[Ned Fall]

And people in Hell would like some ice water. You have what is known as a "Trade Brand Name" shotgun. That is a shotgun made by a major maker for and sold by a wholesaler or retailer who chose the name to go on the gun. IIn this case the gun was made by the Crescent Fire Arms Co of Norwich,CT (1892 to 1932) the largest maker ever of such guns and it was made for and sold by the Shapleigh Hardware Company of St. Louis,MO a large wholesale sporting goods dealer. Now if you will give us the serial number of the gun, we can tell you about when it was made.

 

[Ned Fall]

Thank you sir. I committed that mistake they taught us to avoid in the military. Read the F----
question. I missed the number. The gun was made in 1931.

 

[Ned Fall]

I was Air Force in Viet Nam in 69, Nha Trang and Phang Rang. Maintained AC-47s, AC-119s and AC-130s Spooky. Saw a lot of shot out gun barrels.

 

[Ned Fall]

I was in electronics maintainance and somewhere in my junk I have a tape recording of an Army unit on the ground talking to the piolt[[[[[[[[[[pp
[]p[
][]

1

I worked in electronics maintenance and somewhere in my junk I have a copy of an Army unit talking by radio to the pilot of a Spooky, You can hear the Army guy whispering and the pilot asking him to speak up. He said if he did Charlie would hear him.

\\\\

 

[Ned Fall]

Zeroend
Since you gave me the markings and serial number, I can tell you that your gun was made by the Crescent Fire Arms Company of Norwich, Ct (1892 to 1932) for and was sold at wholesale by either the Belknap Hardware Company of Loiuisville,KY or the Shapleigh Hardware Company of St. Louis.MO. both large wholesale sporting goods dealers. Sorry but there is no way to determine which one sold the gun. The name was also used on guns made by Harrington & Richardson and Stevens Arms & Tool Company for the same sellers. The gun was made in 1923.
It is very important to get the name and markings just as they appear on the gun. There were also guns with the name Bridge Gun Works and Bridge Gun Company Black Prince which were all made by Crescent and Crescent used the markings "G" preceded by the gauge number.

 

[Ned Fall]

Hello M8665
You've been unsuccessful because you just didn't ask in the right place. Now I need to, know a bit more before I can answer your question correctly- Is the gun a single or a double barrel and if a double barrel, does it have outside hammers or is it hammerless? All that information makes a difference. I can answer part of your question, the part about the name BRIDGE GUN CO. The name is what I call a "Trade Brand Name". Between about 1880 to 1940 there was a great interest in America in all things having to do with shotguns, designing, making, selling (especially selling) and of course, shooting. Wholesale sporting goods dealers, retail chain stores and independent retailers (your local hardware store) wanted shotguns with names of their own choosing stamped on them to sell. The major makers were only too happy to meet this demand. They would stamp almost any name in the world on one of their standard models if the order was large enough. It has ben said that the largest maker ever of such guns, Crescent Fire Arms Company of Norwich, CN (1892 to 1930+) would mark as few as twelve guns if the buyer paid for the die needed to stamp the name. Guns with the name BRIDGE GUN CO were made by one of three makers, Crescent Fire Arms Co, Harrington & Richardson Arms Co of Worcester, MA (1871 to 1985) and the Stevens Arms & Tool Company of Chicopee Falls, MA (1864 to date) for and were sold at wholesale by one of two wholesale sporting goods dealers, either the Belknap Hardware Company of Louisville, KY or tehe Shapleigh Hardware Company of St. Louis, MO. Lord knows who sold it at retail. Now I'm going to make an educated guess and say your gun is a single barrel and the serial number is one of Crescent's. The records for the Crescent Fire Arms were lost in a scrap paper during World War Two in 1943. The late shotgun researcher and writer Mr. Joseph T. Vorisek re-established the serial number-year made tables as part of his research for his book "The Breech Loading Shotgun In America 1865 to 1940". His work is only an approximation but it's all we have. According to those tables (and if it's a single barrel), it was made in April of 1927, well 1927 anyway. The serial numbers for 1927 begin with 630,000 in January and end with 651,000 in December. That's 21,000 guns for the year, divide by twelve and it's 1,750 guns a month. You can do them math. Now I charge $3.00 for information about an old shotgun ($4.00 for correct information). Please put a $3.00 bill in the small slot on your computer and hit the send key. Don't use a $5.00 bill as my computer is not programed to make change.

 

[Ned Fall]

You give barely enough information to identify the gun. Is it a single barrel or perhaps a double barrel and if a double barrel, does it have outside hammers or is it hammerless? in any case it's what I call a "Trade Brand Name:" shotgun which by my definition any inexpensive or some not so inexpensive shotgun made between 1880 to 1940 by a major maker for and sold by a wholesale sporting goods dealer, a retail chain store or independent retailer (your local hardware store) who chose thE name to go on the gun. Guns with the name BRIDGE GUN CO BLACK PRINCE were made by one of several makers including The Crescent Fire Arms Company of Norwich,CT (1892 to 1930+), Harrington & Richardson Arms Company of Worcester, MA (1871 to1985), and The Stevens Arms Company of Chicopee Falls, MA (1864 to date) for and was sold at wholesale by the Shapleigh Hardware Company of St. Louis,MO. unless there are any foreign proof marks stamped on the bottom of the barrel(s). I feel that the gun was made by Crescent and if so by the serial number given it was made in 1928. Some where at some time a previous owner whipped out his trusty and rusty pocket knife and craved his initials in the butt stock. These guns were inexpensive by our present day standers selling for $10 to $15 new. Current values will be determined by the condition of the gun, the amount of original finish remaining on the metal and wood as well as the mechanical condition and in some cases the gauge. A gun in excellent condition might bring around $50 to $75 while the same gun in .410 bore , not gauge, might bring as much as $200 when sold at auction. The hand carved initials will reduce the value.