American Gun corporation 12 Gauge help

[tonkaman]

hello im back again and with a new find, this one actually might be worth fixing up. fresh from the montana gun show is a double barrel hartford arms 12 gauge. i was told that it was like a hardware store gun and was actually made by the american gun corporation. all it is missing is the rear stock and the trigger gaurd. all the serial numbers match each other and i was wondering if you guys could look up the age of it for me and point me in the right direction for a stock. numerich doesnt have any. and there seems to be something wrong with the firing pins, either they are gone or both broken, the hammers are both comming into contact with the gun but when you have your finger on the recieving end of the pin hole nothing touches your finger, when fired. any way here is the serial and some pics 232671

[RJay]

I'm unable to locate any reference to a American Arms Corp., However Hartford Arms is a trade name used on shotguns made by Crescent Arms Co. for both Simmons Hardware and Shapleigh Hardware stores of St. Louis Mo. The age of your firearm is a guessing game, all of Crescent Firearms Co. records were lost/destroyed by Stevens/Savage in 1940. Because of the outside hammers I would guess it would be from late 1890's to 1912. There is no known source of parts for these old " Trade Name " shotguns other than from a parts gun of the same make and model. Stocks can be made by any stock making firm but the expense of having a stock made will far exceed the value of what you have. Sorry about that.

[Zane71464]

Not that this is any help to the above, but rather a thought maybe.
I've got an old "Trade Name" SxS 12ga. and went to an older gunshop several years ago and was asking if he had any clue as to where I could find the parts I was looking for. He told me to come on back and there in his back room, he had a "pile" of peices of these old shotguns. I was able to get the forearm that I needed and a couple of other small parts.
Just a thought....

[Jim K]

Unless you hit it lucky, as Zane did, you won't find any parts for that gun. I am sorry to tell you that it essentially has no value, and I hope you didn't pay much for it as whatever you paid was too much.

You can buy shotgun buttstocks, oversize and uninletted, and go to work whittling it down to fit. If you do, by the time you are finished you will either have become a stockmaker or a raving maniac. Even so, the stock itself would cost far more than the gun could ever be worth, and having the work done would cost hundreds of dollars.

I have little doubt that the firing pins are missing. The reason is that sometime in the past, someone realized that the gun would be dangerous if fired and removed the firing pins. Most likely the gun has Damascus barrels and would be highly dangerous to fire in any circumstances.

In short, unless you can find someone who wants the gun for parts, stick it in the corner and chalk the whole thing up to experience.

(And, believe me, we all have guns like that we stuck in corners and don't talk about! That is the way we learned what not to buy.)

Jim

[tonkaman]

no value? i dont think so, at fifty bucks it has value to me, because just letting it go to waste in the scrap pile is a damn shame, thanks for the info on the age tho, i think ill keep checking to local gun shows as someone will have a stock with my name on it at some point. i would buy this gun again if given the chance, and will likely buy more like it in its condition and state of ill repair in the future.

[Zane71464]

Originally Posted by tonkaman

no value? i dont think so, at fifty bucks it has value to me, because just letting it go to waste in the scrap pile is a damn shame, thanks for the info on the age tho, i think ill keep checking to local gun shows as someone will have a stock with my name on it at some point. i would buy this gun again if given the chance, and will likely buy more like it in its condition and state of ill repair in the future.

As Jim said, the parts are hard to come by. But, if you can go to some gun shops that have been in business for years, they usually have a lot of "things/parts" laying about in some dark back corner. And I agree with going to the gun shows as well as flea markets and such. Just a thought.

[tonkaman]

ok so i guess its american gun not american arms. but i figured out my firing pin problem, its a two piece deal and the front peice is gone on both sides. does anyone know if there is supposed to be a spring in there as well to hold the firing pin inside the gun until its actuated? numerich doesnt list a spring just the two peice pin assembly. no i will probably never fire the gun but i want it to be functional.

[tonkaman]

Originally Posted by Zane71464

As Jim said, the parts are hard to come by. But, if you can go to some gun shops that have been in business for years, they usually have a lot of "things/parts" laying about in some dark back corner. And I agree with going to the gun shows as well as flea markets and such. Just a thought.

thanks, yea the gun shows are a lot of help with these projects, lots of knowledgable people walking around amongst the idiots, hahaha

[mtnboomer]

American Gun Company: Trade name used by H. & D. Folsom Arms Company on pistols and shotguns that firm retailed.

[Jim K]

There should be springs under the firing pins.

Jim

[tonkaman]

Originally Posted by Jim K

There should be springs under the firing pins.

Jim

hey jim thanks, yea i thought there should be springs in there too, what would they be called because numerich doesnt list a firing pin spring all they list is a two piece firing pin, not real descriptive on what that includes.

[tonkaman]

ok one more question does anyone know if an LC smith double barrel shotgun stock would fit this gun as well. i looked at an lc smith at the same gun show i bought the gun at and they looked 100 percent identical.