Anson & Deeley boxlock action

The Anson & Deeley boxlock action is one of the most famous designs for the mechanical interworkings of Double-barreled shotguns.

History

Of all the world's shotgun actions, none is more imitated than the Anson & Deeley. If you buy a boxlock in Brazil, Turkey, Japan or anywhere in Europe, it will be built on the A&D system. It is a design so successful that more makers have built guns on it than most other designs combined.

The A&D action was patented (no. 1756) on May 11, 1875, and credited to William Anson, foreman of Westley Richards' gun action department, and John Deeley, Managing director and major share-holder of that company.

In A Brief History of the Westley Richards Firm, 1812-1913 Leslie B. Taylor, himself a managing director with the company, wrote that "Mr. John Deeley conceived the principle of the gun," whereas "Anson worked out the design." It is much more likely that Anson was the "talent" and Deeley was the "money and means" by which the gun was produced

Excerpt taken from an article entitled "Anson & Deeley, Then and Now" by Douglas Tate

External links

• Diagram of Anson & Deeley boxlock action
• Holland and Holland - corporate site