Iver Johnson Skeeter

[Bill Murphy]

Bobby's comment was a bit off the wall. For a hardware store gun, it is pretty nice. My 30" Skeeter .410 is a particularly nice handling gun. However, I have found that almost all .410s are "right for me". World NSSA .410 champion K.C. Miller shot a .410 Skeeter, may have shot the first 100 straight in .410 NSSA competition with it. He did also shoot a Parker and no one seems to be able to tell us which he shot the big scores with. My opinion is that the World Championship and the first 100 were shot before his Parker was made.

[Jeff K.]

Interesting, my three Iver Johnson catalogs don't even show an option for 30" barrels on any gauge Skeeter. They show 28" as standard with 26" as an option.

[charlie cleveland]

don't forget the little cresant 410 s and the lowly stevens 410....the stevens 410 is still a favorite of mine....charlie

[Researcher]

don't forget the little cresant 410 s and the lowly stevens 410....the stevens 410 is still a favorite of mine....charlie

By and large they were never made as skeet guns.

This appeared in the March 5, 1936, J. Stevens Arms Co. Wholesale Price List.

No. 500 Skeet Gun, March 5, 1936 Wholesale Price List.jpg

I've never seen one and never seen it in another piece of J. Stevens Arms Co. paper.

[Bill Murphy]

Jeff, I've never seen any IJ paper mentioning the 30" .410, but I've heard rumors of another.

[Bill Murphy]

Jeff, I've never seen any IJ paper mentioning the 30" .410, but I've heard rumors of another. Did Dean's Skeeter have a 30" set?

[jeffery c]

That's a interesting history and achievement for the Skeeter shooting 100 in a row. I remember reading somewhere that Skeeters won a lot of tournaments many years in a row. That could have been due to sponsorships and "race prepped" guns vs off the shelf guns. Maybe someone here knows more about that?

[Twoatlow8]

Researcher,
At the entry-level, I believe the Lefever A-Grade Model 6 Skeet Gun is a far better looking gun. A picture Walter Snyder posted some years ago --

The only thing I don’t like about the Lefever-A Grade was the Beavertail forearm wood did not have a recoil brace.
If you look at any that have been used for the purpose it was designed for ( volume target shooting) you will find a loose or cracked forearm, or a cobbled up repair of the forearm.

[Researcher]

My Lefever A-Grade is a pretty well used 20-gauge which according to Walter Snyder is a very optioned up Model 5. No looseness problem with the forearm.
Has every option but automatic ejectors. Single non-selective trigger, beavertail, twin ivory beads, and Ithaca recoil pad. One of a group of eight identical guns ordered by Bauer Sport Shop. Every time I shoot it I imagine Eddie and Stein out shooting skeet at the Pioneer Skeet Club outside Seattle.

300713 01 Model 5 Skeet 20.jpg

Pioneer Skeet Club, DuPont Skeet Handbook, pg 18.jpg

I got my A-Grade at Stan Baker's shop in North Seattle.

[jeffery c]

I saw a lot of interesting guns at Stan Baker's shop, I remember not buying a last year 97 Winchester in mint condition, I still regret not getting that gun.