Beschreibung:

Serial no. T8778. 12 bore. 28 inch barrels with locking dolls-head and small spear fore-sight. Concave smooth sunken rib marked Westley Richards & Co. London. Ramped seven inch matted quarter-rib with five platinum-lined folding sights marked 100, 150, 200, 250, 300. S 3 stamped on ramp. Rear of quarter-rib marked Super Magnum Explora. Importers marking on bottom of rear lump. Casehardened Anson & Deely boxlock triple-bite action engraved with bold foliate scroll. Ejectors. Non-automatic safety. Finely checkered pistolgrip stock of partially figured walnut. Silver oval with S 3. Drop points. Maker's ebonite buttplate. Finely checkered splinter fore-end with Deely-Edge release and horn fore-end tip. Oak and leather trunk case with brass corners and hardware. Single locking latch. The lid of the case stamped H. H. Maharaja of Holkar/S. M. Explora. Canvas and leather trunk case cover. The top of the cover is stamped H. H. Maharaja of Holkar/S. M. Explora Double. Accessories include: a later cleaning rod, an unmarked nickel-silver oil bottle, a horn handled turn-screw marked Westley Richards & Co., a nickel-silver cartridge extractor, a brass wad guide, and a later leather pouch with cleaning implements. Condition: Excellent, showing little use. Action shows 98-99% strong case colors. Floorplate and triggerguard shows 96-98% bluing with some scratches. Barrels show 99% bluing. Bright bores. Sharp checkering. As-made filled in check on left side. Wood shows handling marks. Trunk case is in excellent condition with slight wear to edges. Cover is in very good/good condition with wear to edges of leather, some staining and wear to canvas, 1 1/2 hole in canvas on top. Tongue of one small strap missing. Data: Barrel Dimensions: Bore: 0.736/0.735. Chambers: 2 3/4 inches. Chokes: Rifled with constriction of 0.009 inches before rifling. Minimum Wall Thickness: 0.049 inches. Proof: Birmingham. Nitro Proof 1 1/4 shot. Cordite 730 bullet max. 2 3/4" 12, 12, Rifled choke. Stock Dimensions: Pull: 14 3/8 inches. Drop at comb: 1 5/8 inches. Drop at heel: 2 1/8 inches. Cast-off: 1/4 inch. Weight: 8 pounds 8 ounces. Note: The Westley Richards Super Magnum Explora was the final development of the Shot and Ball guns that were popular from the mid 1880's to the 1930's. The guns were designed for dual use, both as rifles and as shotguns. The Holland & Holland 'Paradox' was the first successful gun of this type. They were very popular in India and allowed the hunter to only have to carry one gun and by changing ammunition he would be ready for 'tiger or snipe'. The Super Magnum Explora was developed in 1909 and was a leap forward from the existing Ball and Shotguns of the day. The cartridge used the patented Westley Richards brass, hollow conical nose-piece on a lead base called the 'LT'. The Super Magnum cartridge developed a velocity of 1500 fps with a muzzle energy of 3643 ft-lbs with a 730 grain bullet. With this combination Westley Richards dominated the Ball and Shotgun market for the next 20 years. A total of 74 Super Magnum Exploras were produced. Tukoji Rao Holcar III was the Maharaja of Indore, a small, very rich state in central India. He was born in 1890 and assumed the throne in 1903 after his father, who was a keen wrestler, beat up the British Resident. He was educated in England and was viewed as a very democratic and personal ruler. The family was never fond of the British and in 1925 Tukoji Rao came in conflict with the British over the use of 'Arched Crowns' in correspondence which was a serious infringement upon the prerogative of the George V, the King-Emperor. A year later he was involved in the Bawla case. "Though not directly implicated in this affair, in which a member of his police department shot and killed a Bombay business man who had formed a relationship with the Maharaja's former mistress." Faced with an inquiry or relinquishing the throne, he chose the latter. Reference: The Lives of the Indian Princes, Charles Allen & S