Belgium used to be the world’s gunmaker. Up until World War II, tens of housands of people worked around Liege turned out everything from military rifles and cheap pistols to the very finest sporting arms.
One “gunmaker” doing this type of work was H. Mahillon. I say “gunmaker” because I’m not sure how much making they really did. Like a lot of shops in Belgium, I bet they just put their name on most of the guns they sold. After all, buying ready-made shotguns from the trade and then finishing them off was lot cheaper than employing a full-time team of craftsman.
But hat doesn’t mean that the guns produced by this system weren’t nice. Many of the ones I’ve seen have been very well made and some of them have been finished to a very fine standard. This 20 gauge, sideplated boxlock, is a good example of what I mean.
Here’s the old Gunbroker listing for this gun, too.
BTW: who says you have to spend a fortune to own a real nice double? Side-by-sides like this one are incredibly under valued. This one sold for $2750 – less than a decent A.H. Fox 20g A grade. And it’s a hell of a lot more gun, with dimensions that would actually fit you.
