Quoted: www.pugsguns.com/content/pictures/3134.jpg
is that it?
www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=169
or this?
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Nope - it doesn't appear to be either of those... I found the following, which seems to shed a little light on the subject:
"I have two H&D Folsom catalogues. Catalogue No. 18 calls their low priced guns American Gun Co. Machine Made Hammer (or Hammerless) Guns. At the time of this catalogue the No. 0 hammer gun for $25 was made in 12-, 16- or 20-gauge, as was the No. 6 Knickerbocker Hammerless for $30. There was also a small-bore hammer gun called "Midget Field Model" for $28 -- No. 28 in 28-gauge and No. 44 for the .44XL shot cartridges or .410-bore shells. "One gun takes both sizes." In the parts section it shows coil-spring locks for both the hammer and hammerless models.
By Catalogue No. 25 H&D Folsom are calling their low-priced line Crescent Guns. This is a big catalogue like a Stoegers and includes other makers guns. The NID Model Ithaca is shown, so I guess that puts it 1926 or later. In the Crescent hammerless line there is the No. 60 "Empire" hammerless with plain uncheckered half-pistol grip wood for $23 in 12-, 16- or 20-gauges and .410-bore.
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There is the No. 6 "Peerless" (The Old Knickerbocker Improved) in 12- , 16-, and 20-gauges, with checkered wood, a capped pistol grip, and a Deeley & Edge lever forearm for $24.
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Then there is the No. 66 -- 410 GAUGE QUAIL MODEL with capped pistol grip, checkered wood, Deeley & Edge forearm lever, and also priced at $24. The breech ends of the .410-bore barrels are flared out like a bell to match the likely 20-gauge breechballs of the action it is built on. My family use to own one of this style that was marked "Quail Hammerless" on one lock and Crescent Fire-Arms Co. on the other, but it was stolen back in the early 1970s. It had been bored out for 3-inch shells and I shot a few Doves with it.
Finally, I have a flyer for Crescent Guns for 1930 which shows three hammerless double models. The "New Empire"--(No. 88) for $23.50 with a capped pistol grip, checkered wood, a Jostam Hy-Gun recoil pad and twin white sights. The "New Empire"--(No. 9) for $18.75 with a capped pistol grip, checkered wood, a "Distinctive Maroon Color" butt plate and a white front sight. The "Empire"--(No. 60) for $17.75, had a plain half-pistol grip stock and a brass front sight.
I got one of these guns in .410-bore about 22 years ago down at the Roanoke, Virginia, gun show. It is marked "New Empire" on the left lock plate and Crescent Fire-Arms Co., Norwich, Conn, U.S.A. on the right. It has the "Distinctive Maroon Color" butt plate and two white sights. The gun is in very high condition and has 3-inch chambers. On this gun the breech ends of the barrels are very heavy all through the chamber area and the gun weighs 6 pounds 2.3 ounces. The forearm is of the snap-on/off style with a sprin-loaded plunger bearing against the loop like a Parker Bros. Trojan or an early Sterlingworth. The locks on this gun are powered by a V-Spring, which really appears to be just a bent piece of spring wire."
So far, that's the best description I've found of this shotgun - it appears to be a Crescent Arms Peerless... I'm picking it up next week, for the price of $50... I figure that with a bit of wood repair and cleanup, it'll make a nice addition to my modest "collection", for not all that much money - and *should* be safe enough for a bit of bird hunting...
Thanks for the input, everyone...
- georgestrings