doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com N.R. Davis&Son Expert?????

Hi All:

I have a gun that is marked
EXPERT. It is a 20 gauge, N.R. Davis & Sons Expert. Marked with:
DAVIS WARNER ARMS CORP
NORWICH,CONN

I think that it was manufactured circa 1917-1930. I have seen many Ajax guns that look like this gun but never an EXPERT. How much did this gun sell for back in the day?

If you need more information,kindly ask.


All of the best,


Franchi

From the 1926 Tryon catalog, courtesy of David Noreen. No Expert listed.



Davis HY-POWER chambered for 3" shells, kills ducks at 80 yds. Made in 12 gauge only, 30 and 32" barrels. Price $35.00.
Davis PREMIER made in 12-16 and 20 gauges. 26-28-30-32 inch barrels. Price $30.00.
Davis MAXIMIN, specially built and choked for short range and Target 70% at 35 yds. 12 ga.-24 in. barrels. 16 ga.-22 in. barrels. 20 ga.-20 in. barrels. Record of 21 successive wing shots and 21 killings have been made with one of these guns. Price $30.00. These guns are highly finished.
REMEMBER you need not pay over $35.00 for a Long Range Duck Gun if you select a Davis. Every gun Proof Tested. If you want a plain low-priced Gun write us or ask your dealer about Davis AJAX. Built expressly for the man who wants a good, plain, reliable knock-about Gun at a low price. Made in 12-16 and 20 gauge. Every Davis Gun, whether lowest or highest priced, is proof tested with an excessive load.
Davis Guns were established in 1853 by N. R. Davis and are going stronger than ever in 1925. This 72 years of service and durability should mean something to every gun buyer.
DAVIS-WARNER ARMS CORP. 90 Chambers Street, New York.

"Hunting & Fishing" August, 1929
SPORTSMAN: Ask your dealer for THE DAVIS AUTOMATIC EJECTING GUN. Price $26.50. Every shooter who wants the latest up to-the-minute gun should see this one, before buying any other. The Davis Ejector Double Gun is noted for its excellent qualities, its stand up qualifications and its record for always ejecting the fired shell only at the proper time. Made in 12, 16 and 20 gauges. Do you shoot Skeet? We have designed a special Skeet gun with automatic ejectors. It will improve your score. The illustration shows the graceful the graceful outline of the arm, the balance and hang of the gun simulates the very high premium price imported guns. It is astonishing what beauty and excellence we have incorporated into this arm and at so small a price. A shooter recently had one at a trap shoot and several members thought it a hundred dollar gun. People everywhere are asking "How can you do it?"
Correct designing, equipment and organization is our answer. Davis Guns have been made since 1853 and nearly every year has seen some progressive step forward in gun designing and manufacture, until today we stand near the head of the line for producing guns that function properly, that are correctly balanced and nicely finished at prices that are lower than others. These qualifications also apply to our low-priced Double Hammerless Guns with plain extractors which retail at from $19.75 up and in Single Barrel Ejector Guns as low as $10.50 each. All our guns are being made with a solid forged lug and Diana Reinforced Sleeve Breech. Our guns are proof tested with excessive loads which develop a much higher pressure than field loads. All gauges from 12 to 410. If your dealer does not have Davis Guns, address us direct for circulars and address of dealers who stock them. THE DAVIS-WARNER ARMS CORPORATION Dept. H Norwich, Conn.

1931 Crescent-Davis Arms Corp. courtesy of Dave Noreen listed:
DeLuxe Special model 805 - $28.75
Deluxe 803 - $26.50
Premier Special 802 - $23.50
Premier 801 - $18.75
Ajax 800 - $17.75

I have a Davis Warner catalog, printed apparently in 1919. It lists the Expert as $27 gun, chambered for Super X shells. The other hammerless offering in the catalog is the B.S. , listed at $29, and also chambered for Super X shells.

The Expert came in 12, 16,and 20 gauges, non automatic safety. The catalog spends some effort explaining why a non automatic safety is superior in many cases.

The first Super-X loads were introduced by Western Cartridge Co. in 1922, put up in their 2 3/4 inch 12- and 20-gauge FIELD shells.

Here is the N.R. Davis Expert grade from a 1922 SD&G catalog --

Researcher, I'll check the catalog. I think it had a date beside the Expert or near it of 1919, and also had the reference to the Super X suitability. It was from a Davis catalog, not from a vendor.

Thanks guys!

This gun has become one of my favourite pheasant guns. It has a long and colourful past. I purchased it from my wife's uncle for $200.00 as I wanted to keep it in the family.

It was made with full and modified chokes to which I had changed to i.c. and mod. The gun is in great shape with great wood and bluing on the barrels has thinned due to age.
There is no damage to the barrels inside or out. There is no sign of bluing on the receiver despite being buried in a muck slide at a chemical plant. It was lost to the original buyer for years where it turned up in a Negro barbershop in Virginia. How it got back to the original owner, I was not informed. I guess that somebody in the past polished the receiver to bright metal.

Today's value means nothing to me but I guess that is not worth much. Perhaps my son or daughter will keep it in the family when I am gone, but once again, "It is just an old gun. "So sad."

Franchi

Researcher, you could be right. The catalog of Davis-Warner Arms Corporation, Manufactures of Davis Guns, 90 Chambers Street, New York City, Factory : Norwich ,Conn. , says Established 1853, Incorporated 1917, and moved to Norwich , Conn., 1919.

Another page says they started designing their Warner Swing Out Cylinder Revolvers "about a year ago" in .32 and .38.

An interesting aside is that they also offer Le Robust [French] Shotgun. Anson and Deely action in 12 and 16 gauge . Prices are several multiples of the Davis BS and Expert.

Does anyone have an idea of what the comparative buying power of $27-$30 was in those days?
Like how much gas would it buy or what did a farmer get for a ton of wheat or corn or the price of beef on the hoof ?
O.M

Probably around $600-$700 in today's money. Since the dollar is worth less than five cents was when they established the Federal Reserve in 1913.

There was rampant inflation through The Great War and into the early 1920s. The A.H. Fox Gun Co.'s Sterlingworth was introduced in 1910 at $25.00 and stayed that through 1915. In 1916 it went up to $30 and 1917 $37.50. By 1919 it was $47.75, and on December 1, 1919, went up to $55.