For the first time ever, a rising third bite action has been paired with a side-lever over/under format. The new gun – produced first in a trio of 16-bores for a European customer – joins Boss & Co’s 1812 Edition family of guns that utilize a purpose-built bespoke ambidextrous side-lever action with a lever for the left side of the gun and a lever for the right side. This unique set-up allows the gun to be easily adapted for either a right- or left-handed shooter by switching which side of the action the lever is affixed to.
Even before contemplating the addition of the third bite, Boss & Co. gunmakers discovered a vast array of difficulties in creating the 1812 Edition side-lever over-and-under and combining this complex side-lever action with a rising third bite was initially deemed impossible.
The Boss O/U was patented in 1909, long after the first era of side-levers. With the over/under design, many of its working parts obstruct the block on the trigger plate where the pivot pin for the side-lever fits. To overcome this, Boss gunmakers had to split the back-cocking slide and make an interrupted dovetail on the cocking arm of the single trigger – known by Boss as a “Barclay.” The gunmakers also changed the design and position of the side-lever spring, allowing more wood in the head of the stock. While this made it more difficult to build, it resolved the problem of a weak point in the stock.
After perfecting the over/under side-lever action, the challenges of incorporating the third bite had to be overcome. Traditionally, a Boss & Co. rising third bite action relies on a top lever to push the bite down to open the gun. But with no such lever on the 1812 Edition side-lever arrangement, there would have to be a new solution built that was beautiful, effective and precise.
Early technical drawings relied on a coil spring on a vertical post to create the tension needed to release the bite, however, the external screws and cover plates necessary to make the new addition fit compromised the beauty and elegance of a Boss gun. Going back to the drawing board, the team redesigned the action with a single leaf spring; a seemingly simple solution that provided the tension necessary without complex linkages. But that solution was far from simple. The space inside the action is so constrained that any small change has a number of knock-on effects to the lines of a Boss gun.
Incorporating the new spring while also maximizing the thickness of the stock was incredibly important to retain the strength of the gun. The team recessed the spring into the underneath of the strap, which not only kept more wood in the head of the stock, but also stopped the spring moving sideways and affecting the functioning of the gun and, over the course of three and a half years, the “impossible” O/U side-lever rising third bite action was brought to life.
