doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Baker vs. Lefever or LC Smith

I've never owned a Baker, but from the ones I've handled and seen, they appear to be well made guns that compare favorably to Lefevers and Smiths, especially in the higher grades. I'm curious why they didn't develop a stronger reputation and wider following?

I have a Baker Batavia Leader Folsom gun apart right now; fairly simple lock design like the Elsies which means fewer parts to break.

"Well made"? Look at the size of that reinforceing lug/wedge. Strong atleast. 12 ga. 7 lb 13 oz. 30"

I've collected and researched Bakers for quite a while and I agree with you that they compare favorably quality-wise with the other big name American doubles of the time. In my opinion they fell short in sales largely due to a lack of strong and consistent leadership for the firearm making portion of the Baker Gun & Forging Company.

If you look at the history of the company you will see multiple changes in leadership from about 1898 through its sale to Folsom in 1919. To go along with those changes, there seemed to be little consistency in their direction as well with models changing names or models being dropped and others being introduced too frequently (IMHO). But more than the inconsistent nature of their lineup, I think they faltered because they didn't seem to market themselves as aggressively as the other big makers.

That is an excellant, well considered reply, BPFischer. Covered everything I would have said on the subject.

Thanks Researcher! That's a very big compliment coming from you.

It's truly a shame that Baker didn't put more emphasis on the gun making portion of their operation. I get the feeling from everything I've been able to dig up on Baker G&FCo that firearms was always secondary to the forging/part manufacturing side of the business. If they had concentrated more resources on their shotguns then it's hard telling just how much of an impact they may have had on the industry.

Pretty good CC on the bottom of this old Baker I have apart?

Very nice!

Baker case colors seem to be some of the most vibrant and resilient CC that I've seen on vintage guns, especially on their Batavia line of shotguns. I'm not sure what they did differently, but the blues, oranges, etc of their CC really hold up well and the colors and hues really pop out on the guns that exhibit most/all of their original finish.

The Folsom made Batavia Leaders seem to possess this same quality as well.

Were the Baker reinforcing lugs add on extras? I haven't seen them on other Bakers I have seen so far.

No, the reinforcing or "draw" lug was only used on the Baker line of shotguns. Baker Gun & Forging Co's Batavia line of shotguns didn't get fitted with this feature or the hammer block safety.

Edit - Sorry, I think I misunderstood what you were asking. I've seen some Baker made guns with that reinforcing and some without. The ones I've seen that have had it weren't as "beefy" as the example you have pictured above.

There was some discussion of the Baker case colors. My experience is that the case colors used by Baker Gun and Forging Co. were all very pretty, and wore quite well. Especially on the Paragon and higher grades by BGFCo, when the case colors faded, the receivers looked almost plated.

On the Folsom guns, the case colors were different and were more "showy". Even on the lower grade Batavia Leader the case colors seemed to wear very well, even better than the BGFCo. guns. We see an inordinant amount of bright vibrant case colors on the Folsom Batavia Leaders today, but rarely see vibrant case colors on the BGFCo Batavia Leaders.