baker side by side shotgun
 

I have a friend that has a couple of baker shotguns, in good to very good condition. I do not know much about shotguns at all. Are they collectable like a parker? I will get more specifics and pictures when I go look at them. Just looking for any general input on that brand of shotgun, guy said they were pre ithaca.

the gun I am looking at is a grade C 12 gauge, 28" barrels in near 98% condition. It has a recoil pad added with floral designs and dogs on each side engraved. Thank You

Bakers are very collectable.

TxHuntermn,
He just sent pictures, he said it had an added recoil pad which wasn't original. The gun is so nice, I don't know if I would shoot it. I have a couple things that I may be able to trade is the only reason I am even looking at it. It is a really nice looking gun. The parkers and fox seem to be the ones that are talked about a lot on the forums and the english guns which I don't think I could ever afford.

The earlier graded bakers are of very good quality and are collectable. Just not by as large of a crowd as some of the other makers.

Generally speaking, the leaders, black beautys and folsom era guns do not generate much interest.

Brian,
Thank you, I will post what year etc. I am going to go down and look at these guns. He also has a parker vh? with a 1.5 frame? I cannot remember all he talked about, he said one parker had been dropped and the butt plate got cracked and there is a small crack in stock which can be repaired. Would an original parker butt plate be hard to find? Or do they make replacements? Thank you for your input. Ed Norman

Baker shotguns
 

Here is a web link to the Baker Collector page-


http://bakercollectors.com/index.php...er-G-F-Co-Guns

A Baker R grade started me out with double shotguns in 1979. Then came a Paragon ejector gun followed by an A grade. Those guns served me well. If the gun you are considering is a solid piece and fits you I think you will like it. Good luck.

Joe D. that site explained a lot, man I am learning a lot in here. Thank You

Ed Norman,

Some high grade Baker's are indeed collectible. It's mainly a matter of model and grade. C grade Baker's were a specific line of box lock mechanism which differed from the better known side lock Baker side-by-side that yielded a handful of stunners. I can't claim a tremendous Baker expertise, but my sense is that C grades are generally on the lower-middle end of Baker guns.

If the gun in question is highly engraved it would be neat if you could share some pictures, as I have not seen one so appointed.

- Nudge

Nick,
I got the same kind of idea, that the C grade is a lower grade. I will try to figure out a way to put a side pic of reciever on here. Thanks, Ed

baker C grade
 

this is a picture of C grade baker

Ed,

That's not what I was expecting. The C grade I know of is a box lock design with no side plates. This is a sidelock gun, perhaps mid-high grade...just below Paragon, or maybe it is a Paragon.

Can you provide a pic of the water table showing the serial number and letters? If we can see it...or you can even just write it down, we can get to the bottom of it. Need the number and any letters or other characters. If there is an "F" that isn't the grade, it indicates the years in which H.D. Folsom owned Baker.

Also, what made you think it is a C grade in the first place?

This gun is lovely! Krupp barrels?

NDG

Almost certain that is a later "A" grade....super nice looking gun from this photo...it could possibly even be a "B" grade...the grades were not indicated on the guns generally...A's are often difficult to differentiate from B's. Paragons all have at least some work on breech balls and more coverage generally.

I think Nick is referring to a MODEL C gun as the plain boxlock...I seem to remember such a thing.

As Far as I know, there never was a C grade. B grade was plainer than an A grade, so I would think that would not make sense that the subject gun wouls be a lesser grade than a B.

Nice Gun, can we see the rest of it...I have an A grade Damascus gun that I love!!

My A grade Baker.....

The A and the B were essentially the same, just the A had Damascus barrels and the B had Twist barrels. There was quite a bit of variation in the engraving or etching on the A and B Grades. The text in the Baker Gun Quarterly explains that they have a variety of motifs.

The gun in question is a very early gun as it only has the single pin and a screw in the lockplate. Just a bit into the Baker hammerless they went to a lock with three pins.


Attachment 69884

Like Dave said...I meant to say that your gun is an early gun....that leaves a question about the barrels...either those are Damascus or Twist that have been carded and blued. or they are likely replacement barrels if fluid.

