Information Required

MrFoxman360

Does any one have any information on a gun I recently aquired. Its a Gunmark Kestral, no idea what model, side by side 12g shot gun.
My late uncle used to own and bought it new some time in the seventies. Where were or are these guns made and was it a quality gun or a cheapy "made in china" type thing.
The gun is around 40 years old and hasn't been fired since the eighties. As a result the gun was quite grubby and rusty (unfortunatly) when I got it. I cleaned it up pretty well and both barrells are farly clean and shiny, however there is a couple of pits on the inside of the left barrell, about a few mm long each. The right barrell is perfect. Is this gun safe to use or should i get a proffessional opinion first

Clare gunner

Gunmark,if I remember rightly,was a pretty big wholesale buyer,and dealer to the public.Dunno if they are still around.Wouldnt say they would have bought crud,but it isnt a bespoke handmade piece either.:) More than likely a Spanish job,and there is nothing wrong with them at all.
In fact some of their guns can match London guns in finish and feel at a quater of the price.So by and large a good solid gun.
Sounds like it is suffering a guns second worst enrmy after politicans,:rolleyes: rust.
So long as the pitting isnt really deep,or you cant see any micro cracking around the pits,in the areainside or outside where you think the pitting is.Measure in with a tape measure to the pits,then outside on the barrel.Check that area with a magnifying glass.You should be all right.
So long a big hunks of flake rust arent falling off it,and it wasnt stored semi submerged for 20 years in water.,it is quite ok for a gun to have some surface rust,usually caused by improper storage.

Hezz700

Gunmark are now known as GMK they are the main uk importers of Beretta, Lanber, Franchi, Sako, Tikka and many more. you can contact them at www.gmk.co.uk

Hopfully this will help:)

Hezz

MrFoxman360

You reckon a gun with pits in the barrell will have more of a kick off it?

Rosahane

I used to own a Gunmark Kestrel back in the eighties:cool:

It was basically the entry level Gunmark model. If I remember correctly the next one up was the "Sable" which was the equivalent of an Aya No 4. The Kestrel was a pretty good gun back in those poverty stricken times and if it's still in good now is far superior to a lot of the rubbish from Turkey that's in the shops nowadays. It was made in Spain and cost about £400 then, which was quite a lot - believe me:eek:

I traded mine in for a rifle when I also inherited a nice english gun from an uncle.

Clare gunner

MrFoxman360 wrote:

You reckon a gun with pits in the barrell will have more of a kick off it?

Nope!:D

astraboy

My dad has a Kestrel, its about 30 years old he says. Its fired the odd weekend now by me or him hunting, but it was not used for nearly 3 years at one stage until I grew old enough to get into shooting myself. For its age it is in great condition, no rust. Its a Side by side. I think it cost 80 pounds back in the day according to the old man!:D I like it, grand light gun. How much would a good condition one be worth these days?

Double Barrel

"Kestrel" is a line of side by sides manufactured by the Basque gunmaker Zabala Hermanos.

The manufacturer mark ( ZH in an ovel etc.) is stamped under the chambers on the barrel flats and also the receiver - on the water table.
http://web.jet.es/rafa/b_punzones_larga_lisa.html

Banjax

The kestrel is the best thing Zabala ever made in my opinion, and they did it based on design and instructions from Gunmark.

The pricing seems to vary a lot, I've seen them for 300€ and I've seen them for 600€.
If I was in the market for another game gun, I'd definatly give consideration to a Kestral in good order.