John Dickson & Son 10 Bore – HAMMER GUN, DALLAS BOOK GUN, 1875

John Dickson & Son No. 3179 is the sort of gun collectors hope to find: a scarce best-quality 10-bore hammer gun with its original owner identified, its factory history documented, and the gun itself prominently featured in the definitive book on Dickson.

Delivered December 20, 1875 to James Cheape of Strathtyrum, St. Andrews, No. 3179 is a 32″ Damascus-barreled, Jones rotary-underlever 10 bore from a production run of only 37 Dickson breechloading hammer 10-bores. Donald Dallas chose this very gun for inclusion in John Dickson & Son: The Round Action Gunmaker, where it is pictured and its original ledger entry reproduced. Accompanying the gun is something especially appropriate: signed leather-bound copy No. 5 of only 25 deluxe editions of the Dallas book, complete with its fitted slipcase. The gun and the reference that documents it remain together.

Its preservation is just as impressive as its history. The Damascus barrels retain a strong, attractive pattern with excellent bores and healthy wall thicknesses. The Jones underlever locks the gun tightly, the engraving remains crisp, and the screws grade Perfect on our inspection. Perhaps the most telling evidence of the life this gun has led is visible on the breech face itself, where original machining marks remain—a remarkable detail on a sporting gun now 150 years old. The straight-grip walnut retains excellent fit and handsome figure, while the silvered action and traces of original color give the gun exactly the character one hopes to see on a carefully preserved Victorian Dickson.

At a little over eight pounds, this is still every bit the purposeful 10-bore sporting gun Dickson built for the marshes and estuaries of the 19th century, not simply an antique to admire from across the room. Its documented James Cheape provenance, extraordinary condition, rarity, and inclusion in the Dallas book make No. 3179 an unusually complete piece of Scottish sporting history.

Serious Dickson collectors, big-bore enthusiasts, and sportsmen looking for a gun with genuine history should take a close look at No. 3179. Opportunities to acquire one of Dickson’s 37 hammer 10-bores are scarce enough; finding the actual Dallas-pictured gun together with signed leather-bound copy No. 5 of 25 makes this one especially difficult to duplicate.