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Author Topic: stevens side-by-side  (Read 1214 times)

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Offline kevin.303

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stevens side-by-side
« on: February 03, 2003, 08:18:46 AM »
i have an old double barrel 12ga. it belonged to my grandpa and i found it in the back of some old buildings we where tearing down. a friend of mine has the identical gun and identified it as stevens, circa 1910. it has exposed hammers and 2 3/4 chamber. does anyone know what the mint value is for one of these? mine is far from good condition, the action is frozen and the stock looks like an old fence post, but i will spend as much as i have too because for me it has "sentimental" value. this is a fairly general discription and any help would be greatly welcomed.
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" oh we didn't sink the bismarck, and we didn't fight at all, we spent our time in Norfolk and we really had a ball. chasing after women while our ship was overhauled, living it up on grapefruit juice and sick bay alcohol"

Offline savageT

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Re: stevens side-by-side
« Reply #1 on: February 07, 2003, 01:42:31 PM »
Quote from: kevin.303
i have an old double barrel 12ga. it belonged to my grandpa and i found it in the back of some old buildings we where tearing down. a friend of mine has the identical gun and identified it as stevens, circa 1910. it has exposed hammers and 2 3/4 chamber. does anyone know what the mint value is for one of these? mine is far from good condition, the action is frozen and the stock looks like an old fence post, but i will spend as much as i have too because for me it has "sentimental" value. this is a fairly general discription and any help would be greatly welcomed.


Here's a guess??????
The #235 was made from 1907 to 1928, the collectors value is about nil, in the condition you mentioned probably $100
Stevens Arms were incorporated in 1886 as the J. Stevens Arms & Tool Company. The name was changed in 1916.
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savageT........Have you hugged a '99 lately?

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Offline pinduck

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« Reply #2 on: February 07, 2003, 03:21:22 PM »
Kevin if it were me which it isn't I would simply clean it up real good and hang it on the wall in my den with a picture of your Grandfather. It was undoubtly a working tool for him and I would appreciate it showing the honest wear and tear he put on it. I grew up on a farm in the 40's and My grandfather kept an old double in our corncrib to shoot varmits and also we spent many an enjoyable day hunting grouse, quail, rabbits, and squirrels with his old double. Just my opinion, however if you wish to restore it to new condition have it examined by a competent gunsmith before shooting it.
Glen
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Offline kevin.303

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« Reply #3 on: February 11, 2003, 06:03:17 AM »
one of the teachers at my technical college is a gunsmith. when i told him what i had his immediate reply was"hang it on the wall". this is probably what i will do, but first i want to get the birdsh*t off and give it a newer looking stock. what the cheapset method would be is to find another one in better condition and swap stocks.
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" oh we didn't sink the bismarck, and we didn't fight at all, we spent our time in Norfolk and we really had a ball. chasing after women while our ship was overhauled, living it up on grapefruit juice and sick bay alcohol"

Offline savageT

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« Reply #4 on: February 11, 2003, 06:32:35 AM »
Quote from: kevin.303
one of the teachers at my technical college is a gunsmith. when i told him what i had his immediate reply was"hang it on the wall". this is probably what i will do, but first i want to get the birdsh*t off and give it a newer looking stock. what the cheapset method would be is to find another one in better condition and swap stocks.


Kevin,
Out of respect for a family treasure, I too will recommend that you "hang it up".  The barrels are possibly demascus (cold-welded iron strips laid over a mandrel) and only safe with light black-powder loads.  However, please don't refinish the stock if you can possibly get around it.  Is it an oil finish?  Clean it gently with 0000 steel wool and Murphy's Oil Soap, or Formby's Refinisher.  Then apply a coat or two of a good furniture oil like boiled linseed.  Why would you want to mess up another gun by swapping stocks?  An old double hammer shotgun is a great treasure to hang over anyone's wall....the older the better!
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savageT........Have you hugged a '99 lately?

Of all the things I've lost in my life, I miss my mind the most.

