South Africa Cape Gun by George Wood 12 gauge/.45 Caliber
Description:
South African cape gun with historic provenance. Gun is side by side with left barrel smoothbore 12 gauge and right barrel is rifled in .50 caliber. It is percussion ignition with double triggers and sidelocks. Gun is marked G. Wood and Sons No. 193.
Locks function perfectly. New nipples were installed and the gun fires without complaint. Stocked in walnut with modest engraving gathering aged patina on the patchbox, trigger guard, and lock panels. Barrel is 31.5” long with a stippled flat rib ruler along the top flats that is incrementally marked to 12” and the ruler is one inch wide. This was built to allow a sliding scale sight to be adjusted up and down the barrel under side grooves in the ruler in response to volley shooting by infantry. Sometimes referred to as the goal post sight, this type of firearms saw much use by British Forces in the Eastern Cape as well as in the hands of private settlers and sportsmen. Conflict with the Xhosa tribe in the Eastern Cape at the time this cape gun was in use was intense and constant. These style of buck and ball cape guns arrived in South Africa as early as 1853 from well-known English manufacturers such as Isaac Hollis, Westley Richards, Greener, and Pryce Redman. Noted dealers and purveyors to the military and civilian demands in South Africa were John Hayton and George Wood and Sons, stamped on this rifle, both doing business out of Grahamstown, SA. This cape gun offered for sale appears to be very early in the trade as the serial number is #193.
Currently there is a rear barrel 3 leaf set for 100, 200, and 300 yards. The rifled barrel is cut two grooves for a winged bullet. Lands measure 0.490”and grooves measure 0.545”. The winged groove is 0.122” in width. At the measured 31” length and the rifled barrel equates to one full turn along the 31.5” length for actual twist rate. This should be applied to building a suitable winged bullet mold if so desired. As a substitute, a .50 caliber Minnie bullet, 0.837”, 3 groove, 0.35” deep skirt, 360 grains weight pushed by 80-85 grains of 2ffg black powder performs very well.
Further, George Wood was a well-known and successful ivory hunter in the late 1870’s – 80’s period of long safaris into the interior of southern Africa amidst the tribal dynasties of the times. He settled in the Eastern Cape in 1820 and died in 1884. He is known to have hunted with William Finaughty and Frederick Courtney Selous.
From – The Big Game Hunters by Michael Brander; St. Martins Press, New York, 1988; ISBN 0-312-02379-0
Chapter 5 – Late Victorian Sportsmen in Africa, Frederick Courtney Selous, 1851-1916
Page 116 – “The following year he found a partner named George Wood. Within four months, apart from rhinoceros and buffalo, they had killed 92 elephants; Selous 42 and George Wood 50.”
Page 119 – “ His journey was dogged by illness and both he and his companions were fever stricken so that at one stage he even contemplated trying his luck in North America or Australia. However, things improved and in 1878 with his friends Clarkson and Wood he encountered a large herd of elephants. The killed twenty two, hunting them until their-----------------“
From - The African Adventurers by Peter Hathaway Capstick; St. Martins Press, New York, 1992: ISBN –0-312-07622-3
Page 22-24 – “George Wood, the same who shared many close ones with Selous.”
“Wood was raised in the north of England, Yorkshire.”
“ Selous spent the best part of two years with George Wood.”
Savvy collectors recognize that antique firearms from Victorian South Africa are rare today do to the SA government destroying many of these fine old pieces. Don’t let this one get away. Buyer pays only exact shipping charges via there requested shipping method.
SOLD
Antique: Yes