I have come across this 16 gauge double barrel hammer gun made at the Tula arsenal. Other than needing some cosmetic TLC, the gun has great bores. no barrel dents and locks up tight. Both hammers work nicely. The gun has tasteful, well done engraving which is a pleasant surprise. The fellow claims it is before WWll. Is there a way to confirm it is from before WWll and what model it might be? My camera flash makes things appear bleached out but the bluing is about 50% and the fit/finish on this gun is quite exceptional.




Here is a pic of the barrel markings if it helps identify year.

This is what is known as "TOZ-B" (Cyrillic: ТОЗ-Б). Your gun could indeed be made in the between-the-wars period, or about 1950. Can you remove the fore-end and barrels, and post the pictures of the proof marks? That might help date it.

Nice!!

pics of the markings

Yes, I'd say this was made between 1922 and 1932, probably close to the earlier years of the range (it uses barrel tubes turned out before WWI). At this time, especially after 1928, thousands of American engineers and other specialists came to the USSR to build factories, power plants, and other projects of Stalin's "Industrialization". It is probable that one of these engineers bought this gun to hunt with or as a souvenir, and brought it home.

There is an astonishingly high number of between-the-wars Soviet guns in the USA, and I find them very interesting, not just as samples of gunmaking craft, but as historical artifacts that witnessed an important stage of the modern world's development and personal stories, too.

I would appreciate it if you contact the previous owner and ask if they have any details on the original owner of this gun. You can write to [email protected]