The Two-Inch 12 Revisited

The appeal of shooting shorties

The records of Thomas Stensby & Co., Manchester, England, list the gun simply as an "Anson & Deeley lightweight," sold October 27, 1933, to one J.W. Harland for £25. The side-by-side boxlock has two-inch chambers instead of the 21⁄2" chambers customary for British game guns. Although a 12-gauge, the Stensby weighs only 51/4 pounds. It came into my possession last year, and I think it will be a superb grouse and woodcock gun. Ten years ago I owned a different two-inch 12. A Midland, it had 28-inch barrels-rare for a two-incher, most of which were made with 26-inch tubes.

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