According to Brophy in his book, Marlin Firearms, A History of the Guns and the Company that Made Them, Marlin introduced the Model 90ST in 1953/1954. However, I just took another look at a reprinted 1941 Marlin Catalog that shows an illustration of a Model 90ST. The write-up in the catalog would lead one to believe that the Model 90ST was availble in 1941.
I have a 16 ga. Model 90 Skeetking that has a single trigger. According to Brophy, Skeetkings were available on special order in 1939 and 1940. The inertia weight on my gun appears to have a different shape and appears to be in a different position than the illustration of the Model 90ST shown in the 1954 Marlin Catalog.
I know that some folks, including Miller, did DT to ST conversions back then. Not sure what I would be looking for, but when I had the stock off, I did not see any mark or initials, etc. on the trigger assembly and sear to indicate that it might be a Miller conversion. Therefore, I think it is possible that my Model 90ST Skeetking was assembled as an ST at the Marlin factory.
I'm curious to know if anyone has other documentation confirming that Marlin did in fact offer single trigger Model 90's in the 1939-1941 timeframe. I'd also like to know how to recognize a Miller ST conversion.