Offline kevin.303

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« Reply #5 on: February 11, 2003, 06:37:50 AM »
the problem with the stock is that there is no finish. if you've ever seen a 20 year old fence post you no what i'm talking about
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" oh we didn't sink the bismarck, and we didn't fight at all, we spent our time in Norfolk and we really had a ball. chasing after women while our ship was overhauled, living it up on grapefruit juice and sick bay alcohol"

Offline savageT

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« Reply #6 on: February 11, 2003, 06:47:06 AM »
Kevin,

Unless it is split and cracked/broken, what's to lose if you sanded it down and rubbed in some linseed?
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savageT........Have you hugged a '99 lately?

Of all the things I've lost in my life, I miss my mind the most.

Offline kevin.303

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« Reply #7 on: February 12, 2003, 05:20:26 AM »
it's at my uncles right now but i'll give that a try when i get it back. i don't think it's a damascus barrel because in the basement there was a half box of no.5 federal loads, and my uncles said that he would hunt prairie chickens with it. he died when i was 6 (tommorow it'll be 13 years to the day) so i never got to go hunting with him, but it is because of him that i love the outdoors. he got me "hooked" on fishing(pun intended) and camping. this is the reason why i wanted to restore it., and maybe use it on my spring turkey hunt. he had a number of interesting guns including a .358 norma and a pre-'64 94 carbine.  now i've gone and gotton all sappy and sentimental!!
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" oh we didn't sink the bismarck, and we didn't fight at all, we spent our time in Norfolk and we really had a ball. chasing after women while our ship was overhauled, living it up on grapefruit juice and sick bay alcohol"

Offline savageT

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« Reply #8 on: February 12, 2003, 05:33:40 AM »
Great news Kevin,

I wish I had someone like that to grow up with.  My Dad did some limited hunting, but we were never into the Great Outdoors except for a few wonderful weeks in the 50's on an island in the St. Lawrence River drownin' worms, catchin bass and perch.  God, I loved that island paradise.  Now who's getting sappie? Good news as far as the shotgun goes, but easy on those 2 3/4" turkey loads.  Some are pretty hot loads and I'm saying be cautious.  Maybe if you limit your choices you can use it for grouse or rabbits.

Jim
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savageT........Have you hugged a '99 lately?

Of all the things I've lost in my life, I miss my mind the most.

Offline kevin.303

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« Reply #9 on: February 12, 2003, 05:43:12 AM »
i'll see if my uncle will use his digital camera to take a pic of it and then i'll try and post it.
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" oh we didn't sink the bismarck, and we didn't fight at all, we spent our time in Norfolk and we really had a ball. chasing after women while our ship was overhauled, living it up on grapefruit juice and sick bay alcohol"

Offline Win71

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« Reply #10 on: February 15, 2003, 04:50:38 AM »
Kevin, From the description given, PLEASE do not think of firing that old double gun just yet. Being a family piece it would be a shame to blow it up, and how would your ancestors feel if they knew that you lost an eye, fingers, hand, or life because of it. It sounds as though all of the opinions of the judges of the condition of this firearm are based on your description. In my opinion there are several red flags, I 'll list a few of them:  Most of the old double guns with an exposed hammers were damascus barrels; Apparently it is rusted heavily because the manufacturor's name or model isn't legible and the action is frozen with rust, so there will be a lot of rust within the laminations if it is a damascus gun; Even if it isn't a damascus barreled gun the condition as described would definitely warrant a personal inspection by a professional gunsmith; These old shotguns were all very similar in appearence, so it may not be the model you suspect; The box of ammo you found doesn't really support the present condition of the shotgun it was most likely used in the gun before storing in an outbuilding. My intention here is not to damn anybody's judgement or ideas, or your shotgun. I would hate to see you or anyone harmed or your family keepsake.  PLEASE GET IT INSPECTED BY A PROFFESSIONAL GUNSMITH!
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You mean to say there are rifles other than old Winchester leverguns ?

Offline kevin.303

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« Reply #11 on: February 17, 2003, 05:54:44 AM »
don't worry. it was always my intention to have aprofessional look at wheter i restored it or not.
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" oh we didn't sink the bismarck, and we didn't fight at all, we spent our time in Norfolk and we really had a ball. chasing after women while our ship was overhauled, living it up on grapefruit juice and sick bay alcohol"
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