How many U. S. Company’s made side by side shotguns? Below are the ones that I know about.
Baker
CSMC
Colt
Ithaca
LC Smith
Lefever
Parker
Remington
Winchester
A.H Fox, Stevens/Savage, Iver Johnson, Harrington & Richardson, Crescent(under several other trade names). Probably some more I cannot think of at the moment.
JR
Hollenbeck, Hoffman, Owen, Syracuse, American Arms, Tobin, Ethan Allen, Clark & Sneider, Alexander McComas, Patrick Mullen, John Krider, Joseph Golcher, among others that I cant recall. I'm sure Halquist, Researcher and Reb87 have many more that we are leaving out.
Dustin
Baltimore Arms Company,Philadelphia Arms Company (Pre Ansley Fox), Ruger
Hollenbeck, Hoffman, Owen, Syracuse, American Arms, Tobin, Ethan Allen, Clark & Sneider, Alexander McComas, Patrick Mullen, John Krider, Joseph Golcher, among others that I cant recall. I'm sure Halquist, Researcher and Reb87 have many more that we are leaving out.
Dustin
Several of those are makers, such as William Schaefer, not companies. Not that it matters, but he did ask for companies.
JR
Great, there were a lot more than I realized
Don't care if they were a company, or not.
Thanks,
Buck2
Interesting post. If someone had asked me for a number before reading this, I would have said maybe 6.
Add Ithaca Classic Doubles.
Erik W That's why you are here, to learn.
Forehand
Which of these would you consider makers of low end or utility type only SxS’s?
I would think Stevens/Savage, Iver Johnson, Harrington & Richardson, would fit in this category.
Buck every one of those manufacturers made utility type shotguns but not low end. Most are excellent guns if you use them in the way they were meant to be used. They are not high volume competition guns to be instantly converted to take you into the Olympic trails or perfectly balanced English game guns to be used on high driven birds at a country estate hunt. They were guns built for the average American in an era where a lot if not most Americans could only afford to have one gun. It was used to hunt every species under the sun, protect a home and whatever, that’s all. Unadorned, but well made, and would last forever if used in the way it was intended.
Wasn't there one named Meridian?
Buck2,
Add a current maker - Galazan/Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturer.
Fox Gun Co., Balto., MD., U.S.A.
Lefever can really be broken down in to several companies -- Lefever & Ellis; Dangerfield & Lefever; Barber & Lefever; Nichols & Lefever; Lefever Arms Co.; D.M. Lefever & Sons, Syracuse, NY; D.M. Lefever Sons & Co., Syracuse, NY; D.M. Lefever Sons & Co., Defiance, Ohio; D.M. Lefever Arms Co., Defiance, Ohio; and D.M. Lefever Co., Bowling Green, Ohio.
Colton and later Union Fire Arms Co., Toledo, Ohio. Hollenbeck Gun Co. in West Virginia was mentioned previously, but that then became Three-Barrel Gun Co. and finally Royal Gun Co.
W.H. Davenport Arms Co. made some doubles as well as all their single barrels. Hopkins & Allen Arms Co.; Forehand & Wadsworth; Forehand Arms Co.; Whitney Safety Fire Arms Co.; Andrew Fyrberg & Sons Mfg. Co.; Torkelson (a couple of different companies); Parry Fire Arms Co., Ithaca, NY; Wilkes-Barre Gun Co.
I'm running down, someone else take up the list!!
When I was a 12 year old kid living in Illinois I made my own single barrel shotgun. I carved the stock out of a 2'X6" and used a length of 3/4" plumbing pipe for a barrel. I shot low brass trap loads through it. Does that count as a US made shotgun? Steve Thornhill Shotgun Company?
Steve
There are load of names in Appendix A of The Golden Age of Shotgunning by Bob Hinman. Some where makers others were just importers or points of gun sales and hunting/sporting paraphernalia.
Hopkins & Allen, Hunter Arms, Henry Arms Co., Fulton Arms.
Wow! Thats 50 something makers. I never would have thought it.
