I have been wanting a 28 ga for a project for some time. I found one . A Crescent of all things. The serial # is 425* Crescent donated their records to the war effort but I heard someone here might know what year it was made. The barrels are not Damascus or twist steel. No proof marks. I am going to load for it,but I am having trouble find low pressure load data. Please don’t hate on the crescent. What can you tell me ? TIA

A hammer No. 28?



There is an estimated DOM by SN list here
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OxZo5Tkvx2G8eYf747QR9B5RJdN6Siu5JGIhfguSXXQ/edit

Hey DREW ,
Thanks for the response. IT APPEARS TO BE 1912 and nitro barrels. Now I’m try to figure out how to make a candle sooty to fit the locks in the doner stock.

How low do you want to go?
I have a load at 8005PSI.

Get a oiler type can with a fat base cut the spout make a cotton wick add kerosene with a little oil lots of black smoke

I only have a single turn-of-the-century 28g load pressure report
https://books.google.com/books?id=inQCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA325
3/4 oz.
28 gr. Bulk Smokeless (2 Dram) = 8,322 psi
18 gr. Dense Smokeless = 8,994 psi

Until the 20s Crescent barrels were Decarbonized Steel.
I've test 2 specimens
c. 1900 Crescent “Wilson’s Welded Steel” = Non-standard Bessemer (high phosphorus) low alloy low carbon steel AISI 1017 with tensile strength 66,000 psi
c. 1910 Meriden Fire Arms “Armory Steel” = Non-standard Bessemer rephosphorized low alloy low carbon steel AISI 1211 with tensile strength 71,500 psi
That would be more than Damascus, similar to Winchester Standard Ordnance (cold rolled) Steel and a bit less than Siemens-Martin

Those are some pretty heavy 28-gauge loads for the turn-of-the-century!! Up until the 1931 introduction of the 3/4 ounce progressive burning powder, high velocity, 28-gauge loads, the factory 28-gauge loads offered were 1 3/4-drams of bulk smokeless powder (or 14-grains dense smokeless powder such as Infallible or Ballistite) pushing 5/8-ounce of shot from the 2 1/2-inch shell or 2-drams of bulk smokeless powder (or 16-grains dense smokeless powder such as Infallible or Ballistite) pushing 5/8-ounce of shot from the 2 7/8-inch shell





RST offers a great little 2 1/2-inch, 5/8-ounce 28-gauge shell.

August, 1922 Outdoor Life
https://archive.org/details/sim_outdoor-life_1922-08_50_2/page/120/mode/2up
28 gauge Plus 10 - 14%
5/8 oz. 2 Dr. Eq. = 8,714 psi
3/4 oz. 2 Dr. Eq. = 10,259 psi
3/4 oz. 2 1/8 Dr. Eq. = 10,998 psi
7/8 oz. 2 Dr. Eq. = 12,387 psi

DuPont Brandywine Experimental Station data cited by Charles Askins in 1933
DuPont Bulk Smokeless Powder.
28g 2 Dr. Eq. 5/8 oz. = 10,438 psi

As to how low do I want to go. I want to make sure it does not separate or even buldge. If I’m not mistaken, it looks like I could shoot modern nitro loads up to 12000 max. Would that sound about right. 8000-9000 with LongShot and I should be able to get 1200 fps. I do appreciate all the help. Great reading 😁

For a cheap gun, the Crescent is a bit impressive. They used pretty good steel, the design was simple. I like the very simple cocking design. To make it cheap they lacked the fit and finish seen in more expensive guns. Some parts look like they were milled with a hardened corn cob, but I've seen that on other better makes also. I actually upgraded and refinished one for a friend and it turned out pretty nice. You just need to refit the parts, remove the tool marks, and replace the farm implement screws on the outer lock plates. A nice finish and new glass bedded wood and at first glance you might think it was a British gun! But just a lowly Crecent!

Crescents are interesting to me. Good barrels, low cost, with a myriad of names on them. I like them best in the condition nearly like they came out of the store. This 20 gauge was named Wyco, for Wyeth Hardware a company in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Fun researching the sporting goods and hardware stores that tradenamed Crescents; Daryl's "The Wyco" was by Wyeth Hdw., St. Joseph

Drew, those are great letterheads. I wonder if letters are used anym0re

I saw this posted several days ago, but didn't have time to reply. Frankly, I'm surprised that no one else questioned the wisdom of this.

I have little doubt that you could fire a lot of 12,000 psi modern nitro loads through sound Crescent barrels without damaging them. But you really need to think about the entire gun. And this is not to hate on Crescents or their many variants, or any other cheaper so-called Hardware Store gun. It is merely stating fact based evidence. If you spend a lot of time at gun shows and shops, you will soon see that for every closet-queen in nearly unfired condition, you will see hundreds more that are loose, broken, and otherwise beat to death. Many more of them are now sold in pieces and parts because they were deemed beyond repair, and not worth fixing. I see a lot of Crescent barrels being sold on Ebay etc., presumably because the rest of the gun was junked. The production numbers for a lot of these cheaper doubles were much higher than their better counterparts, but the attrition rate is also much higher. So considering that 28 gauge Crescents are fairly scarce, you should consider keeping both pressures and velocity on the lower side if you want it to last.

Even the best guns will wear out or fail with lots of use and abuse, but some guns simply stand the test of time better than others. This is largely because some were better designed, better built, and constructed of better materials. The Hardware Store guns get lower grades in all three areas. If you Hot-Rod any of them with inappropriate loads, something is going to fail, sooner than later. Remember, a million dollar Indy car engine is expected to last only about 10,000 miles. But many don't make it that long, because despite the very best materials, they are pushed to extreme limits. Formula One car engines last about 1/10 as long before rebuilding, for the same reason. And 1970's Chevy Vegas are seen less often than 1930's Model A Fords, because they were junk when they were brand new.