Grade Question
 

I have a TL 10 ga D2 hammer gun. Nice condition. Nice engraving. The Grade in the ID and Serialization Book shows D2. D2 is explained as E F G or H grades. How does one determine which of the EFGorH grades is applicable to a specific gun?
Thanks, Jack

Grades are determined by grip, gage, barrel steel, and engraving on early guns.

The 12 and smaller is a G while the 10 and larger is the E or H I believe. As Craig says, the grip style also determines the letter but they are all Grade 2 guns.





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Added some pics to albums under TL10. It has CPG with early version cap. Does this narrow it down to one letter only for grade? Nice engraving for my old eyes. Cheers Jack

Almost certain yours would be a grade E. I think an H would be a straight grip. I'm traveling.

From the "Blue Ink" catalog --

E - 10-gauge, Damascus barrel, pistol grip, $85
F - 10-gauge, Damascus barrel, straight grip, $80
G - 12-, 14-, 16- or 20-gauge, Damascus barrel, pistol grip, $80
F - 12-, 14-, 16, or 20-gauge, Damascus barrel, straight grip, $75

R - 10-gauge, Twist barrel, pistol grip, $60
S - 10-gauge, Twist barrel, straight grip, $55
T - 12-, 14-, 16- or 20-gauge, Twist barrel, pistol grip, $55
U - 12-, 14-, 16, or 20-gauge, Twist barrel, straight grip, $50

For D on up, grip choice and 10-gauge are all the same price as 12-, 14-, 16- or 20-gauge

That post above is great! Thank you.

That is a good post by Dave. I had never realized a straight stock was a less expensive option compared to pistol grip. It makes sense the more I think about it.

It is interesting that straight stocks usually command a premium today. I know they made less of them so that is a big factor. It is a premium on something that was less expensive at the time of production. Thanks for the post on this!

That didn't carry over into the hammerless guns though, only the $5 premium for the 10-gauge in the two lowest grades early on.