Greener GP Rifle

BwchDanas

Well-Known Member
I have a dream my friends, I have a dream!

My favourite gun, from the 8 in my cabinet, is my 26" barrel, 12g Greener GP Gun, it kicks a bit, being so light, and it's quirky but I love that beast, and it only cost me 50 quid about 8 years ago.

What I want to do is add to it's utility and end up with a pig gun into the bargain. The plan is to get a rifle barrel made and fitted, preferably in 45-70.

I have 2 questions;

1 How does it work legally, in terms of FAC/SGC? Obviously I will need to get a slot for a 45-70 on my FAC, but what then? I want to keep the shotgun barrel as well, so does the gun go on FAC as a rifle and a SG or does it flit between tickets depending on which barrel is fitted. Clearly, in licence terms, this is the same as having a double rifle that also has a set of SG barrels, so I'm after 1st hand experience of how it works please.

2 What sort of money would I be looking at for supply and fit of a rifle barrel and subsequent proofing? Also, any ideas who would be suitable smiths to do the job?

Thanks for any help.

Bwchdanas
 
B: I don't know of the licensing bit but I have done the conversion from a Greener 12ga to 45-70 as well as converting Martini .303's to other calibers. It's a fun conversion. Make sure the smith can find you another extractor if you plan on reverting it back to 12 ga at some point. Are you held to the 2450 fps/1750 ft lb rule as well? That speed will be unobtainable in the 45-70 tho the energy is there with ease.~Muir
 
Not worried about making it deer legal Muir, not even sorted myself any pig shooting yet! I won't be even applying for the slot on my FAC unless/until I can afford to have it done.

On the extractor, I shall certainly be keeping all the 12g components "as is", I love the gun too much as a shotgun to compromise on that. With the rifle barrel I will be wanting some type of mounting rail on top, either for a Trijicon reflex sight that a kind soul has sorted me out with, or for a long eye-relief scope.
 
I quite like the idea in principle. However, the down side is that you will spend £500 or £600 to add a barrel to a gun worth £75. Whatever, it is your money.

A Ruger No1 in said calibre might scratch your itch and retain a decent bit of resale value.
 
hi muir just noticed this topic and it made me think abit.

do you think that the gp action would handle .7x57 or .303 brittish?

cheers fly.
 
That depends on the action. Many of the Greener Shotguns were made on a thin walled frame with much of the receiver ring bored out for the 12 ga barrel shank. I would hesitate to put either of those rounds in that frame. Additionally, the 7x57 rimless would require serious extractor work. The 45-70 would need to be loaded to factory levels in this action as well... or at the maximum, kept to antique Marlin levels.~Muir
 
However, the down side is that you will spend £500 or £600 to add a barrel to a gun worth £75. Whatever, it is your money.

Oh no you don't have too! There are several cheaper solutions.

As all GPs can be taken down the cheap answer is to simply make up (from a barrel taken off a unfashionable rifle) a barrel in your chosen calibre. So find one of those now unpopular Parker-Hale No4 "Sporter" rifles and proceed as follows:

1) Like a longer barrel version of Webley's 410 Adapter. Unscrew your 12 bore barrel and push in from the breech end the rifle barrel machined to 12 bore external profile at one end and with a collar at the muzzle end. Retaining the existing extractor cut out in the rifle barrel but have it vertical to use a screwdriver (as with the Webley Adaptor) to lever the fired case out.

2) Like a re-sleeving job by cutting the Greener barrel to stub and sleeving with the rifle barrel suitable machined. Not possible where it is illegal to cut down a shot gun barrel of course. The extractor as this is a permanent alteration will be a simple job to alter. Also probably the most costly as it involves a new fore-end.

3) By just re-cutting the thread on your rifle barrel to duplicate the thread on your GP's receiver. Again you'll need maybe to make a new fore-end wood AND again extractor issues will come into the picture.

4) Like a re-line as was done with shot out 303 rifles to 22 by A J Parker and Parker-Hale. You will need a collar as in 1) at the muzzle end if you want to retain the original outer barrel and so the original fore-end.

My advice? Option 3) or 4) and with the receiver permanently modified (the extractor altered to work using the cut out in the original rifle barrel) so abandoning any idea of swapping back and forward from 12 bore to 303.
 
You'll want o find one of the older GP's with the keeper screws and not the later ones with the clips. The older screw keeper ones are stonger than the later clip retained pin types. The chap from Greeners does not advise building any rifles on the later actions. yes we looked into it as someone fairly local brought the GP stock when it was cleared out. An alternative is find a rough old Military Martini, one converted to .410 as that was built to take the .303.
 
You'll want o find one of the older GP's with the keeper screws and not the later ones with the clips.

If, by keeper screws, you mean little screws with "half moon" cutouts that are used to retain the action pins, then that is what I have. I have given the entire gun a couple of coats of "looking at" over the last few days and I'm happy with the condition of everything.

As to the extractor work that will be required, I fail to see how it will be a huge problem, the extractor is essentially just an "L" shaped piece of steel, bench fitting a totally new one for the rifle calibre would be somthing I'm more than capable of myself, subject to getting a lump of the correct grade of steel. I have done a fair bit of bench fitting and machining work over the years but the only gunsmithing I have done was sorting and old SbS of my fathers that had "come off the face".
 
Hard as it is sometimes a "friend" has to say...."no". My advice, as just a Forum Member, in respect of doing this to a "circlip" Webley made GP is..."no".

The action on any GP is marginal for something like 7x57 or even 303 and especially so for the THINNER action used with the "circlips".

Sorry if is is pessimistic but that's my opinion.
 
Wow. This discussion went from 45-70 to 7x57 & 303 British in a few posts. As I said before, I think the thin Greener is suited for black powder pressures in low intensity cartridges. If you want a .303 or 7x57 you should really look into the .303 actions floating around the surplus market. JHMO of course, but I do wonder if your gunsmith wouldn't agree....~Muir
 
Hi BwchDanas

I've got a GP as well. Lovely gun. Got it cheap as chips a few years ago and it was like a brand new one. There have been a number of threads in Nitro Express Forum on this topic, (might be worth a look)

From the licensing perspective, I did at one time own a Rossi "Matched Pair" .243 with a second 12 bore barrel. The "Rifle" was entered on my FAC with the Shotgun listed as a "Spare Barrel" on my Shotgun Cert. The FEO was happy with the arrangement. Hope it helps

Ade
 
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