in. I think part of this was to allow for multiple striking without taking out the round in the event that the round didnt go off, something more common years ago, apparently.

This is a Belgian item I think. Its missing the front sling swivel. The deactivation seems quite basic but the bolt is milled and the barrel is cut with a bar across it, which is a bit unusual. The barrel is otherwise open unlike alot of other guns and you can see a tiny bit of light down the barrel.

Theres some interesting stuff on the gun here: link

picked up a "Zulu" Shot Gun the other day that is in very good condition. A search on the net turned up the following: Original weapon was a French 1867 Tabatiere muzzle loading percussion musket; then converted to breech loader by adding a Snider hinged action and used to a limited degree in the Franco Prussian War; next, most were sold to Belgian surplus dealers who cut down the stocks and bored the barrels smooth or rebarreled with a shot gun barrel. Sold as cheap shot guns and called "Zulu" to invoke images of fierce warriors hunting in the wilds of South Africa. Sold all over the world by ALFA and in this country by Sears during the 1880s and into the new century. I believe my gun has a purpose made shotgun barrel and not a rebore. The chamber is 2 3/4" on this gun. During the Franco Prussian war, it was said the French melted down brass church bells to make actions for this weapon. I have seen the brass versions.

At Micks guns he has a similar item that he describes as a French Chassepot "Zulu Gun"

Heres a good link to the wiki page

Something really interesting. After doing the photo shoot and writing this up i went to bed, eventuially, at some point, and when i got up the next day I decided to play with this gun again and the trigger action was crap. I thought that because I had left it cocked that the spring losts its elasticity so i started to take it to bits. I should have taken photos, but i didnt. However, when you take it to bits, eventually, you discover that there is a primary spring action around the firing pin of the bolt action shaft whatnot. But its not one spring, its two, which I thought was the result of a bodge up at first, but then I figured it out, essentially you can adjust the spring tension by unthreading/threading the two coil springs together, effectivly making them long or shorter. This worked a treat and its got a really strong action now. And as such, the twiddly bit at the end of the bolt with a screw head actually turns and that actually in theory might screw the springs into or out of each other.Im not sure why it lost its tension, maybe i didnt notice that i had been turning the knob, but its all quite ingeneous.

Pictures:

Some pictures (click to enlarge):



Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun
Bolt Action 12s Shotgun