This is a beautiful German double shotgun made by Ferdinand Reuss about 1880. He established his business in what is now Zella-Mehlis, in central Germany about 1861. The last quarter of the 19th century, with the Industrial Revolution and relative peace between European nations, the affluent gentlemen had more time for leisure such as sport hunting. Shotguns like this one were in demand for that rising social class.

Click here for a link to a cased pair of double rifled Howdah pistols Reuss made that were recently auctioned.  

 The stock is beautiful piece of figured French walnut. The locks are wonderfully engraved and function as new. Unfortunately the hammer stops in the front of each hammer are missing. There would have been a pivoting bar that would act as a extra safety. My guess is that a previous owner had trouble with them falling into the safe position when he was hunting and took them off. The barrels are 32" long with a very nice damascus pattern. They have new Ampco nipples as the past owner hunted occasionally with the gun. The bores are excellent. It has a hook breech with a key in the forend. The trigger guard and buttplate are black horn that are in excellent condition. I usually find that horn beetles have eaten holes in these parts over the years. The current sling is a high quality modern replacement. The service load used by the past owner was 55rg FF with ¾ oz of shot.

Overall condition is exceptional. There are no pits, dents or dings except what you would expect from 150 years of well loved handling. The gun holds and points very well and should be a good shooter for hunting.

Weight 7 lbs. 4 oz.   Pull is 13½"