BENTLEY & PLAYFAIR 375 FLANGED NE *** RE-RUN ***

Hello All,

I'm sure many of you have read Biebs' original posts, here on this forum and in the classifieds, telling about his newly acquired Bentley & Playfair 375 NE Double Rifle. Therefore, this post is somewhat of a "re-run" with additional info and pictures.

As you may have guessed from my previous posts, I just can't resist a rifle with a story. So, thanks to Biebs (he did "play fair") this one has now come to live with me in Wisconsin. Although described and pictured as a rifle with muted details from restoration, the work was very well done with most markings remaining. The full coverage Engraving remains very pleasing, and shows only slight thinning in a few places. As it turns out, this is a much finer Double Rifle than I had expected. And, the wood is stunning!

As always, your comments are welcome.


Here are the specs;

Bentley & Playfair 375 x 2-1/2" Flanged NE
Built in 1931
Weight = 10 lbs 6 ounces
LOP = 13-7/8"
Barrel Length 26" - Krupp Fluid Steel
Rear Sights = 1 Standing on Matted Quarter Rib
Extractors
Chopper-lump Barrels
Rib Extension with Doll's Head
Reinforced Frame
Full Vine & Scroll Engraving
Bushed Firing Pins
Deluxe Wood
Splinter Forearm w/ Pivot Release
Letter Monogram "Tad" on Bottom of Stock Behind Grip
Sling Eyes
Solid Hard Rubber White-Line Recoil Pad


Markings as follows;

Barrel Bottoms marked - "GUSSSTAHL KRUPP ESSEN" - "74678"
Barrel Block marked - "375 EX " - "CORDITE 40-270 MAX" - "Nitro-Proof" - various British Proofs
Water-table marked - "74678" - "Bentley Playfair Trademark" - various British Proofs

The History of this rifle is most interesting to say the least. It came with 2 signed letters from LTC Joseph F. Gregory. Those being; a letter of Provenance, and a Bill of Sale. These letters state that the rifle was gifted to LTC Joseph F. Gregory, Senior Weapons Advisor, U.S. Dept of State, from General Loan, (pronounced 'low-ann') Director General, National Police, Vietnam 1968.

Although this rifle came up for auction 2 times in less than a month, no specific details were given about General Loan. (see pictures below - *note the miss-information in the second auction listing) I dropped out of the bidding in both auctions, without success. Only after the rifle was offered here in the "classifieds" section, did General Loan's infamous History come to be known. All those of the age of the Vietnam War era, like myself, remember the newscast and live footage of this iconic event. If I had simply taken the time to Google "General Loan, Vietnam War", I would have found the information, and likely would have stayed in the bidding and won the first auction. = https://www.google.com/search?.......0i71.jhW7p_mFdFc

The shocking Photo taken by Associated Press Photographer Eddie Adams, soon took on a life of its own. It fueled the massive anti-war movement in the U.S. and became its' symbol. The iconic photo won a Pulitzer Prize in 1969 for Spot News Photography. However, Eddie Adams himself said many times that he regretted that the photo did not really tell the "complete" story, and that by taking it, he unintentionally scarred General Loan's reputation for the rest of his life. In fact, Adam's actually admitted publicly, that he wished he had never taken the photo in the first place.

Here's the story that the photo didn't tell;

"....The captured Viet Cong was disguised in civilian clothes and had just cut the throats of a South Vietnamese Officer, his wife, their six children, and the Officer’s 80-year-old mother. That Officer was under General Loan's command, and was one of his very close friends. His family was only one of many Officer's families that were butchered that night by this captured Viet Cong and his murderous band just hours before...."

I'm continuing to research LTC Joseph F. Gregory. So far I've found very little, only a record of his Pistol competition at Camp Perry in 1957. Interestingly, according to the Bill of Sale that accompanied this rifle, the second owner was "T.A. Darnall. It was he, nicknamed "Tad", that had his initials engraved on the rifles' brass escutcheon after purchasing it from Gregory.

Telling the History of this Double Rifle at various future Gun Shows here in the upper Mid-West will be most enjoyable. I fired a dozen rounds today with some old hand-loads loaded for my Westley Richards just to test for feel & function. They were loaded with 300g Hornady SPBT bullets loaded with 41.5g 3031 - they shot about 4" - 5" wide at 50 yds. The first 6 shots measured velocities were an incredible; 1821 - 1823 - 1823 - 1824 - 1821 - 1822 fps - total spread of 3 feet per second - WOW! The rifle was a pleasure to shoot with no perceivable adverse recoil. Next I will taylor some loads specifically for this rifle using some 270g bullets. I'll post the information with targets in the near future.

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FIRST AUCTION LISTING


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SECOND AUCTION LISTING

Excellent! and a great pedigree as well! Well done, Stix!

Stix, next you need to take on my Alessandri 12 bore. There's some history there waiting to be discovered :-)

Just watched "The Vietnam War in HD" series on the History Channel two days ago! What a connection with this double rifle in 375 Flanged!

Interesting the mention of Issac Hollis and Son. While it is different from A. Hollis and Son, perhaps the rifle was a Harry Leonard made rifle? Would love to see the under rib for a Leonard number.

Hello jorge,

Thanks for the reply.

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Hello Biebs,

Thanks for the reply. - perhaps ?

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Hello Use Enough Gun.

Thanks for the reply. - I just watched the 2-hour episode on the Tet offensive, and they showed the film of the execution.

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Hello Rusty,

Thanks for the reply.

The only number on the under-rib is; 74678 the serial number;

As far as markings go, I'd be curious to know if anyone has ever before seen the trademark that's stamped on the water-table. It looks like a combination of a backward facing "B" attached to a "P" inside the circle formed by the words "REGISTERED TRADE MARK".

Love General Loan. Not afraid to administer justice, which was well deserved in that situation. I wonder what he took with that double? Wish it could talk to us.

quote:

Originally posted by Dutch44:
Love General Loan. Not afraid to administer justice, which was well deserved in that situation. I wonder what he took with that double? Wish it could talk to us.

Hello Dutch44,

Thanks for the reply.

I also wonder what General Loan shot with this double, .... animals ... or ...animals...?

Did General L. own this double or only present it to the former owner? Perhaps he got it from elsewhere. However, in the General did own it, Biebs sold it too cheap.
Cal

quote:

Originally posted by cal pappas:
Did General L. own this double or only present it to the former owner? Perhaps he got it from elsewhere. However, in the General did own it, Biebs sold it too cheap.
Cal

Hello Cal,

Thanks for the reply.


Chain of ownership is as follows:


owned by: General Loan, likely liberated from a French Colonist

gift to: LTC Joseph F. Gregory, 1968


sold to: Thomas Ashton Darnell, Aug 22, 1975 - sent to RIA July, 2018 by the Darnell family


auctioned by: RIA, Sept 8, 2018 - sold to dealer Commonwealth Arsenal


auctioned by: Commonwealth Arsenal, Sept 27, 22018 - sold to Biebs

sold to: Buck Stix, Nov 1, 2018

hoarded by: Buck Stix and added to his collection of guns with stories

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