I recently purchased this shotgun on Auction Arms in a weak moment, more out of curiosity than anything else. I received it this afternoon and was taking it apart to fix the cracked stock and I noticed that the back action locks are very heavily curved to slim down the stock. Was this a typical trait on back action guns of this period? Aside from the damage, it is a nice quality gun and the price didn't seem too bad for it. I did note that it appears to be a 13 or 14 gauge rather than the 12 posted.
I'm guessing the date to be 1850's, any other ideas?
http://www.auctionarms.com/Closed/DisplayItem.cfm?ItemNum=8794399.0
