Hello Folks,
Newbie here. I acquired an old U.S. Field 20 gauge SxS made by The C & F Co. in Columbus, Ohio. One of the firing pins is broken and I've been working on it to see if I can fix it. While I have been working on it, I have done tons of research trying to figure out what I have, but only have come up with a number of loose ends. The research gave me the bug and I have done nothing but read and learn. I had no idea there was so much to learn about these old shotguns. My main concern at the moment is to properly ID it to determine what type of barrel I have. From the reading I have done, I'm afraid to even go shoot it if it is a twist barrel construction. But I have done enough reading either way to understand that it should be checked out by a competent gunsmith to be sure.
So here are close-up, high-res pictures of the markings hoping you folks can help ID it. I'm not really concerned about value; from the research I have done, it appears to be one of those "thrown in the bed of the truck guns" with no collector value.
The action is nearly exactly the same as some of the Lefever guns that I have discovered that use coiled main springs and hammers that are actuated by cams and rods. Everything has gone well so far, until I got to those darn coil springs. I think they would work well as suspension springs on a military tank. I have tried the "C-clamp" rig and method, but that didn't work well for me. So now I am constructing a Lefever style block and screw spring retainer that I can bolt to the receiver to push back on the main spring caps.
As far as the markings are concerned, here is what I think I have learned so far. Please correct me on any of this:
1. The C & F Co. I have not found any manufacturer history specifically called "The C & F Co." The closest thing I have found with a "C" and an "F" related to the name US Field is Crescent Fire Arms Co. and later Crescent-Davis Arms Corp. But neither of those I believe were in Ohio. So dead end there for me.
2. The 20 on the watertable is 20 gauge. I didn't even know that until I started the research.
3. 259900 is the serial number. It appears in numerous places throughout the gun.
4. The 2 and the 4 on the barrel. I believe that is the choke of each barrel, wherein at some point, manufacturers began dropping the denominator and stamping only the numerator (i.e. 2/4 show as 2 and 4/4 shows as 4). Additionally, I think 2 is Mod and 4 is full.
5. 2U on the barrel. I have no idea what this marking means. Please advise. I think I saw somewhere it refers to date of manufacture. Not sure.
6. BP on the barrel. I believe this means the barrel is proofed for black powder loads. If so, that will require me to consider everything I have read so far about using modern smokeless powder loads in a gun designed for BP (i.e. special light loads only).
7. And finally, there is a 2 and a 5 on the trigger plate side of the receiver. The 5 is hard to see in the picture. No clue what these markings mean.
That's all there is. There are no markings on the rib of the barrel.
So thanks in advance for any ID info and additional advice you folks can provide. I have actually had a lot of fun researching this thing.
Newbie here. I acquired an old U.S. Field 20 gauge SxS made by The C & F Co. in Columbus, Ohio. One of the firing pins is broken and I've been working on it to see if I can fix it. While I have been working on it, I have done tons of research trying to figure out what I have, but only have come up with a number of loose ends. The research gave me the bug and I have done nothing but read and learn. I had no idea there was so much to learn about these old shotguns. My main concern at the moment is to properly ID it to determine what type of barrel I have. From the reading I have done, I'm afraid to even go shoot it if it is a twist barrel construction. But I have done enough reading either way to understand that it should be checked out by a competent gunsmith to be sure.
So here are close-up, high-res pictures of the markings hoping you folks can help ID it. I'm not really concerned about value; from the research I have done, it appears to be one of those "thrown in the bed of the truck guns" with no collector value.
The action is nearly exactly the same as some of the Lefever guns that I have discovered that use coiled main springs and hammers that are actuated by cams and rods. Everything has gone well so far, until I got to those darn coil springs. I think they would work well as suspension springs on a military tank. I have tried the "C-clamp" rig and method, but that didn't work well for me. So now I am constructing a Lefever style block and screw spring retainer that I can bolt to the receiver to push back on the main spring caps.
As far as the markings are concerned, here is what I think I have learned so far. Please correct me on any of this:
1. The C & F Co. I have not found any manufacturer history specifically called "The C & F Co." The closest thing I have found with a "C" and an "F" related to the name US Field is Crescent Fire Arms Co. and later Crescent-Davis Arms Corp. But neither of those I believe were in Ohio. So dead end there for me.
2. The 20 on the watertable is 20 gauge. I didn't even know that until I started the research.
3. 259900 is the serial number. It appears in numerous places throughout the gun.
4. The 2 and the 4 on the barrel. I believe that is the choke of each barrel, wherein at some point, manufacturers began dropping the denominator and stamping only the numerator (i.e. 2/4 show as 2 and 4/4 shows as 4). Additionally, I think 2 is Mod and 4 is full.
5. 2U on the barrel. I have no idea what this marking means. Please advise. I think I saw somewhere it refers to date of manufacture. Not sure.
6. BP on the barrel. I believe this means the barrel is proofed for black powder loads. If so, that will require me to consider everything I have read so far about using modern smokeless powder loads in a gun designed for BP (i.e. special light loads only).
7. And finally, there is a 2 and a 5 on the trigger plate side of the receiver. The 5 is hard to see in the picture. No clue what these markings mean.
That's all there is. There are no markings on the rib of the barrel.
So thanks in advance for any ID info and additional advice you folks can provide. I have actually had a lot of fun researching this thing.