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Thanks for the input, gang !
Steve - it was the left lock's tumbler that had the cocking notches half (width) chewed away, almost as if the left barrel was fired to the almost total exclusion of the right barrel (which usually has the more open choke, for that 1st/close shot on flushing game).
FWIW, I have a
LOT of experience with refinishing & refinished guns, and proofs to the contrary, this gun doesn't raise any red flags with me, since it looks fairly new, upon my thorough examination.
Although almost every refinished gun I've examined previously showed some evidence of the refinishing,
somewhere (usually in a hidden area), I'm just not finding any such evidence with this one - leading me to believe that if it has been refinished, it was done by a real perfectionist.
What gives me pause, however, are the lack of modern proof's and chamber length designations - which I know are always missing in the case of guns made prior to the introductions of (1st) 2-3/4" shells, and (later) 3" shells, when shell lengths weren't marked on the guns because at the time, there were only single/early length shells made in whatever gauge (IOW, before the longer versions were invented/introduced).
If (when I get aroundtoit) the chambers prove to be 2-1/2" long, I'll most likely obtain some low-pressure 2-1/2" ammo from the likes of RST or Kent Cartridges.
[EDIT: I measured both chambers, and found them to be 2-3/4" long ! ! I yam a happy camper ! ]
Jason - I might take you up on a meet, when I'm feeling better/up to it (I'm still recuperating & undergoing cardio rehab) - once upon a time, I hade two other pristine/original classic doubles, a 1937 Remington Parker 16a Sheet Gun (in/out chokes), and a 1908 A.H.Fox AE grade 20ga (both bought for chump change, then sold to finance my early retirement).
Bill, since I'm registered over on the Doublegunshop forum, I have sent a request for info to them this AM, attaching all revelant pics, etc.
Hopefully, I'll hear back from them soon.
Time will tell, and I'll post any results I get - which so far is only an educated guess from a shotgunworld.com forum member (ellenbr), that it may be a gun made by (possibly) an Italian concern (C.L.A.) with parts ordered "in-the-white" from central Europe, somewhere - a guess because the advisor didn't recognize the proofmarks or what's presumed to be the maker's mark (a stamped "C.L.A." on a barrel bottom).
[ EDIT: BTW, I finally found a use for the new, luggage-style case I found 2 years ago @ a yard sale.]
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