Your Remington Arms Co. New Model Double Barrel Shotgun (aka Model 1889) was made in 1902. From the 1901 Remington Arms Co. catalog --

The Model 1889 continued to be offered through 1908.

 

Older than I realized. Thanks!

 

Your Lefever Nitro Special was made circa 1925. From the 1924-5 Lefever folder --

 

Your RANGER .410-bore is a "trade branded" version of a J. Stevens Arms Co. Riverside/Springfield No. 315, made for Sears, Roebuck & Co. From the 1927 J. Stevens Arms Co. catalog --

Apr. 20, 1915, refers to the patent date of Patent No. 1,136,247 granted to G.S. Lewis and assigned to the J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co. of Chicopee Falls, Mass. This patent covers a hammerless double with coil-spring driven strikers, rather than internal hammers rotating about an axle. From the time of the patent until the Mid-1930s this action was used on a number of different Stevens, Riverside and Springfield doubles as well as many marked with a variety of "trade names." The gun of this design was introduced in 12- and 16-gauge as the Riverside No. 315 in the J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co. Catalogue No. 54, with a list price of $16.50. The plants of the J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co. were taken over by, as I recall, New England Westinghouse for wartime production during WW-I, and became J. Stevens Arms Co. Sometime after The Great War they were sold off to Savage Arms Corp. and continued to operate as J. Stevens Arms Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Savage Arms Corp. J. Stevens Arms Co. continued to make this gun during the 1920s as the Riverside No. 315. By 1923 they introduced a slightly upscale version called the Stevens No. 330. The Stevens No. 330 came with a checkered capped pistol grip walnut stock, while the Riverside had a checkered half-pistol grip walnut stock. By 1925 the 20-gauge and .410-bore were added to the offerings. During 1929, J. Stevens Arms Co. changed from using the Riverside Arms Co. name for their lower priced line and started using the Springfield Arms Co. name. Also, during 1929 they introduced the Springfield No. 311 which was a similar gun but with an uncheckered, some catalogues say “walnut” and some "walnut finish", stock. And, finally for 1929 J. Stevens Arms Co. began offering the Stevens No. 330 with a Jostam Anti-Flinch recoil pad and Lyman twin ivory sights.

 

To take the guns apart just remove the forearms. The Lefever and Ranger should just snap off with gentle pressure under the tip. The Remington forearm should come off by pulling the lever.

 

Thanks, it's easy when you know what you're doing. After getting the Ranger apart I can see the serial number X 22977.

 

Very cool ole guns. I think you should give them some love and make them look new again. You will never get the money back, but passed down from Granddad to you, to maybe one of your kids is worth what money spent. This was a common thing years ago but is slowly falling off with the new generation not seeing the real reason to do so. I have a Stevens hammer that was also passed down, it has been made look new and is a good-looking shotgun, that still gets out quite often. I had it fit to me, so it will hold its own in just about any place, field or clays.

 

I disagree. There is a difference between "restoration" and "conservation".

Restoration is making the gun look brand spanking new, like it just came out of the factory. To me, this erases all the family history value, as well as any collectability value future generations might appreciate.

Conservation is making the gun look as used honestly and maintained properly.
This means gentle cleaning with the right tools and products, taking things apart to address rust inside that may have developed over 120 years or so, and using appropriate products to protect and lubricate the metal and keep the lovely wood nourished and protected from changes in humidity.

Mark Novak does a deep dive on conservation. From what I can see, the OP's firearms are in very good condition but with some minor rust issues to deal with. How far to take the process is up to the owner. Mark shows why one needs special screwdrivers, and how to use them. This is not as simple as "grab a screwdriver and twist."

It's very common to see "buggered" screws in old guns from men using the wrong screwdrivers. It is like painting a pig snout on the Mona Lisa. A kitchen-table gunsmith can do a lot of damage on an old gun, yet with a bit of study on youtube and asking questions before delving deep, can do everything Mark Novak does in that video. But it's not like wiping the kitchen counter with Formula 409.

The Remington: any gun from around 1900 was not built for modern ammunition. Firing one is an involved hobby after an inspection by a specialty gunsmith expert in antique shotguns. Shooting it can result in a very negative outcome. I would clean it very gently. Research the products "Big 45 Frontier Metal Cleaner", Clenzoil, and Howard Feed n Wax.

Anything can cause harm. Study, ask, and think three times, then use properly once.

The Ranger and Lefever have an active market among people that clean these up and shoot them. The .410 is most sought after. The lever to open the gun begins to the right, as you show in the picture. As the gun wears, the lever slowly moves to the left. Eventually, the gun needs to be tightened up, and the lever will be to the right again. A gunsmith who can do that is now a prince among frogs.

A Nitro Special 20 gauge might sell for $400 to $1000, for insurance. A good gun shop will take 20% commission on consignment or offer 50% cash to you.
The Ranger, because it's in desirable .410, is more like... $600 to $1200 insurance value.
The Remington... hard to say $600 insurance and it's most important value is family history.

A little bit of gentle cleaning and rust prevention will go a long way to keeping those shotguns nice for many more years.

Thanks for sharing the pictures, those are lovely old bits of artwork in metal.

I can watch this guy work for hours.

 

The J. Stevens records are long gone, destroyed in a fire. The .410-bore version of that gun was introduced in 1925, chambered for a 2 1/2-inch shell. The 3-inch .410-bore shell was introduced in 1933, so if the gun is marked for 3-inch chamber it is from 1933 to WW-II.

 

I have a special liking of Nitro Specials. They wore a working man’s double. Made by Ithaca. Great workhorse shotguns. I take the Boy Scouts shooting with mine. Last summer they shot the 12,16 and 20.

 

Hi, thanks in advance for any information you can share. I inherited my grandfather's shotguns via my father about twenty years ago. I assume they date to my father's childhood in the 1930's, or perhaps before. There are three of them and they all look well used. I'm not a firearms person so excuse my ignorance. All three are double barrel.
One of them is a Lefever Nitro Special. I believe it's a 20 ga, but I'm not certain. The think the serial number is in the 192xxx range.
The next one is a Remington 12 ga. Again the serial number is hard to read but looks like 224xxx.
Lastly is a Ranger 410 ga. I can't see a serial number on it.
This is no doubt a stupid question but how do you get the barrel separated from the stock? I can fold it pen but don't know how to get it apart. If I got them apart I could read the serial numbers a lot better.

So, my main question is what do I have?

Thanks again and best regards,
John
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Ditto Stinkey Pete, excellent advice........