crescent firearms?

[jacob.elliott]

wondering if anyone knows anything about the crescent firearms co. I have a 12 ga side by side that says new empire on the left hand side. the serial number is s14348. thinking this gonna is probably 100 yrs old but dont know. does anyone know anything?

 

[JImbothefiveth]

Don't shoot it.

 

[JohnBT]

Probably made around 1930 or so when Stevens bought Crescent. Why is my mind full of all this stuff? Let me see...

Okay, googling...

"In 1905 Crescent’s first hammerless
sidelock was introduced as the American Gun Co. “Knickerbocker”
Model No. 6. This very popular model became the
Crescent “Peerless” No. 6 in 1922. In 1928 it became the Crescent
“Empire” No. 60 and in 1931 the Crescent-Davis “New
Empire” No. 88, “New Empire” No. 9, and “Empire” No. 9.
Crescent was bought by J. Stevens Arms Co., Division of Savage
Arms Corp. about 1930. It was merged with Davis-Warner
Arms Corp. successors to N.R. Davis & Sons Co. and became
Crescent-Davis Arms Corp. In 1932 the operation was moved
to the Stevens plant at Springfield, Mass. where some sidelock
doubles were assembled, Crescent-Davis brand guns remained
in Steven’s full line catalog until 1941 but from 1937 to
1941 the doubles sold in the C-D brand were on either Stevens
or Davis boxlock frames."

 

[Ron James]

During its lifetime Crescent built over 4 million firearms .90 percent of them Trade or Brand name guns. Google Crescent or Trade name name shotguns. You will find all the information you can digest. All of Crescent records were destroyed in the early 1940's. There are two stories of how the records were destroyed. 1. Gone in a ware house fire 2. At the start of WW II, they were donated to a Boy Scout paper drive by an over zealous Stevens employee in an effort to free up ware house space. I like story number 2. At that time no one could possible conceive that these records could be of any use or interest to anyone and Stevens/Savage was gearing up for war production and need all the ware house space they could find. However, from what I know of fire, its destructive force is also great and would suffice.

 

[jacob.elliott]

JImbothfiveth, why do you say don't shoot it?

 

[dfariswheel]

Because these were bottom of the barrel "budget" guns made as cheaply as possible for sales by hardware and grocery stores to kids and farmers needing a basic inexpensive gun.

They were made of uncertain steels and heat treating, which was good enough for the shells of the day, but not todays modern ammo.
While it "may" be safe to shoot, life is too short and newer, stronger guns are cheap.
In other words, why risk your (or a bystanders) life or eyesight just to shoot an obsolete old shotgun.

As an older gunsmith once said to me, "Kid, we're all going to Hell in a hand cart. Why would you want to grease the wheels".

 

[JohnBT]

My father was born in 1922. Around 1933 or '34 he got a 16 ga. Essex SxS - a Crescent gun. As he remembers to this day, the action was loose and getting looser when he enlisted in the Army Air Force at the beginning of WWII. Before he shipped out he gave it to his younger brother to trade off for whatever he could get for it. He hunted with it some and got rid of it.

It worked okay while they had it, but what kind of shotgun is only good maybe 10 years? FWIW, as the economy improved in the years after the war my dad bought a new Model 12 20 ga. and my uncle got a 12 ga. Wingmaster and later added an A-5 Magnum. No more cheap shotguns for them, although I did talk my way into a Fox Model B in '61 or so.

John