Three Barrel/Royal Gun Co? Post-Hollenbeck 12 GA/.32-20 Win.? Drilling, C&R
SOLD FOR: $1,091.00
WOA#: WY240611RD055
Make: Three Barrel Gun Co. or Royal Gun Co. (not marked)
Model: Grade 0 Three Barrel Gun
Serial Number: 1463
Year of Manufacture: Ca. 1908-1910
Gauge: 12 Gauge, 2 1/2” Shells. We suspect that the rifle barrel is chambered for .32-20 Winchester (see Bore Condition, Mechanics, Our Assessment)
Action Type: Top-Break Shotgun/Rifle Combination Gun (Drilling)
Barrel Length: 28″
Choke: Full, Fixed
Sights/Optics: The front sight is a brass bead in a base dovetailed to the front of the rib. The rear sight is a six-position “U”-notch, adjustable for elevation in a base screwed to the rear of the rib. The sight is adjusted by hand, up and down, stoping at one of the six-positions.
Stock Configuration and Condition: The stocks are two-piece checkered walnut with splinter forend, semi-pistol grip, straight comb and serrated black hard rubber Hollenbeck buttplate. The stocks have scattered nicks, scuffs and scratches, some finished over. There is cracking in each side of the wrist. The checkering ranges from well defined to worn smooth. The LOP measures 13 7/8″ and 13″ from the fronts of the triggers to the back of the buttplate. The plate has moderate wear with fairly well defined serrations. Overall, the stocks are in about Good condition as refinished.
Type of Finish: Browned Damascus, Blue & Case Color
Finish Originality: Original, serialized parts are matching.
Bore Condition: The shotgun bores are mostly bright with infrequent minor erosion. There are scattered dents visible in the bores. The rifle bore is light gray with generally sharp rifling. There is scattered light erosion and pitting in the rifle bore. In this writer’s opinion, the bores rate 5+ out of 10.
Overall Condition: This gun retains about 5% of its metal finish. The metal surfaces have mostly gone to a fairly uniform patina with infrequent finish in well protected areas. There is some scattered light surface oxidation. There are some scattered dents in the shotgun barrels. There are some light nicks, scuffs and scratches. The action shows operational wear. The screw heads are tool marked with strong slots. The markings are legible. Overall, this gun is in Fair condition.
Mechanics: The neck of the last fired cartridge is stuck in the rifle chamber. The cocking-cam activation pin is quite sticky at the end of travel, making reassembly of the forend quite difficult. The selector for the rifle barrel is a lever in front of the trigger guard. During our function check, we found that the front trigger will fire the rifle barrel when the safety is engaged. If the safety is not engaged and both the rifle and shotgun barrels are cocked, the trigger acts as a progressive trigger, firing first the rifle and then the right shotgun barrel when pulled slightly further. It is not clear if this is correct, the other examples we have examined functioned the same. Otherwise, the action functions correctly. We have not fired this gun. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.
Box, Paperwork, and Accessories: None.
Our Assessment: Frank Hollenbeck certainly got around the American shotgun making scene in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He worked with L.C. Smith and Baker, founded his own company Syracuse Arms Company in 1893 and would go on to establish the Hollenbeck Gun Co. in 1901 in Wheeling, West Virginia. The quality of the guns made was quite high, but so was the price. Demand was low and Hollenbeck eventually would leave the company which would have its assets sold and reorganized into the Three Barrel Gun Co., which went through the same process, becoming the Royal Gun Co., with the entire enterprise eventually closing in 1910. Over the course of these 10 years some 2,000 guns had been made, mostly drillings, a rarity for American gunmaking. A much smaller portion of production was double barrel guns with even fewer single barrel trap guns.
This example is a Grade 0 Three Barrel Gun chambered for 12 gauge shotgun shells over what we believe is a rifle barrel chambered for .32-20 Winchester. The last rifle cartridge fired in the barrel had a neck-separation and the neck is still stuck in the chamber, making it impossible to properly test chambering. Based on the serial number and lack of markings, this gun was probably produced around the time that the Three Barrel Gun Co. transitioned to the Royal Gun Co. The gun shows wear consistent with its age, including some dents in the damascus barrels. In addition to the neck separation, there is also a bit of a problem with the cocking-cam activation pin that makes it difficult to reinstall the forend after disassembly. The gun has an odd mechanical quirk in which both the rifle barrel and the right shotgun barrel will fire if the rifle barrel is selected while the safety is disengaged. It is not clear if this is a result of the original design or if there is a part of the sear assembly which has worn or broken. This is a neat vintage drilling made by one of America’s very few three-barrel gunmakers, an interesting addition to any collection. Please see our photos and good luck!
Please forgive any typos, I was educated in California. -Bud
