Hi all I recently acquired this Lindner 185 and was wondering who would specialize in restoring this beauty?

I'm not entirely sure also on the specifics of this gun it's a 12ga SXS. Any more info would be appreciated.

It seems as though someone has blued the receiver.

Please let me know your thoughts

Thanks!

That is one of the German makers that can meet the challenge of the English ones. I would make sure barrel solder joint are in good shape and if ok I would use the gun as is. No restoration/refinish is really needed.

I would like to have this exactly the way it was when it came from the original maker.

That being said do you feel the receiver is blued as I don't think that was the case from the factory?

The gun was originally color case hardened. If you care to about the options for restoring your gun, contact me. I usually recommend clients avoid re-haredning actions unless necessary. A French grey would look very nice on that receiver. The Daly guns by Lindner are wonderful and that one looks pretty clean over all besides the blued action.

Does anyone know what the value of this gun would happen to be?

The gun looks to be in reasonable condition, with the emphasis on "looks".

The fact that the receiver got blued makes it easy to imagine other foolish things might have been done, changing it from it's original configuration. What are the chokes, what is the bore like, what are the actual chambers and what are the minimum barrel wall thicknesses?

Hard to put a valuation on it without that kind of detailed, pertinent info. Go on gun broker and guns international and look for Lindner 12 gauge Empire grades and see what asking prices are. Then compare condition. You'll at least find out what some other owners THINK is a proper asking price.

It's trite, but they are only ever worth what someone will pay you for them.

I completely understand I was more inclined to try and understand the markets prices for these on average. Every gun is individually priced thereafter based on specifics but with no starting price it's hard to know what is accurate.

That being said why would you suggest to look up "Empire Grade"?

Is that what this was originally?

Oops. My mistake. When I was typing out my post I just had it in my head it was an Empire grade and did not double check the original post.

Edit to add: If it were my gun, I would first do my best to ascertain the actual condition of the gun. How original, how well cared for, what changes had been made. And not wishful thinking.

Then I would compare it to all the other Lindner hammerless I could find for sale, all grades, keeping in mind what we see are askings and reserves, usually. Hammer prices from recent auctions might be especially valuable. I say all grades because I would be trying to get a feel for the overall Lindner market, not just that for model 185's. Too narrow for good sample size.

Then I'd figure out where my gun fits in on the scale, balancing current condition with original quality.

Here's the current Lindner Daly discussion thread. Lot's of good Lindner info and discussion.

http://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=470491&page=1

If you don't mind, please post your pics into this thread.

You gun carries the second Lindner mark, second serialization number sequence (not counting the early Scott numbers) attributed to Heinrich. I suspect since it's #1594, it possibly has Damascus barrels that were blued over with the rest of the metalwork. I can't tell from the pics, have you looked it over carefully under magnification?

Regards
Ken

Where are you located? You need a good face to face look at this gun.

The barrel is actually marked "Krupp fluid Steel barrels"

Wouldn't that not be Damascus?

Yes, if it's marked "Krupp", it would certainly be fluid steel, and a more expensive option at the time. Fluid steel didn't really become common until after WWI, (only one Damascus maker restarted production for a short time after the war) which was after the Lindner era.

Regards
Ken

Your 185 Quality Lindner Daly was made in the 1907-08 time frame. The action, forearm iron and trigger guard were case hardened using the bone/charcoal method. The top lever was nitre blue. The barrel rib should say"Krupp fluid steel". All Damascus barreled Lindner's said "Fine Damascus" on the rib. I think Daly quit offering Damascus in 1901 or 1902. I hope that helps. These are truly wonderful guns. Good luck!
Cheers,
Jon

Thank you all for all of your help!

My goal since Lindner has been refinished is to bring it back to its former glory and original like finish.

I'll keep you posted as my journey begins

Interesting. If made in the 1907-08 time frame, that would put it in the "Ernst Lindner" era, as stated in the other thread that there was a major expansion around 1905 when he took the helm. Three generations of Lindners by that time.