Will try to get more pictures guys, thanks for all the help. These guns are from one of my best friends father who passed away. Planning on going down this week or weekend to look, he also has a parker vh with the butt plate cracked, and stock has a very slight crack.

hopefully this one loaded, thanks again, I believe he said this gun might of been pre 1900? We talked about a lot of guns, so I cannot keep them all straight.

Very nice condition. I like Baker guns a lot.

I thought they said this gun was like 98% original? Not sure about the barrels then.

he said he thought this was the nicest of the guns he had left, he has another baker, and a couple of parkers. I will give you guys more info after I look at guns, this is the last picture he sent I think. I will check.

found one more picture, thanks again for all your input

Nick, I reread your post, the guy told me he thought it was a C grade, he did not mention anything about the barrels. I just purchased my first old shotgun last weekend. I am hoping I like shooting older shotguns well enough to sell my new beretta and just hunt with the older guns. These guns have sentimental value to me, my good friend and his father who owned the guns that passed away both have encouraged me to carve decoys. I have a full bodied duck carving and an old pistol that he has been collecting, so I will go down and see if we can come up with some kind of deal. This gun is so nice, I don't even know if I can shoot it. He has another baker, and a couple of parkers he wants me to look at. I think he said this was the nicest baker he had. I remember looking at the pictures Joe D. had and thinking if this was a C grade and was one of the lesser grades, then I bet the better grades were something else. Thanks for all the help.

Thats why we're all here! As another poster pointed out, when you said C grade I immediately thought of a different model gun Baker made called the Model C. They did not make a grade C sidelock, and yours is likely an A, as was suggested by others.

If you take the forearm off, and then press the top lever while holding the barrels, they will come right off. Then you can see the water table of the frame, and the pertinent information stamped thereon. Also, as someone else pointed out, given its likely production era it's odd that the barrels aren't Damascus. If you take the gun down and inspect the bottom of the barrels for a small hole in the rib, you will likely learn the truth of it.

Very nice gun!! And if the barrels aren't blued over, would be quite a find.

- NDG

I am pretty sure the guy said the gun was 98%, I could of gotten that mixed up with another gun though. If the gun is all original, does anyone have an estimate of its worth? I know thats hard without all the correct info, but I know very little of shotguns in general, especially after a 40 year layoff from hunting. Thanks again, Ed

That gun looks a lot like my A grade engraving wise. My A was Damascus barreled. The forend picture you posted looks exactly like my R grade which, according to the web page, was the Krupp steel version of these earlier A and B guns. My R grade had a pointing dog and bird on each side with scroll accents but was not nearly as ornate as your picture. Are the barrels inscribed with "Krupp Fluid Steel" ? Pretty gun!

Ed,

The previous poster reiterated a question I made earlier. If you look all over the barrels and find the word "Krupp" on them you will know they are fluid steel. Otherwise, you might see scant Damascus details coming through the bluing near the lug where there is wear.

- NDG

Joe D.
I have not been down to look at the gun yet, going this weekend hopefully. I don't even know how much they are asking yet. I don't know if its a 1,000 to 1500 dollar gun, or 1500 to 2000, or more, or less.

Here is a post that will help with a feeling of the value of your prospective gun. The link is for a very nice Paragon which should have sold for the initial askance.
http://parkerguns.org/forums/showthr...=Baker+Paragon

You will have to be objective about the condition of the gun once you have it in hand. Condition of bores, tightness of lockup, originality of finishes, condition of wood, etc., etc. Good luck with your quest.

Joe D.
Thanks for all this help (and everyone else) That paragon looks a bit nicer than the one I am looking at. The paragon also has some of the scrollwork on the end of barrel, no idea of the proper terminology where the one I am looking at does not have that. Would people go out and shoot a gun that nice, or just occasionally? Or not at all, and try to keep the original quality of the gun? I am sure everyone has different ideas about shooting old guns, that one I am looking at just almost looks to nice to shoot a lot. Thanks again, Ed