Craig, after looking at the 1895 Showroom catalog, I noticed that the AAH pigeon gun was shown with bolsters and no other HAMMERLESS gun was pictured that way. The same catalog shows bolsters on lower grade hammer guns; both top lever and lifter. However the beads do not extend around the fences on the grades below grade 3. Based on the AAH hammerless gun pictured, I believe the bolsters were added for strength because they add nothing cosmetically.
|