My antique 1900 Remy 12

[Stepmac]

Bought this old shotgun at a local pawnshop. Had a leather pad which rotten off almost immediately. A very old Remy. Cheap. They stopped making these 1900s in 1910. Almost no marking. Engraved with Remington Arms Co on the sides of the box lock. Solid steel barrels. Nice bores, no ejectors. Very, very basic, but I knew that Remington had some relationship with Parker so I thought maybe its innards might be Parkish. So I bought it. What did I get?

30" tubes, shiny bores, locks up tight. No scratches, dings, cracks. No dents or noticeable marks on the barrels. Barrels dull gray, silver receiver. Case colors on water table. Nice crisp triggers. I have no idea what the chokes are, probably some choke. I'll shoot it as if it's a F and M. 2.5" chambers, so I'll shoot RIO 2.5ers. I'll order some 7.5s and 5s. I'm an old man and kind of tired just like this Remy. As Crocodile Dundee said, "We be mates."

[Researcher]

From 1889 to 1910, Remington Arms Co. was one of the biggest competitors for Parker Bros. In those 21 years Remington Arms Co. sold 134200 of their hammer doubles, 41194 A- to EEO-Grade hammerless doubles and 98508 K-quality hammerless doubles, far more guns than the Brothers P built from 1866 to 1942.

E.D. Fulford won the 1898 Grand American Handicap at live birds with a CEO-Grade Remington Hammerless Double. For 1906, Remington's pro William Heer carried the high average for the year 96.3% on 14,055 targets shooting a pair of Remington hammerless doubles.

The Gun Behind the Man, The American Field, Mar. 2, 1907.jpg

The real nail in the coffin for all North American doubles came in 1905 when Remington Arms Co. introduced their John M. Browning designed Remington Autoloading Shotgun (later Model 11). The Remington Autoloading Shotgun won the Grand American Handicap in 1907.

1907 GAH Winner, J.J. Blanks, The American Field, June 29, 1907.jpeg

Again in 1908 the Remington Autoloading Shotgun won the GAH.

In 1908 Remington Arms Co. introduced their John D. Pedersen designed Remington Repeating Shotgun (later Model 10). By the end of 1909 Marcellus Hartley Dodge, the owner of Remington Arms Co. saw that the future was with his John M. Browning and John D. Pedersen designed shotguns and in February 1910 sold their entire inventory of break-action guns to Norvell - Shapleigh Hardware Co. in St Louis.

Other than both being boxlock hammerless doubles there is no commonality between the Parker Bros. and Remington hammerless doubles.

[Stepmac]

Thank you Researcher for your informative post about Remington shotguns. My grandfather (I am 80.) gave me his Remington Model 11 12 gauge when I was a teen. It sported a Polychoke. The gun weighed a ton, but it was the gun upon which I did most of my shooting, along with a Knickerbocher 20, that my grandfather gave to my dad when he was 10. So I shot heritage guns. I shot model 11s for decades. Sold them when I was in the hospital circling the drain thinking my shooting days were over. But I survived. (aortic dissection) I sure miss my little Model 11 20. Bought two Auto 5s a 12 and a 16. The 16 is an early gun with Mark IV engraving and it is a beauty to behold. Has the original black leather case with two barrels, a full and a cylinder. Suicide safety. That gun competes with beautiful Parkers for sheer shotgun glory. It carries a 75.000 ser# so it's an early gun.

[Larry the Gun Guy]

Originally Posted by Steve McCarty

Thank you Researcher for your informative post about Remington shotguns. My grandfather (I am 80.) gave me his Remington Model 11 12 gauge when I was a teen. It sported a Polychoke. The gun weighed a ton, but it was the gun upon which I did most of my shooting, along with a Knickerbocher 20, that my grandfather gave to my dad when he was 10. So I shot heritage guns. I shot model 11s for decades. Sold them when I was in the hospital circling the drain thinking my shooting days were over. But I survived. (aortic dissection) I sure miss my little Model 11 20. Bought two Auto 5s a 12 and a 16. The 16 is an early gun with Mark IV engraving and it is a beauty to behold. Has the original black leather case with two barrels, a full and a cylinder. Suicide safety. That gun competes with beautiful Parkers for sheer shotgun glory. It carries a 75.000 ser# so it's an early gun.

Now that is a gun that I would like to see some quality pictures!

[J.B. Books]

Remington doubles are under appreciated vintage shotguns IMO and I have found them to be great shooters and solid well designed guns. Their low grade guns, A grade model 1894 and the K grade aka Model 1900 are utilitarian hardware store guns lacking any embellishment. I read somewhere that Remington was fortunate to have not been sued for infringing on the Anson and Deeley patent. I have an AED 10ga that is one of my favorite fowlers, a gun that can deliver 90%+ plus patterns at 40 yards with both barrels. I also have a 1900 12ga, fluid steel barrels with ejectors. I bought it for a song and it turned out to be the tightest shooting 12ga I have with it's left barrel, 85% at 40 yards. I shoot both guns well in the field, they fit. High grade Remington doubles are not seen often but they are truly beautiful, they command a high price if in good condition and the engraving on them is more pleasing to me than many high grade Parkers. Enjoy your new gun.

[Stepmac]

Originally Posted by Larry Stauch

Now that is a gun that I would like to see some quality pictures!

I'll take some pics of my Browning Auto5 with the Mark IV engraving and see if I can figure out how to post them here. I paid $4.4K for it, which is much more than I have ever paid for any gun, but it just screamed for me to buy it when I saw it at a gun show in Oregon. It is indeed a work of art! (later entry) I discovered that my Auto five sixteen is a very early gun. The Browning serial number site reported that any pre 1920's age is just a guess. So my gun is probably in the teens or earlier. A very pretty gun tho.

