"Brush" Anglo-French bruce "brushwood", Old North French broche, "bush, thicket, undergrowth"

Was the Winchester 1897 Brush introduced in the fall of 1897 the first "Brush Gun"? Was this a uniquely American term?

October 16, 1897 Sporting Life



Oct. 23, 1897 Sporting Life
https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll17/id/44707/rec/1
Rolla Heikes using the "latest model Winchester brush gun"

Dec. 4, 1897 Sporting Life
The latest gun which the Winchester Co. have placed on the market for sportsmen is the "Brush gun," and, as its name implies, is designed expressly for bird shooting in the field. It is a very desirable gun for this kind of shooting, owing to it light weight, strong shooting qualities, and also on account of being a magazine gun with five cartridges at command of the shooter, a feature that most successful hunters highly endorse. The gun is listed at $27, which places it within the reach of everyone.
The "Brush" gun is made with a blued frame and a 26-inch, light-weight, rolled steel cylinder bore barrel. The magazine is shorter than that of the regular Model 1897 shotgun, holding, four instead of five cartridges. The Stock is made of plain wood, unchecked, and has a small, well shaped pistol grip. It is 13 3/8 inches long, has a drop of 1 5/8 inches at the comb, and 2 1/2 inches at the heel, and is finished with a rubber butt plate.

The "Takedown" Model was introduced in 1898
https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll17/id/45796/rec/7

July 23, 1898 Sporting Life



Recreation, 1899
https://books.google.com/books?id=ytyfAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PR29&lpg
Ithaca Brush Gun?? Was this listed in Ithaca catalogs?

No mention of a "brush gun" in Henry Sharp, The Gun: Afield & Afloat, 1904
http://books.google.com/books?id=BFRDAAAAIAAJ

Forest & Stream, 1906
https://books.google.com/books?id=r0gcAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA928&lpg
Greener Crown Quality Ejector, Westley Richards, Newman & Ithaca "Brush" guns for sale. Did that just mean shorter barrels and open chokes?

In 1909 Baker Gun & Forging Co. offered the Batavia Brush with 26-inch Twist barrels and a straight-grip stock at $24.

No mention of a "brush gun" George Bird Grinnell, American Game-bird Shooting, 1910
http://books.google.com/books?id=bZcyAAAAMAAJ

February 24, 1912 Sporting Life Parker Brush Gun? Was this ever listed in a Parker catalog?
"the finest brush gun made."



Outdoor Recreation, 1918
"Parker Brush Gun"
https://books.google.com/books?id=0Hs7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA379&lpg

Hunter Arms never had a "Brush Gun" but initially the Skeet Special was called the L.C. Smith "Skeet Upland Special", with double triggers, pistol grip stock, and splinter forend.

The A.H. Fox Skeeter was introduced in 1931 and the Sterlingworth Skeet and Upland in 1935, with automatic ejectors, Fox-Kautzky selective single trigger, beavertail forend, recoil pad, and ivory beads. Savage later offered a Sterlingworth Ejector Brush.

In 1937, the Stevens No. 500 Skeet Single Trigger Double Barrel Hammerless Shotgun was introduced with either 26- or 28-inch barrels in 12 and 16 gauges and 26-inch barrels in 20 gauge with "special Skeet boring for Skeet, Brush or Upland Shooting."

Any British or Continental "Brush Guns", or just Churchill's XXV with open chokes?
Were swamp rib French guns, possibly with "canon raye dispersant" chokes referred to as "brush guns" or just Fusil Bécasse?

1929 "Upland With the Shotgun", H.G. Wilson
"20 gauge brush gun"
https://books.google.com/books?id=q0TlAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA11-PA38&lpg

Drew, the French "becassier" models certainly fit the description. Either OU or sxs. I have a Verney-Carron catalog from about 20 years ago showing a 12ga OU with 61cm barrels, weight of 2.5 kg. The "Grand Becassier". Bottom barrel canon raye dispersant, top with choke tubes. They are especially designed for woodcock hunting, but I think they could be called "brush guns". Similar guns also available from Italian makers.

A hunting buddy has one of the Baker brush guns hanging on a wall at his house, along with an LC Smith. Both are 16s with twist barrels.
There was a different Baker brush, also a 16, with swivels and a sling, at a few shows, most of a decade ago.
They are nice handling guns, but, I wouldn’t be in any hurry to make it mine. Very low grade.

Best,
Ted

The Baker Brush model was one of their Batavia lines. As such it lacked the draw bolt & firing pin blocks of the higher grade Baker lines. I have had a couple of the Batavia guns over the years, a 12 gauge Batavia Special & a 16 ga Black Beauty, both with steel barrels. Even though on the low end of the Totem Pole as far as Bakers go, they're not bad guns. Certainly well above the myriad of JABC's which infiltrated the country in the same era.

