doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com hoffman arms single barrel 12 guage

I have a single barrel hoffman arms shotgun and know nothing about it. Any information would be helpful. I have a lot of pictures and they van be found here at the following link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28097485@N05/sets/72157626251907975/
Any information about the history and value of this firearm will be greatly appreciated..
[img]http://www.flickr.com/photos/28097485@N05/5569679605/in/set-72157626251907975/[/img]
[img]http://www.flickr.com/photos/28097485@N05/5570267484/in/set-72157626251907975/[/img]

There are a lot more photos on flickr, the link above should take you to them.. Thank you

That's an incredibly beautiful gun, "Ivan". Folks, cut and paste his link into a new window and see the artwork:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28097485@N05/sets/72157626251907975/

What I don't understand is with a gun showing so much artistry why is the interior of the lock so crude and also the lock inletting? It just doesn't jive.

Beautiful gun!

a nice gun indeed. Joe, look at the lock again...it is very high quality but has had a really poor replacement mainspring and maybe more done to it. The inletting also has had work after it left Hoffman. Once again....nice gun!

That was a beautiful shotgun but it appears some bubba has had his way with her, too bad.

I've seen some Hoffman Arms rifles and the workmanship was top notch.

I figured someone had messed up the inlet area, probably trying to gouge out the sidelplate. The main spring appears to be of the same era at the very least.
I have the shotgun in my posession and the owner is wants to sell it. I told him that this shotgun was beyond my perview and that I would do everything in my power to gather information about his shotgun. I've talked to a couple of historians and a few traders that deal with hoffmans, and noone has been able to even guess at the history and value. (beyond that it appears to be a hoffman.) The closest i've come is a picture of an old hoffman flyer that has a 20 gauge single barrel shotgun on it. You guys are my last hope before I have to tell the owner that I have no clue!!
Thank you all for the comments thus far. Ivan

A simple Google search. Here you go:
http://www.hoffmanarms.com/HoffmanHistory.html

The Hoffman Arms Company may not be well known to many 21st Century gun collectors and enthusiasts. They built some of the finest sporting guns of the early 20th Century and their work still stands up against the best more than eighty years later.

In the spring of 1923, Harry M. Snyder and a group of investors convinced Frank L. Hoffman to leave the Marine Corps and become General Manager of their new custom gun building venture. Initial capitalization was for $150,000 to build a modern shop in Cleveland, acquire the necessary tools and equipment, and hire some of the most talented and skilled workmen in the United States and from Canada and England. Eric Johnson, from Colt, was in charge of the barrel shop. John Dubiel worked on barrels, as well, but his real talent was in stockmaking. John Wright, of Holland and Holland in London, and his son came over to make stocks also. The intricately carved stocks of the early days were attributed to the elder Wright. William Doty was head of the Machine and Tool Department.

In June of 1923, the Hoffman Arms Company opened for business in a rented, second-floor shop at 174 East 27th Street, Cleveland, Ohio. A branch office was soon established at 25 Warren Street, New York City, and was run by Captain J.H. Portugal.

James V. Howe, initially a partner of Seymour Griffin, left Griffin and Howe in October of 1923 to join Hoffman Arms. He contributed with stockmaking, metal work, and designed the Howe-Whelen bolt sight. (According to the original in-shop sales/activity log, these sold for $25 in 1923.) Advertisements at the time announced "Mr. James V. Howe, formerly with Griffin and Howe, is a permanent member of our organization". Howe's "permanent member" status was actually only temporary and he soon left the firm.

Here is the contact info:
Shane Robinson
PO Box 172
Joplin, MO 64802
417-860-0315
shane@HoffmanArms.com

I bet he would love to hear from you.

Pete

Post a similar title on the "Classic Single Barrel Rifle" forum. There are Hoffman historians over there. A Hoffman single was a topic of conversation a year or two ago on some internet site, maybe this one.

It appears the top tang may have been broken at what looks like an extra screw. Hoffman shotguns usually came sourced from W C Scott in the 1920s and were finished up by Hoffman in the US.

Daryl looks to be correct, maybe even 2 extra screws and plate on the underside? The sear spring looks to be a replacement too. A nice old gun that has had a hard life.....I still like it though.

Any idea who "Tack-Hole Lee" is-was?????