I would assume most of these were pre 1900?
Buck,
The Marlin Firearms Company; manufactured the LC Smith from '67-72 at their North Haven, CT manufacturing facility, also manufactured their Model 90 over/under for many years.
Didn't think Wilkes-Barre was going to show up there for a while. Dave is encyclopedic.
jack
for John Roberts, William Schaefer was a company with a fair stable of gunsmiths. Most of the actions started overseas, but all appeared to be finished in the U.S. Nimschke engraved many of them.
To the list you can add the following. Sorry I probably duplicated some.
Adolph, Hasdell, Donn, Three Barrel Gun Co, Royal Gun Co, Thomas Golcher and several other Golchers [Goulcher], Winchester, Boyd and Tyler, Abbey, Torkelson, Thomas ,Forehand, Daly, Kennedy, Green, Flues, Euterbrouk, Overbaugh, ----the list goes on
New Era Gunworks, William Read Of Boston, American Arms Company, & American Gun Company.
Four pages before Browning mentioned? Or have I missed it?
New Era were 'trade brand" guns made by Baker Gun & Forging Co., essentially a version of their box frame Batavia Hammerless.
Some were also made by Syracuse Arms Co.
April 20, 1901,
American Field.
Can't sneak anything past Researcher.
Dont want to forget the obvious makers like Winchester ,Remington, Savage, Stevens, I may have missed these being listed already, if I did, sorry!
Also there were a few Chicago makers-- TR Hasdell, E Thomas Jr, and others.
The Syracuse Arms Company also produced some trade guns marketed as "NEW ERA"; those guns have the SAC name and address atop the barrel and, even though they have the same frame profile as the Baker New Era guns, feature the Hollenbeck designed locks and his wide barrel lug.
Browning never made any shotguns in the US. I have seen the New Era marking on Baker built sidelocks. Also, there were two Baker guns. The early two and three barrel guns by the company that became LC Smith, and those that were made by the Baker Gun and Forging Company, later built by Folsom Arms.
Well then there was the W.H. Baker Gun from Lisle Center, NY. From where the LC Smith And Ithaca Gun Co., spawned.
American Gun Co was a Cresent brand name as I recall. Did anyone mention John Nichols, He made at least some on his own outside the partnership of Nichols & Lefever.
The gun factory in Norwich, Conn., was set up as Crescent Fire Arms Co. about 1892. About 1893, controlling interest was acquired by H&D Folsom Arms Co. of New York City. By early 1900, they were usint the American Gun Co. name.
H&D Folsom continued to use the American Gun Co. name until after WW-I --
By the mid-1920s they were using the Crescent Fire Arms Co. name again --
If ever there was thread to sticky as reference data, this would be it.
ANd there was a Nathaniel Green from Rochester, NY( I hope I got his first name correct.)
John Golcher, James Golcher, William Golcher, Thomas L Golcher, George W Golcher, William R Burkhard, Joseph Butler, Smith & Wesson
Pete
Which of these would you consider makers of low end or utility type only SxS’s?
I would think Stevens/Savage, Iver Johnson, Harrington & Richardson, would fit in this category.
Although all those named did make low end guns, Savage made the real Foxes after acquiring that company, and I think most people would probably not place the Iver Johnson Skeeter in the low end/utility category. Seems I recall H&R may have made some higher grade guns at one time, but I've never seen one that I can remember.
Emil Flues made some guns under his own name as well as designing the famous Flues model for Ithaca, but I guess he'd be more of a custom maker than a company.
The New Era name was also applied to the Batavia series sidelock such as the Batavia Leader , and Batavia Damascus.
"Seems I recall H&R may have made some higher grade guns at one time, but I've never seen one that I can remember."
Steve Quill had one at the Lefever tables at the Las vegas show this year.
Bob, H and R had the U.S. rights for the Anson and Deely pat. from approx. 1880-84. Their guns were very fine, but expensive. They could not sell enough of $150-300 guns , so gave up the rights.
