doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Who is doing what research?

There are many names on guns that may or may not have been made by Lindner. These I consider custom makers and have retained that information. My jury is still out on who did what and where. Makers include but not limited to Schaefer, Donn, Golcher, Schmidt, Jakob and others. If they have a barrel number Ken has that info.

MP has been very generous in sharing his info.

I agree with MP that there are still many questions that need to be answered concerning how much work was actually done, or not done, on Lindner-marked guns sourced to other makers (Wm. Schaefer & son, Donn, etc.) The makers MP mentioned were just that - makers - so IMO it in not very likely that they just scratched their names on completed Lindner made guns looking to make a few bucks.

How far along in the finishing process these guns (or gun parts) were supplied to each maker is the one of many questions.

I would like to compare the engraving on my 16 gauge and 10 gauge Golcher hammer guns with similar Daly marked hammer guns to attempt to determine whether Lindner engraved these two guns. It is quite small scroll similar to Lindner work of the time. The horn butts are similar to Lindner work also. Thomas Golcher may have truly just engraved his name on a finished gun.

You are right Eightbore.

I wasn't as clear as I could have been in my message. I think that the amount of work done by the various "custom makers" in the US with Lindner-sourced guns likely varied quite a bit between makers and time periods.

For some "makers", except for the name on the side of the action or the rib, the guns are basically identical to what Lindner was sourcing for the likes of SD&G. However, other maker's Linnder sourced guns show more custom or finishing work, to include engraving.

Ken

I need to retrieve the four Golcher guns from California. I had sent them as teaching tools at the Las Vegas show a couple of years ago.
Without them at hand, it is difficult to tell, but would say that the T L Golcher 10 gauge very high grade just may be a Lindner with Golcher's name on it. I will say that the engraving is about as good as it gets and few American guns of that era had such fine work. Everything about the gun shouts Lindner but the name on it.
Golcher was a very young man when the gun was built. No question that he was very talented as a gun maker, but whence came the master engraver in Phila. at that time?
So many questions!!!! Keeps us young---the quest. I feel 60 again !!!LOL
Best,
John

The first Flayderman catalog No 103 date unknown that I picked up has a collection of guns from the Ithaca Company including experimental and factory cut-aways, do you have this info?

What does the NRA do with donated material that is so bad? Improper storage? Not sharing?

I’ve been a NRA member for forty years and believe that all firearms owners should be a NRA member to protect your rights to own a firearm. I have all the American Rifleman magazines save the last twenty years that I just pitched, with another twenty to go. Reading and studying the older AR early on led me to believe that they, the NRA was were the historical knowledge was. I remember my first letter to them asking about a well known historical figure in the shooting world, they never heard of the guy. Over the years from time to time when I’m stuck looking for answers I write them. I don’t believe that I ever got an answer that amounted to anything. First I thought they had so many request that they were just overwhelmed, and then I thought that it was a closed organization where only the insiders got help. I now believe that they just don’t know much or don’t know how to find the information. I do not believe that they even have an index of their older magazines like “Arms and the Man” or AR and I don’t believe that they have a complete collection of the magazines. This hit home when the Museum was in DC and a staff member called me and asks for me to look something up in an older NRA magazine.

Whatever the reason, they are not able to help people who do firearms related research so my stuff will go where it will be available to others.

Mike, I agree with your thoughts. It is a problem, but maybe expected, that these big "national" organizations become "home" for employees. Not necessarily employees that have an interest or knowledge in the organization, but just people who have "jobs" to pay for their kids and who go home after work and mow the grass. They do not have the love and interest in the guns lots of us have------------understandably so. I suppose the various societies that are named for preventing various diseases are, and have to be, stocked with people that are not really part of the disease stopping, but just earning a living. I would like to think that that NRA was different, but really not so. Too bad. We are lucky the internet and this BBS came along. What do you want to know ? I may not know it, but chances are someone reading this site may know something about the subject or someone who does know.

If I needed anything from the NRA archives, I would drive over there and make an appointment to go into the stacks. I don't think there is anyone over there that will go into the stacks for me. I have been generously "let in" for minor research but it is just far enough away from home that I don't do it on a regular basis. If I thought there was something over there that would benefit us, I would volunteer to work in the stacks a certain number of days or hours per week. However, I think some of us have more research material at home than NRA does at Oakton. They do have an "inventory" but I doubt it is up to date as pertains to missing items or missing issues of periodicals. Does anyone have any idea what we should be looking for if access were fairly open? Let me know and maybe I can check it out. Bill Murphy