This illustration of the Baker Batavia Brush appears in Charles Askins, The American Shotgun, 1921
https://books.google.com/books?id=fYsoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA87



April 1912 Hunter - Trader - Trapper
https://books.google.com/books?id=Uy7OAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA81

"The latest Batavia model..."



Batavia Brush is on the 1908 Price List

Huh??? From 1911 to the end of production the 26-inch barrel Sterlingworth was referred to as "Brush". When the Sterlingworth was introduced by the bogus The Sterlingworth Co. in 1910 there were two versions -- a heavy gun with 30-inch barrels called "Standard" and a lighter weight gun with 28-inch barrels called "Field". When the Sterlingworth was added to the A.H. Fox Gun Co. 1911 "Campfire" catalog the 26-inch barrel "Brush" was added to the offerings. From the A.H. Fox Gun Co. "Campfire" Catalogue No. 24 (1911) --





The 32-inch barrel Sterlingworth Trap was added by 1913 --



Any of them - Brush, Field, Standard or Trap - could be had with extractors as a Sterlingworth Brush, Sterlingworth Field, Sterlingworth Standard or Sterlingworth Trap, or with ejectors as a Sterlingworth Ejector Brush, Sterlingworth Ejector Field, Sterlingworth Ejector Standard or Sterlingworth Ejector Trap.

The straight grip and skeet choked (skeet cylinder and quarter choke) Fox-Sterlingworth Skeet & Upland Game Gun was introduced in 1935 with 26-inch barrels. It was a double trigger, plain extractor gun, but it could be ordered with most any of the regular options -- ejectors, Fox-Kautzky Single Selective Trigger, beavertail forearm, twin ivory sights and a recoil pad.



By 1937 the Fox-Sterlingworth Skeet & Upland Game Gun was also catalogued with 28-inch barrels and the twin ivory sights had become part of the package.

Thanks for the correction Dave.

Hopefully Bro. Walt can clarify if Ithaca listed a "Brush" gun, or if it was simply a descriptive term

So far it appears Baker G&F offered the first named U.S. "Brush" double

Not brush, but nothing tougher than early season standing corn. This fella appears to have surrendered, and lost his gun and dog

A.B. Frost, "A Snap Shot at Woodcock" Harper's Weekly 1897

1926 Davis (Davis-Warner Arms Corp. Brooklyn, NY and Norwich, CT) catalog courtesy of David Noreen listed the Davis MAXIMIN, "specially built and choked for short range and Target 70% at 35 yds. 12 ga.-24 in. barrels. 16 ga.-22 in. barrels. 20 ga.-20 in. barrels. Record of 21 successive wing shots and 21 killings have been made with one of these guns." Price $30.00.

Tryon catalog

I think Greener mentions the idea of short-bbled, light 12s being marketed as Brush guns as nothing new in one of his books.

This Francotte I've been lusting after would certainly qualify as one:

http://montywhitley.com/product/early-francotte-12-gauge-double-ejector-gun/

OWD

He never used the term "brush gun" however, and it may uniquely American
William Wellington Greener, The Gun and Its Development, 1907
http://books.google.com/books?id=3HMCAAAAYAAJ

Hammer welded barrels of any sort was a bug I never caught. I had chances to buy several Bakers over the years, but, never did. Something else always was more important in the end.
If you are interested, Dewey Vicknair has added a postscript to his “American Doubles” post on his blog. He is harsh on the Baker, and while I have no dog in that fight, I would think twice before I ignored what he has to say on the subject.
Most of the low grade Belgium guns I have handled in the last thirty years were not technically firearms anymore.

Best,
Ted

Very interesting topic...thank you!

As per Researcher/Dave N's reply above referring to the A. H. Fox Sterlingworth "Brush" model, here's a picture of my Model 1911 12 gauge Sterlingworth 26" Brush model Serial Number 57979 and the John Callahan/Savage letter confirming that configuration. Shipped October 24, 1911. (25 years to the day before I was born.)

Well Ted just to be totally honest if I was only willing to shoot what Mr Dewey Vickner approved of I likely would have to stick with Tiddly Winks. The only two Bakers I have had any experience with were both solid, well-made shooters although certainly not London Best's.

I'm sorta like Rhett Butler "Franklin I don't give a **** " if he likes them or not, I am fully capable of deciding for myself what I like. At a gun show once I found what was most likely a pristine condition original condition B grade Baker at a very attractive price. Didn't buy it, but should have. At the time I knew virtually nothing about Baker's & thought it simply to high grade to have twist barrels so assumed it was mismatched. I have regretted ever since I didn't buy that gun, have never found another in such good condition at so good a price. This was many years ago when anything with a "Welded" barrel was considered a Wallhanger & a drug on the market.

