I would disagree with the post above that states that the 0 grade became the Ideal grade after 1913. I have seen that written before, but it doesn't make it any more correct. The only difference in some 0 and 00 grades is a little bit of border engraving, and the Damascus barrels on the 0 grade versus steel barrels on the 00 grade.Some 0 grades didn't even have the border engraving. After 1913, a field grade could be ordered with Damascus barrels at additional cost, but the Ideal grade had a lot of engraving and better wood than the field grade, and could have either steel or Damascus barrels. I believe that a table that shows the comparison of pre and post 1913 guns should indicate that both the 0 and 00 grades were replaced by the field grade, and the Ideal grade would compare to the grade 1 guns, or based on the amount of engraving, to both the grade 1 and grade 2.
Last edited by Tom Martin; 11/03/12 03:07 PM.
