Charles Ingram
A good friend of mine does a fair amount of gun trading. Recently a fellow who sold him some stuff also threw in this wall hanger. It is a Charles Ingram 12 gauge, bar action, underlever hammer gun with replacement James MacNaughten barrels. A little internet research revealed that Chuck was born in 1816 and died in 1885. The firm Charles Ingram Gunmaker of Glasgow, Scotland began business in 1836 and closed their doors in 1945. They were known more for their target rifles than for their shotguns. My guess is that this gun, which has no nitro proof marks, was made in the late 1800’s. It has seen better days; all of the finish is gone, checkering worn smooth and the barrels are pretty rough. It is missing the right hammer and the remaining hammer had it’s spur busted off. Despite its poor condition you can see what it must have been 100 years ago. It has good dimensions and feels sleek and responsive (30″ barrels, 14 1/2 LOP, 1 5/8 DAC, 2 1/8 DAH). The build quality is very good, it seems to lock up tight and must have been a terrific bird gun in its day.
Lock works
Stamped J. Grainger on the inside of the locks. I wonder if that was the engraver or maybe the guy who made the locks.
Forearm slide lock.
Nice wood with heel and toe plates.
Birdhunter 
Is “728” your serial number? If it is, the scattered bits of serial number information that exist for Ingram would suggest the gun was built in the early part of the period 1887-96 (this is per Nigel Brown’s British Gunmakers, vol. 3).
J. Grainger is the firm that made your lock — and, like arguably the majority of British lockmakers, based in Wolverhampton and was a several generation family business. If that is your serial number and the gun is from that period, then this ‘J. Grainger’ was John Grainger Jr.
This is a neat old gun. Love it.
Andrew
Thanks for the info Andrew. I don’t know if that is the serial number or not, but seems likely based upon the date range of production. It does not show up anywhere else on the gun. I need to get a copy of Nigel’s books. I am glad you enjoyed the post!
Lee Johnston
I have a double barrel 12 ga. very similar to yours. The only identifying marks I have been able to find are “Ingram Scotland” and the word “Ingram” on each of the side plates. It has the under lever locking system also. On top of the stock is an engraved brass plate with the following: “PRESENTED TO MR GEORGE GALL ALONG WITH A TELESCOPE BY A FEW FRIENDS ON THE OCCASION OF HIS LEAVING FOR AMERICA, GLASGOW N.B. AUGUST 1882”. I have owned this gun for over 50 years and have never taken it apart, or had the forearm off of it. When I was a teenager and didn’t know any better I would take it hunting and shoot high brass 12 ga. shells in it. It still locks real tight and is in good condition except for one little dent in the right barrel. I don’t know where to look for a serial number if it has one.
That inscription is very cool. Do you know anything about Mr Gall? I don’t think I ever found for sure the serial number on the gun pictured in the post. They are very interesting guns.
I don’t know anything about Mr Gall. Gun was a hand me down from my grandfather. was sold to him by a neighbor Scotchman named McKray.
The challenge is that your “new” barrels will have “new” proof marks on them so they won’t really help date the rest of the gun. It was fairly common in the London gun trade, at least with best-quality guns, to engrave the serial number on the sides of most, if not all, of the action screws, too. Look on the side walls of whatever screws you took out to get the locks off and see if “728” is on there, too.
Love the underlever and love that it is a Scottish gun.
best
Andrew
A very nice gun…..I have a Charles Ingram 12 gauge Boxlock ejector model that has been nitro proofed…on the barrels it has 18B Renfield Street Glasgow engraved….it has the number 2 in gold printed on the barrel,action and fore end….the Serial number is A5387.Would anyone be able to tell me anything about this lovely old gun…..it locks up beautifullly and is in very good condition..the engraving is superb and it has a number 1 and number 2 in gold near the hammers so you can tell which barrel is cocked
kindest regards Richard
Richard, were you able to find out anything about the date of you Ingram, A5387? I have one with a serial number in the same range.
The A indicates that it was made by Charles Ingram’s nephew, Charles Ingram Annan and is therefore after 1885.
Hi Richard, I bet that is a fine old gun. I would love to see a picture of it. This C Ingram ain’t mine, but I did see the fellow who owns it kill a pheasant with it this year. They are great old guns.Thanks for looking at my post from 2 years ago!
I have made a few mistakes in my first post…it is a sidelock and hammer less…..not really up with shotguns but this one is a nice old gun
That is a cool gun. Those Ingrams have terrific lines. I must say that your collection of cordless drills, fillet knives and bolt cutters made me a bit nervous. 🙂