Bentley Model 30: A pump action 12 gauge shotgun

The Bentley is another trade name of the Philippine Company of Squires Bingham. The Bentley Model 30 is the basic term for three quite distinctly different models. The company has become widely known for its cheap Squires Bingham M16 rimfire rifle.

Design

The Bentley Model 30 Standard is a conventional hunting slide-action gun, rather long in the barrel but otherwise unremarkable. The length of the barrel does give it a useful long-range capability, which may well be useful on its home ground. The stock and fore-end are of figured Phillippine mahogany, oil finished, while the receiver and barrel are blacked and polished, the bolt showing an engine-turned finish through the ejection port. The action is a normal slide, a tilting bolt locking into the roof of the receiver. The standard form of barre is with full choke, but a 26 in barrel bored improved cylinder or a 28 in modified choke can be obtained to special order.

The Bentley Model 30 Skeet has the same mechanism but uses a 24 in barrel, with a muzzle compensator and a special “skeet choke” designed to get the optimum pattern at skeet ranges. The finish is to a higher standard than on the hunting gun, with a polished and varnished surface to the woodwork, a more hand-filling fore-end, and checkering on the pistol grip and fore-end. This appears to be a very handy gun for rapid movement, and the muzzle compensator would diminish the throw-off and blast from such a short barrel.

The third model is somewhat specialized, the Bentley Model 30 Riot. In general, this resembles the hunting gun, with plain stock and fore-end (though with vertical ribbing to assist grip) but with a shorter 20 in a barrel which is cylindrical bored. This also has sling swivels on the butt and magazine tube nose to permit it to be carried slung.

All three Bentley guns are soundly made of good material and would appear to be good working guns in their particular roles.

Technical specifications