doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Colt 1883 info please

Daryl, Good eye and valid points. Especially the engraving. "Those dogs don't hunt". They sure don't look like Colt to me. But what about those screw slot head pins in the corner of both guns . I beleive mine is original but it only has a standard pin. Never say never...original or not???

While we're on the subject-can anyone identify this mark?

Hammerback, all of my 1883s have the screw head on the lower right side.

Open mouth, insert foot. I was going on memory when I spoke. So I went to the safe to look. Screw head in corner.....original. Paul

I just got an email from Kathleen Hoyt,the Colt Firearms Historian. She has stated that "The Colt Model 1883 shotguns were all made at the Colt factory".
Jim

Using high quality damascus barrels made in Belgium
From http://heuse.spahistoire.info/henriheuse.html

I calculated our business since the year 1890 and I noted that we had bought franks for the sum of 2.150.000 dollars which we paid in Lochet, to my uncle (Henri Heuse) and with Plunger-Riga wire. I did not calculate the franks which we received for this sum (according to theCommunal one of Brussels, this sum corresponds to 2.305.616.614 franks in 1993)... the Colt fire Arms Co of Hartford Con bought the Damas most expensive like crollés and the Turkish Damas with six blades. When the Germans destroyed the manufacture of the Damas guns, that was a calamity for Nessonvaux. My dad is the man who bought the most Damas guns, he sold some more, all alone, which all others together. They are Riga which put the Damas gun forces some here...

Drew:
I'll pass this information back to Kathy Hoyt. I always thought the example I had was fitted with extremely fine barrels and I guess the above explains why
Jim

Daryl, thank you for the correction.

As to where the Colts were made, I'm not surprised that the barrels were Belgian. I believe even the Brits imported some of their damascus barrels, and all the Americans did, didn't they? Has it ever been established that damascus barrels were ever produced in quantity in the U.S.?

When I asked the question in the first place, I was thinking more about the actions, and could swear I've read speculation that Colt imported actions begun in Birmingham and then engraved, fitted barrels and stocked them stateside ... more of a Chas. Daly approach, except that, worried about their reputation, Colt tried hard to create the impression they built them from scratch, just like their handguns ... hugely successful worldwide and undeniably American-built. Then again, maybe I'm thinking of the 1878s or something. Any other thoughts on this? TT

TT,

You are correct to include the key word "quantity". Forge welded damascus has been produced in the US for a long time. But never in any verifiable quantity. I know Semmer claims that Remington was doing it, but that is speculation.

There are still a very few custom muzzle loader makers who can produce damascus, but none use the methods that the best English, Belgian, Italian, French and German makers were using 80+ years ago.

Yes, some English makers used Belgian barrels. Mostly toward the end of the damascus era. While we can trace many barrels on American guns to Belgium, others show up as well, especially English.

Unfortunately, the family antedote that Drew quoted is as close as we have come to actual data, except for makers marks on barrels. The customs house in Belgium once contained all this information, but the records were destroyed by war and flood over the years. There are only a few journals held by museums in Belgium that quote some of those records. Perhaps some day a researcher will take up the challenge.

Pete