Marc
Can't tell much about your SAC gun from the single pic except that, from the safety slide, this example would be 1902 production or later (would be late 1903 or 1904 if it has the sliding cocking plate feature). SAC first cataloged its 16-bore gun in 1901, and the 16 was listed as being available in all hammerless grades 00 thru D from that point until production ceased. Based on my research, high-grade SAC 16 bores seem to be quite uncommon however; as I've recorded maybe a half-dozen A grades, 0 A-1 Special Trap Grades, 2 B Grades, 0 C Grades, and 2 D Grades(1902 was the catalog date for the SAC twenty but SAC 20 bores of any grade are REAL uncommon, as that bore size was only cataloged as available in grades 2, 3, A, and A-1; and only then with auto-ejectors, which option I'm sure further limited production. Cataloged 16 gauge barrel lengths were 26, 28, and 30"; and I don't recall weights off the cuff just now, but period ads claim the SAC 16 was made on a true 16 gauge frame. I recently stumbled into a 1903/04 vintage 16-bore SAC gun with ejectors and the on/off device with factory original 26" Damascus barrels. The gun remains tight as a tick with mint bores; but original finishes leave much to be desired. One of the very first SAC guns I ever owned was a 16-bore AE with 30" Krupp barrels that I got from the Klunkermiester, our dearly departed friend Rupp Ruppell. The barrels on that gun had survived in outstanding condition; but stocks were a glued together mess and it had been carried so much that the engraving was barely legible. Talk about durability; that gun must've been fired a million times! I traded the gun off, as it would have been far to costly to restore; but I sure wish I still had those barrels knowing what I know now! As to your comment on durability, as a layman shooter/collector (I don't remotely pretend to be a gun mechanic); I'm convinced that the SAC gun was as good, and in many cases better than its other period domestic competition while it was in production from 1893 into 1905 with the possible exception of the LC Smith. SAC was no excetion when it came to making improvements to their gun (which is why I've classified SAC guns from different prodcution periods as distinct models), but with the exception of the Smith gun (which rotary locking bolt was never changed and frame size actually reduced in 1907) practically all period American makers were quite busy introducing a redesigned gun, improved bolting devices, and/or reinforced frames and stock inletting intended to improve the durability of their gun during the 12 year production run of the SAC gun.
