The old factory ledger, I have a copy of, lists 738 as a Three-Barrel Gun Co. 12x12x.32-40 with 28-inch Damascus barrels, and half-pistol grip stock, shipped on 12/20/06 H.S.B.&Co. (Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & C0. in Chicago). It appears the Damascus barrels of 738 have been blued over. The Three-Barrel Gun Co. added the 0-grade to the line and beginning with serial number 654 the 0-grades comes to dominate the ledger. The 0-grade isn't in the little 1905 pocket catalog of The Three-Barrel Gun Co. but is in the 1906-07 catalog with either Damascus or Imported Steel Barrels. The 0-grade was only offered in 12-gauge and .32-40 or .30-30. By the 1908 The Three-Barrel Gun Co. catalog the 0-grade is listed with Crescent Steel Barrels.
The Feb. 13, 1900, patent date on the watertable of your gun is for Frank A. Hollenbeck's Patent No. 643,601 which covered the bolting mechanism used on these double and three-barrel West Virginia guns as well as the double gun produced by Baltimore Arms Co. The lock mechanism of the three-barrel guns was covered by Frank A, Hollenbeck's Patent No. 753,492 granted Mar. 1, 1904. I've never seen that date stamped on the guns, and Hollenbeck Gun Co. was headed into receivership by then.
Thank you for the detailed information. That helps a lot on my searching of information on the gun. THANK YOU!
