American Gun Co.

[Harold Pickens]

Anybody able to enlighten me on this? It was a 20 ga sidelock, marked armor steel, and Featherweight on one of the side plates . It looks like a Smith at first glance. Nice shape, with a fair amount of case color , 28" barrels. Could pick it up for $450, but looking at a VHE 20 tomorrow( cut barrels, crap) so held onto my cash. Nice, light gun.

[Drew Hause]

Here you go. Not great guns.
Featherlight (not -lite nor -weight) 20g guns have been reported, possibly for Sears

http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/20091267

https://docs.google.com/document/pub...iu5JGIhfguSXXQ

[OH Osthaus]

Harold


they have been discussed here at least a couple times

http://parkerguns.org/forums/showthr...light=american

http://parkerguns.org/forums/showthr...light=american

[charlie cleveland]

they seem to be good guns i have a 12 ga with steel barrels and it has killed a few turkeys for me..i lentghed the chambers to 3 1/2 inch it really shoots well but is a shoulder bruiser with the 3 1/2 inch loads of 2 1/4 ounce..weighs in at 7 3/4 lbs...in my opinion they are made of good stuff a 20 ga would be a fine gun to add to anybody s collection...charlie

[Drew Hause]

Charlie: almost all American Gun Co. marked Crescent shotguns were manufactured prior to the introduction in 1922 of the Western Cartridge Co. 12 gauge ‘Super-X Field’ 2 3/4 inch 1 1/4 ounce 3 3/4 dram equiv. shell. The gun was designed for 1 1/4 oz. 3 dram loads. It is quite likely that the wall thickness at the end of your chambers is now inadequate, and a catastrophic rupture is possible, if not likely.
Brother, do what you want, but please do not have a child nearby when you fire one of your turkey loads.

[charlie cleveland]

drew i have measured the barrel thickness and it is well above the standards for a 3 1/2 inch gun...do nt worry there are never children or adults at my side when fireing heavy or lite loads..the old american 12 ga i have as fired a lot of heavy loads at the dr pepper can..charlie

[Steve McCarty]

My dad's little Knickerbocker marked American Gun Co. My dad got this gun, as used in 1931 on his 10th birthday and he shot it his entire life and it was the first gun that I shot and when I was about 10.

[charlie cleveland]

lot of sinamental vaue in that gun for sure...i seen a coupla 28 ga guns like your 20 ga but they were outa my price range but woula like to have had them...i have a 410 double with hammers it is a childs gun it is so small and its a american arms gun...in my opinion a poor mans s lc smith...charlie

[Steve McCarty]

Originally Posted by charlie cleveland

lot of sinamental vaue in that gun for sure...i seen a coupla 28 ga guns like your 20 ga but they were outa my price range but woula like to have had them...i have a 410 double with hammers it is a childs gun it is so small and its a american arms gun...in my opinion a poor mans s lc smith...charlie

Strange thing about my dad's little 20 is that the LOP is a tad over 14" which means a man can shoulder the gun. While a full and Mod gun it is quick in the brush and my dad used it for woodcock when we lived in upstate NY. Tender little birds. I was about 12 and I'd get two. He shot everything with that little gun, from ducks to woodcock. We also shot hand tossed skeet. My dad was an unbelievable shot with that gun! Seriously now, I don't recall him ever missing...not once. He was over 6' and that little gun looked like a tinker toy in his hands.

[Steve McCarty]

I spent my 8th grade year living in Bucklin, KS. My grandfather, my dad's dad, loved to hunt. We'd sit on the fender of his old Buick and my grandmother would drive down the country roads and we'd shoot dove off of the wires, or flying. We'd also get pheasants when they flushed from the brush alongside the road. Jack rabbits were thick. I'd shoot them with an ancient 22 bolt gun of some kind. We didn't eat the jacks, but we did the cotton tails. The meadowlarks sang a constant song. The last time I was out there, in 2010, I didn't see a'one.