1930's Crescent side-by-side 12 ga. info?

[tparker]

I was given a 1930's side-by-side 12 ga. made by Crescent Firearms, (Norwich, Conn.) by my wife's grandpa. I can make out that it is an Empire Hamerless No. 60 however, I can find little history on this gun. I can tell it's not the best quality but it is really cool with double triggers and a 30 inch barrel. The hinge has a little bit of slop (just a fuzz) and I'm wondering if this makes it unsafe to shoot? I certainly hope not because I can hit clays with this gun better than any 870 or 1187 I've shot. Plus all my buddies love it. I'm curious if the slop can be worked on? And if anyone has one of these and knows the year this one was made. Thanks.

 

[kudu]

Do a search on this forum.

It appears that Cresent Firearms were a common "hardware store " type of shotgun. Many are still very shootable, and a bit of looseness is probably common. If I had it I would only shoot ultra-light shells through it just in case. Many of the older shotguns also had short chamber, 2 9/16 was common, but if it is from the 30's it should have a 2 3/4 chamber.

 

[Onmilo]

Crescent shotguns were indeed the common hardware store gun of the era.
They were made for and under a large number of trade names and all the guns were pretty much the same.
Crescent made single shot hammer guns, double barrel hammer guns, and double barrel hammerless guns
These were the cheapie guns of the era but were actually pretty good.
Better than some of the current 'furrin' guns being offered on the market.
Look to see if the barrels are marked 'Armory Proof Steel' and 'choke bored'.
If they are, the barrels are made of fluid steel and safe with light load smokeless powder shells, 3 1/4 dram 1 1/8 oz maximum though I have shot 3 3/4-1 1/4 oz shot loads through one, I can't recommend it.
Choke boring was a form of full length taper choke that was popular at that time.
Unless the taper is specified, the guns will shoot an extremely tight, full choke pattern.
I have hit and killed flying pheasants at 50 to 75 yards with these guns and 1 1/8 ounce number 6 shot.
The guns are impressive on their patterning abilities.

If the gun has damascus barrels I wouldn't recommend shooting the gun, even with blackpowder loads unless a gunsmith has check the gun out and pronounce it safe to fire.
This means having the barrels Magnafluxed and visually checked for flaws in the steel.
Most of these old damascus guns have had very little care since they ceased to be used on a regular basis and rust and negligence have caused the damascus barrel steel to become somewhat unstable.
Damascus barrels may be bright and shiney but still be unsafe due to corroision in the welds weakening the barrels.

Crescent guns were very good products for the era in which they were used.
Today, they make better wallhangers than everyday shooters.

 

[Dave McCracken]

Like all old guns, this should be checked out by a competent smith before you fire off a shot.

Shotguns and grenades have similar working pressures.

Even if the smith OKs it, keep use to very light loads for occasional use. This can be frustrating, I realize. These oft have lots of drop in the stock but are well balanced and sweet handling otherwise. And, it's a family gun and an heirloom that the original owners would probably like to see still in use.

The slop in the hinge can be fixed by a decent smith. A larger pin can be installed or in some cases, the lug can be bashed tighter with knowhow and a BFH.

In your shoes, I'd go through what it needs, load up some 7/8 oz light loads and use it a few times a year to make meat or bust clays, and savor the history.....