doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Favorite odd doubles.

Most here know of and perhaps like most if not all of the main stream doubles. Do you have a favorite odd ball or rarely encountered double? Like a twist Darne or early Stevens Arms, Colt or any other seldom seen model.

I failed to buy one which was a Union Fire Arms of Ohio 20 ga. which is the only other American made gun, using the Lefever type ball hinge action, that I've seen. Not a high grade gun for sure but I've never seen it used on any other makers guns. Perhaps they hired one of the Lefever Sons for a short while after the D M Lefever Ohio venture failed or perhaps they bought a small lot of action frames at bargain prices. They fact they were soon bought out themselves just makes it still harder to understand why it was made in the first place.

I happen onto this Colt 1878 just by chance. It had been a project gun and had a few problems. I've fixed the mechanical probkems and plan to work on wood this winter. I shot it at last local Cowboy Action Shooting match with brass hulls and BlackMZ loads.

A few recognized the significance of the old gun but most paid no attention to just another old shotgun.

Union evolved in a tangled web from Colton and Hickox (1891), later Colton Manufacturing Co. by 1894. By 1901 Colton was listed as gun manufacturers in the Toledo directories. Colton was manufacturing guns for Sears & Roebuck which appear in the 1900 and 1901 Sears catalogs. On September 8, 1902 the Union Firearms Co. was incorporated. Sears needing a supply of cheaper repeating shotguns than the Winchesters or Marlins, had a plan to acquire the remains of Spencer, from Francis Bannermann who had been manufacturing the Spencer pump, and move the equipment to Toledo. This apparently went wrong, and Colton and his people (including Charles Lefever, son of Uncle Dan) went ahead on their own to manufacture a pump. Union made a slightly different version of the pump for Sears. Union was also manufacturing a double with ejectors by 1903. Both this and the pump were in Sears 1903 catalog. Their last listing in the Toledo city directory was 1913.

By Union Fire Arms Company's 1905 catalogue they were making a single trigger double with a Lefever patent single trigger, steel, twist or Damascus barrels at $25, $26, or $27. Engraving $3.50 extra, fancy figured stock $3.50 extra, recoil pad $3.50 extra, and ejectors $10 extra. Union's Model 23 was their finely finished gun at $60 with Laminated or Damacus barrels, ejectors $10 extra. The Model 22 was their plain double with steel, twist or Damscus barrels at $18, $19, or $21, ejector $10 extra. Model 24 was the pump gun at $19 with steel barrel, $20 with Laminated barrel, and $22 with Damascus barrel. They also offered two hammer single barrels. By the 1911 catalog they had added a Model 25 Peerless pump gun, and a Model 25A which was a trap gun. I've condensed this from Joseph T. Vorisek�s "Shotgun Research Newsletter" volume three, issue one.

Meanwhile, another of Uncle Dan's sons, Frank Lefever, went down to Wheeling/Moundsville, West Virginia, and became plant superintendent
of the new Three-Barrel Gun Co. as it emerged from the bankrupt Hollenbeck Gun Co. Frank took the D.M. Lefever single-barrel parts with him and they became the basis of the Three-Barrel Gun Co., and later Royal Gun Co. single barrel trap guns --





I guess my choices for favorite low volume old American double would be either a Quality 2 Parry Arms Co. with his rear-acting under-bolt --



or the American Arms Co. Whitmore hammerless --

This is a high quality looking gun. Too pricey for me but with 29" barrels and weighing 6lb 4oz it would probably handle well. Stock drop seems kind of odd, wonder if it is listed correctly.

Gustav Fukert SxS

Josef Kirner

Fun topic.

M F Kennedy of St. Paul



Early Daly



Product of Luxemborg



F. Huels of Madison, Wisc.



Forehand Arms, Grade 3



Wesson



Cashmore Nitro



Cashmore Nitro closed

What!! Nothing from the Duchy of Grand Fenwick?

The Lightweight 12 by Thomas Turner with its scalloped stock and stubby forend marches to a different drummer. 6 lbs., 1 oz.:

I'm glad I got my pictures of my Colt in first. Seeing the followup posts of most beautiful and elegant examples of master gunmaker's art, my gun looks domestic and utilitarian. But I don't find such guns in my world and couldn't afford one if I ventured out to find one.

Husqvarna 310 Lyx 12 bore.