Just recently obtained an H.M. quackenbush..

[zombiebear]

Just obtained this weapon from my grandfather. It is a single shot .22.
Not sure the value of this gun, it is not "safe" to fire. No idea on if it shoots or not, but i would rather not try

No idea the date, since these guns were not stamped with a serial number.
Any idea on the worth?

Cause if it's not worth much i'm just gonna have it redone to be fully operational.

Thanks!

Sorry about the quality of the photos

[RJay]

IAW The Standard Catalog Of Firearms it's probably not worth more than 500 to 900 dollars. In the condition it is in I would say closer to 900. Manufactured between 1886 and 1920. Chambered for 22 short or 22 Long.

[zombiebear]

Originally Posted by RJay

IAW The Standard Catalog Of Firearms it's probably not worth more than 500 to 900 dollars. In the condition it is in I would say closer to 900. Manufactured between 1886 and 1920. Chambered for 22 short or 22 Long.

Thank you so much RJay, so would you say i should restore it to shooting condition?

[Bill DeShivs]

Originally Posted by zombiebear

Thank you so much RJay, so would you say i should restore it to shooting condition?

Sure, if you want it to be worth closer to $125.00!

[hrf]

You say "No idea on if it shoots or not" and I doubt there's anything wrong mechanically as they are a simple design. I had one long ago and shot many boxes of .22s without a misfire. As far as the outside appearance, it looks nice as is, and you will only lower the collector value if you mess with it.

Regarding value, the current Flayderman's Guide for your model lists a range of $175 to $400

[RJay]

Well, double checking there is quite a range in the perceived value, Flaydermans as hrf posted, SCoF as I posted and the Blue Book shows 425 to 500, so it is safe to say, it is probably worth more that you thought.

[Alpo]

Originally Posted by Bill DeShivs

Sure, if you want it to be worth closer to $125.00!

Bill, I see a big difference between "restoring it to shooting condition", which, to me, means "fixing it because it's broken", and "restoring it", which means refinishing metal and wood, in an attempt to make it look new.

Yes, "restoring it" will destroy any collector value.

"Fixing it", however, should not. If anything, it should make it worth more. Just remember that, if parts need to be replaced, keep the old parts.

[zombiebear]

Originally Posted by Alpo

Bill, I see a big difference between "restoring it to shooting condition", which, to me, means "fixing it because it's broken", and "restoring it", which means refinishing metal and wood, in an attempt to make it look new.

Yes, "restoring it" will destroy any collector value.

"Fixing it", however, should not. If anything, it should make it worth more. Just remember that, if parts need to be replaced, keep the old parts.

Yes i meant fixing it to shooting condition.
Thank you guys so much.
You're awesome, and a great site too.

[Jim K]

There is some info at http://www.quackenbush.com/hmq/hmq.html and also a picture of one of those guns with the stock on upside down!

Henry Marcus Quackenbush set up a factory in Herkimer, NY primarily to manufacture air guns, but also made a series of .22 rifles. The company is still in existence, involved in metal finishing. One common product they made in fairly recent years, was nutcrackers and many nutcrackers are still around marked "HMQ".

Those rifles are sometimes called "Cloverleaf" rifles, not because of any resemblance to a clover leaf, but because they were given out as prizes to generations of boys who sold Cloverleaf Salve, a poplular "cure-all" of the day, from door-to-door. Air guns, pocket knives and other boys' delights were also given out, but every young entrepreneur's dream was to sell enough salve to earn a real gun.

Jim

[wpage]

Interesting information on the cloverleaf. Wonder how much Cloverleaf salve you had to push to get a free Dr Quackenbush .22?

[CHW2021]

My .02 would be not to attempt to fire this rifle at all. It is my understanding that the breech assembly was not built to withstand smokeless powder and certainly not modern high velocity ammo; further more the rounds this rifle was shot with were corrosively primed which would have weakened the steel in the barrel/reciever area as it was "cheap" steel and lightly built.

[zombiebear]

Well here is the story of how i obtained this.

My grandfather was friends with a man who lived down the street from them in the 80's. This man lated passed away, and his wife didn't know what to do with it, so she gave it to my grandfather. She knew he was a hunter and would take care of the gun. The other day my father was up at their lake and my grandfather gave it to him. So it now sits here with us, and we wanna take it to a gunsmith and see if he can get it working again, but not use any new parts.

CHW2021, we are not planning on shooting this gun unless we can get the receiver area fixed.

Thanks again guys!

[hrf]

Originally Posted by zombiebear

we wanna take it to a gunsmith and see if he can get it working again, but not use any new parts.

CHW2021, we are not planning on shooting this gun unless we can get the receiver area fixed.

What's wrong with it? How do you know it doesn't work?
You can always insert an empty .22 shell and see if the firing pin makes a new dent in the rim, and if the extractor works.

[zombiebear]

Originally Posted by hrf

What's wrong with it? How do you know it doesn't work?
You can always insert an empty .22 shell and see if the firing pin makes a new dent in the rim, and if the extractor works.

It's not the fact that it doesnt work, its the fact that the whole assembly, via chamber is lose. When the trigger is pulled the whole assembly is raised up. Im pretty sure something isn't "locking".

Im gonna have it taken in and looked at. I'll let you guys know what we find.

I might take a video and i'll show you what i mean.

[hrf]

Originally Posted by zombiebear

It's not the fact that it doesnt work, its the fact that the whole assembly, via chamber is lose. When the trigger is pulled the whole assembly is raised up. Im pretty sure something isn't "locking".

Just sounds like the takedown screw (big nut under the frame) isn't tightened... Unscrew the nut and whole barrel and breech will come off. Try cleaning and oiling the threads and reassemble to see if that fixes the looseness.