I do still like my Lefevers better than a Baker, but that doesn't mean I consider them a bad gun, because they're not.

I too don't give a rat what Vicknair thinks. I have three Bakers which seem to be holding together just fine. Along with an assortment of other awful machine made american guns. All still working. I have English and Continental guns too including two best quality guns and they still function, just like my Bakers.

Good for you. I’ve always been willing to listen to what anyone has to say on a subject I’m interested in, even if I don’t always agree with it.

That has saved me from a few “gumption traps” over the years.

Best,
Ted

Well, I wasn't dressed like that, and there was a dog around somewhere. But the departing woodcock and the shooter looking as if he's not likely to get off a shot . . . looks like me yesterday a few times!

That woodcock should have been painted in a blur. You'll never see one "hanging" like that.

SRH

Stan,
Shooting Woodcock in Michigan, I've seen a few pause after going straight up and clearing the canopy in the trees. I swear I thought some even looked back at me in a mocking fashion.
Karl

Hunting in young aspen (popple) with a lot of vertical density, they will often go up and out. It may not be exactly a pause, but you do have a moment when it's kinda like hitting a hanging curve ball. Unfortunately, those moments don't come often enough. Or else when they do, you're still trying to get yourself clear of the pucker brush to shoot.

Larry,
I'll be experiencing that starting tomorrow as I'm headed for Michigan's U.P. for the week. We'll see how the bird numbers are.
Karl

Why do people under value Bakers? I've had several and they all have performed flawlessly. I have two project guns Baker made and sold under the Montgomery Wards name. Both heavy 32", heavy barreled and tightly choked. Would make either nice sporting clay's gun or water-fowlers. Certainly not a brush gun. I had another straight grip 26" Baker which someone had restocked and bobbed the barrels. It would have been a great gun for close cover.

But Jon, Don't you know, Ted & Dewey Vickner don't like them.

I agree with you though, my limited experience with them has always been positive.
For many years Lefevers were also under-valued, but they are now gaining.
I think one thing in both of these brands is that both of them closed shop so early, thus the majority of them have welded barrels, either Twist or Damascus. We went through at least a half Century of being Brain-Washed into believing anything with a welded barrel, regardless of any other factors about it was JUNK.

Parker, Smith, Fox & Ithaca all survived well into the steel barrel age, so have been valued higher.

None of the ones I missed last season paused and looked back at me..........or anything else. They just beat it out of there as fast as possible. Years ago I recall a few seemingly "pause" as they went from vertical to horizontal flight. But, they don't seem to do that anymore down here.

SRH

Pretty sure I posted I had no dog in this fight. Anyone wants to give me a Baker, I’m game.

Best,
Ted

Call it what you will Ted, in my opinion, you threw your dog in the fight, with that statement. I no longer have the 12, but still have the little 16 Black Beauty, I'll take the advice to heart & being an honorable Man will not try to pawn it off on someone else, so will just keep it for myself. Only thing I really have against them is I'm not a fan of the J-spring forend fasteners but can live with them.

Smart move Ted. They are reliable. As long as a gun goes bang when you pull the trigger it has a lot going for it in my books. I don't see the rough tools mark because they are on the insides which most of us should not be fooling with.

Best of luck, Karl. I was up there with friends last Sunday. We found good numbers of woodcock. They hunted our best spots yesterday and didn't find any. Several days of rain, then strong NW winds and snow showers. I find it hard to believe they've all started south already. I was mostly checking new spots here in northern WI yesterday. No joy in most of those. But I did find several in a usually reliable covert.

I'd forgotten about this thread and will work on restoring the images

Arthur Davenport Fuller

The Brush Gun concept must date to shortly before 1897. I have a 16 gauge Greener, 26" barrels, 5 and 3/4 lbs, made in 1897, which I think must have been made for American use.

http://zincavage.org/Greener16gauge.html

David: did Greener catalogs list "Brush" guns?

There were no hits for "brush shotgun" in any of W.W. Greener's:

The Gun and Its Development: With Notes on Shooting, 1885
http://books.google.com/books?id=LAsAAAAAQAAJ

Modern Shotguns, 1891
http://books.google.com/books?id=FW8CAAAAYAAJ

The Breechloader and How to Use It, 1893
http://books.google.com/books?id=LdE1AAAAMAAJ

The Gun and Its Development, 8th Edition, 1907
http://books.google.com/books?id=3HMCAAAAYAAJ




Lefever ad in the November 22, 1913 Forest & Stream "For Trap, Brush, Field, Blind"



1916 Forest & Stream "For Field, Traps or Blind"

I don't have Greener catalogs. I saw nothing about brush guns in the Greener book. My guess would be that the concept is American, and originates from an article in an American sporting serial that appeared a bit before 1897.