'tho neither fine nor a double, I have a near new "Springfield" (Stevens) single .410 marked "1929 Model" on the barrel. It has an apparently original 2 1/2" chamber. I've seen identical Stevens/Springfield/Eastern Arms/You Name It miniature frame singles that had .410 3" chambers and also some that were marked 12mm/.410 and more than one that was ".44XL Shot". But never saw one that was model-dated before (what a year to commemorate). Anybody else seen a "1929 Model" Stevens-type single or did they drop the designation after the Crash? (At least there's no blood pitting on the muzzle area of mine....)
Mike--My father's old Eastern Arms Company .410 is exactly as you describe: marked "1929 Model" on the barrel. It's about as far removed from "near new" as you can imagine, but then Dad shot a bunch of squirrels, rabbits, and pheasants (often out the window of either the 1937 or 1948 Dodge) with that gun. I attribute the onset of hearing loss to "going hunting" with Dad when he'd spot a rooster sitting in a road ditch. It originally had a 2 1/2" chamber which Dad had lengthened to 3" at some point. I learned to shoot with that gun, before inheriting my older brother's much more modern Stevens .410 single. Not as trim as Dad's, but in significantly better condition!
My mother, brother and I pooled our resources one Christmas and bought Dad a J.C. Higgins bolt action .410, with a tube magazine. You would've thought it was a Purdey! But Dad always preferred that old Eastern Arms single.