[Stepmac]

Originally Posted by Pete Lester

Remington doubles are under appreciated vintage shotguns IMO and I have found them to be great shooters and solid well designed guns. Their low grade guns, A grade model 1894 and the K grade aka Model 1900 are utilitarian hardware store guns lacking any embellishment. I read somewhere that Remington was fortunate to have not been sued for infringing on the Anson and Deeley patent. I have an AED 10ga that is one of my favorite fowlers, a gun that can deliver 90%+ plus patterns at 40 yards with both barrels. I also have a 1900 12ga, fluid steel barrels with ejectors. I bought it for a song and it turned out to be the tightest shooting 12ga I have with it's left barrel, 85% at 40 yards. I shoot both guns well in the field, they fit. High grade Remington doubles are not seen often but they are truly beautiful, they command a high price if in good condition and the engraving on them is more pleasing to me than many high grade Parkers. Enjoy your new gun.

Thank you, and I will. I buy and shoot only old shotguns. I'm not a collector of any one kind, rather I'm a "one of each" kinda guy. So I have two Parkers, one a SBT. An LC Smith O grade (their lowest graded gun). A Remy 1900 12 which is a very nice inexpensive shotgun. My dad's old Knickerbocker 20, a Spanish Astra 12, (fancy engraving) a Lefever I grade (also their lowest graded gun) and a very fine, refurbished Fox Sterly 12. The Fox came with its original Leg-oh-mutton case. Truthfully I could get along just fine with the Fox gun, which is a jewel of course, but darn it I like old guns.

[Stepmac]

Originally Posted by Pete Lester

Remington doubles are under appreciated vintage shotguns IMO and I have found them to be great shooters and solid well designed guns. Their low grade guns, A grade model 1894 and the K grade aka Model 1900 are utilitarian hardware store guns lacking any embellishment. I read somewhere that Remington was fortunate to have not been sued for infringing on the Anson and Deeley patent. I have an AED 10ga that is one of my favorite fowlers, a gun that can deliver 90%+ plus patterns at 40 yards with both barrels. I also have a 1900 12ga, fluid steel barrels with ejectors. I bought it for a song and it turned out to be the tightest shooting 12ga I have with it's left barrel, 85% at 40 yards. I shoot both guns well in the field, they fit. High grade Remington doubles are not seen often but they are truly beautiful, they command a high price if in good condition and the engraving on them is more pleasing to me than many high grade Parkers. Enjoy your new gun.

Thank you, and I will. I buy and shoot only old shotguns. I'm not a collector of any one kind, rather I'm a "one of each" kinda guy. So I have two Parkers, one a SBT. An LC Smith O grade (their lowest graded gun). A Remy 1900 12 which is a very nice inexpensive shotgun. My dad's old Knickerbocker 20, a Spanish Astra 12, (fancy engraving) a Lefever I grade (also their lowest graded gun) and a very fine, refurbished Fox Sterly 12. The Fox came with its original Leg-oh-mutton case. Truthfully I could get along just fine with the Fox gun, which is a jewel of course, but darn it I like old guns.

[Researcher]

I grew up around Remington Hammerless Doubles. My father had a KED-Grade 12-gauge when my parents got married and headed west in October 1935. During the war he picked up a nice AE-Grade at Osborne & Uland Sporting Goods in Seattle. When we went back to Minnesota to grandpa's farm when I was an infant in the fall of 1946, he took the KED-Grade along and gave it to his youngest brother who had recently returned from adventures with General Patton. U.S. 12 ran near grandpa's farm and was a direct route to eight a day wild pheasants around Webster, South Dakota. The old family picture of the bird processing operation in grandpa's yard was annotated 72 pheasants and 72 ducks. About the time I was in junior high Dad added a 16-gauge AE-Grade to his arsenal, but that gun, serial number 136036, was stolen from his house in 1978.

The KED-Grade was used by one of my cousins when steel shot first came in and the last time I saw it in 2002 the chokes were bulged and the ribs popped loose! The 12-gauge AE-Grade is still in my gun safe along with my six Remington hammerless doubles.

[Stepmac]

Originally Posted by Dave Noreen

I grew up around Remington Hammerless Doubles. My father had a KED-Grade 12-gauge when my parents got married and headed west in October 1935. During the war he picked up a nice AE-Grade at Osborne & Uland Sporting Goods in Seattle. When we went back to Minnesota to grandpa's farm when I was an infant in the fall of 1946, he took the KED-Grade along and gave it to his youngest brother who had recently returned from adventures with General Patton. U.S. 12 ran near grandpa's farm and was a direct route to eight a day wild pheasants around Webster, South Dakota. The old family picture of the bird processing operation in grandpa's yard was annotated 72 pheasants and 72 ducks. About the time I was in junior high Dad added a 16-gauge AE-Grade to his arsenal, but that gun, serial number 136036, was stolen from his house in 1978.

The KED-Grade was used by one of my cousins when steel shot first came in and the last time I saw it in 2002 the chokes were bulged and the ribs popped loose! The 12-gauge AE-Grade is still in my gun safe along with my six Remington hammerless doubles.

Side Note: I cannot even count the number of guns that I have lost in burglaries. I hope there is a special place in Hell for people who do that.

I am considering buying a new shotgun just so I can shoot steel in it. I own a newish Muroku (sp?) O/U 12, but that gun isn't exactly new. I bought it new, in Japan in 1975 when I was there enjoying the VN War. (We lost.) I have never shot steel in it and don't know if I should.