Help me identify shotgun

K

Kevin the grey

Joined
Aug 26, 2005
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I was admiring my buddies never fired shotgun and so of course he gave it to me .! Double barelled .side by each , 12 gauge . About 30 inch barells . No makers name , no gauge , no identification whatsoever . My buddy told me look under the forestock . A very nicely curved , carved forestock . There might have been a couple of randomly spaced poorly stamped numbers though they looked more like slight imperfections in the barell . The only singularity about this shotgun is a hound engraved on one side and a rabbit engraved on the other . The fact that there is no serial number on it is proabably of consequence to the government but thats always negotiable . The fact that there is no gauge identification or if its a magnum or not is of more consequence to a novice who might put 3 and a half inch shells in a 3 inch shotgun . Can we say oops! Anybody got an idea as to its origins and value .
 
Any pics?

Shells over chambered size USUALLY won't go in and let the gun close fully. very unlikely it is a 3", prob. 2 3/4 or even 2 1/2 if perchance it could be of English origin..

No SN no problem prior to GCA of 1968.

Value? very hard to say...

Original? refiished? restored? All will affect the value.

Do you like it?

pricelss, since from a friend...

:)


No known maker means maybe not a ton of value.

get it checked by a good gunsmith before taking her out! They can tell you gauge, shell length, etc.

Must have some pics!

Likely won't help, but you have our curiosity up now!

Tom
 
Sorry no digital so no pics . As you say it is of value because it is from a friend . I still like to know what I,m dealing with . The only thing fancy at all about this gun is the engravings and the carved slightly curved forestock . Seeing as its the first shotgun I,ve owned that I,ll be able to get off more than one shot in a reasonable time frame its pretty well priceless to me .
 
Savage, Stevens, Springfield, Wards, Hercules, LeFevre....pick one....

Back in the day (have you noticed how this has become a popular saying?), gun manufacturers were less scrupulous about marking their comodity shotguns.

Without a picture, you won't have much luck identifying it online. WITH a picture, there are double-barrel/drilling forums that have guys who know the molecular structure of the first shotgun ever made, and all subsequent developments.

Good luck.
 
You know , not that this manufacturer would have a patent on engravings of a hound on one side and a rabbit on the other I thought that while not being unique is certainly a remarkable engraving .
 
Just another word of caution: Double check to make sure whether the barrels are made from damascus or laminated steel. Sometimes they can aquire a deep patina making the pattern hard to see. Either way, without knowing more, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FIRE IT. Though of course you probably already knew that. There is a possibility that it has the older 2 1/2" chambers, and even light modern 2 3/4 shells could blow it up. Just because they chamber, does not in any way mean the shells will work. The shell length (i.e., 2 3/4", 3", etc.) is measured after the shell is opened up after firing. A 3" shell may fit fine, but when the crimp opens up upon firing, it won't have room.

My advice: Just take it to the nearest gunsmith. They could probably tell you all this information, and probably even a rough guess on monetary value just by taking a good look at it in hand.
 
Tere isn,t all that many gunsmiths around me . THe govmint is even trying to ban all handguns here . there is a gunshow that comes once a year I might try something there .
 
If it's an old Lafever your ship just came in.


Take it to a gunsmith to be checked out.



munk
 
Yeah , I,ll proabably get it to a gunsmith one day . They are not too big on transporting unregistered firearms up here . Of course the only way I can register it is to transport it ! Ah Life in the big city ! LO:L
 
PICTURES...

Pictures of an old shotgun can not be illegal...can they?

Take shots of all marks, under the fore-arm, on the barrel near the receiver, on the sides...even goofy gouges.

Also, maybe...just maybe...look in the stock, under the buttplate. There is a long, narrow chamber there for affixing the stock. I have put my name, place of residence, and date I got the gun on a card in all the long guns I have...a small piece of their respective histories for someone else to find. Maybe yours will have something.

Good luck.
 
Go to Harley's Nolden's forum at TheHighRoad.org. I'd give you a 60% chance someone can identify your shotgun, if the engravings were a consistent maker's mark.

John
 
I'd follow Kismet's and Spectre's advise. I don't think a reputable guess can be made from what is available right now.

I'm leaning off brand, maybe even an old import, but what do I know? Almost nothing about Doubles. I owned one once.

munk
 
Yeah well my theory is the more pictures I take the less I am shooting my bow ! L:O:L On the serious side there are parts of two disposable cameras three feet from my hand as we speak . My dog ate the one that had the picture of my first deer on it ! @#$$%^^&^%$##$$$$. I still have the dog though we did have a chat . Its a good thing he is a malamute and can hold his own ! We have an alliance . He will tolerate my admonitions with the clear understanding that he is allowing himself to be admonished ." I could eat you but I choose not to" seems to be in his eyes at moments like that . The other camera is full and has been sitting there for two years . It even has free developing ! I guess I,m just not a big fan of photography .
I do like those little digitals they have out these days . Munk I think you are right Kismet and Spectre have some good suggestions . B:T:W: this is a hammerless shotgun if that narrows her down any farther . Thats good advice to check under the buttplate all over whatever easily comes apart . The funny thing is that while not looking like a top end gun it still looks very well made . You,d think a manufacturer would consider it an honor and good business to identify well made wares .
 
OK..."my dog ate it" Kevin...

quicker way to find out....

Take the shotgun and run through the busiest streets in the closest city to your home, yelling..."no more two Canadas!!!"

You will find folks who know about shotguns, almost immediately, AND make some new friends.
 
Kismet I already met several "friends like that . I,m in the province under discussion . I was invited to a blackpowder shoot . It was kinda a private club with their own agendas . I don,t have a smokepole but they had several boys with tipis selling blacksmithed items and demonstrating bows ,throwing knives and hawks . It was all grits and gravy until they discovered I spoke that other language . Most folks is just folks . It just takes one or two to start mentioning the past and all the grievances . Not that it would ever go that way but its a funny feeling being armed with a bow and arrow among a whole buncha riflemen . Thirty to one isn,t the best odds in anyones books . Its a good thing I learned over the years that the ones who talk the most do the least . There was a couple of quiet ones . Whenever I am in a situation like that I remember the words of one of my corporals who said that no matter where you are act like a representative of your country and you,ll mostly do O:K:
 
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