Chapter VII: Grades and Prices

In writing of the grades and prices of guns I shall refer to the retail selling price rather than to the list price since the latter is such an uncertain quantity. The net price of one gun may be nearly the same as its list price while another will be sold at forty per cent. below list. Trade requirements necessitate list and net prices no doubt, but they are very confusing when mentioning the price of a gun.

Though American shotguns are graded at from fifteen to one thousand dollars, yet strangely enough, from the highest to the lowest, there is little difference in their shooting qualities. At one period in the manufacture of firearms only the higher priced weapons could be guaranteed to make first rate patterns, but gunboring has become such an exact science that the cheapest arms may equal in pattern and penetration those of the highest grade. The old stories of testing some high priced arm and finding that it would kill at extreme ranges are therefore antiquated, because the moderate priced arm is just as liable to do the same thing. Nevertheless every grade from the lowest to five hundred dollars or more gives value in proportion to price, and I shall here endeavor to point out wherein one gun may excel another though all should shoot alike.

The fact that nearly all shotguns perform alike with their charges has had a rather unfortunate effect on gun building in this country. The practical man, knowing that he can procure as good a shooting arm as there is made at from twenty-five to fifty dollars, cannot persuade himself that there is anything sensible in going beyond those figures. This feeling has undoubtedly caused large demand for the cheaper class, preventing any, even of our best manufacturers, from making a specialty of high grade weapons.

In England and upon the Continent there are gunmakers who do make a specialty of the best grades, never sending a cheap gun at least to this country, and this has created the impression that our manufacturers cannot compete with the foreigners in the finer class of weapons. This conclusion is entirely without foundation in fact. I am convinced that it is well worth while for any man who can afford it to buy only the better grade of American arms, not only because he purchases other things in keeping from his beefsteak to his automobile, but for the sake of the general improvement in gunbuilding which such a course would foster, and for his own satisfaction and the due pride a sportsman should take in his weapon.

THE CHEAPEST GRADE

The cheapest double hammerless gun that I have been able to discover in the catalogs is sold at $13.85. Such arms are not made for hard usage, but for the farmer, for the man who wishes to have some kind of a firearm in the house because he might need it some time. Mechanically these guns are at least fairly good, embodying as they do features that were thoroughly tried out by the makers of standard arms. Necessarily such pieces are made heavy and clumsy, since in order to work up the steel at a minimum of cost it must be soft, and the barrels and action must be heavy in consequence to withstand ordinary charges. It need hardly be said that such arms are made entirely by machinery, with barrels and stocks of the cheapest description. As nearly as I can learn the stock of such an arm costs fifty cents, the barrels about a dollar and fifty, and the whole gun might be constructed for five dollars. No attempt can be made to give such a piece fit or balance, but the secret of their cheapness lies in the inferior quality of material employed throughout.

THE TWENTY DOLLAR FIELD GRADE

At twenty dollars some of our more reliable manufacturers will turn out a hammerless gun. I have known men worth a half million to shoot them with the settled conviction that no better weapon could be desired either in action or appearance. Such arms are made on exactly the same system as higher priced guns which guarantees mechanical excellence. Necessarily these arms are turned out with extreme rapidity, and the steel must not be hard enough to entail too much wear and tear on expensive machinery.

The barrels are of the cheapest quality of steel but are strong enough in the medium weights to withstand ordinary usage. The frames are drop forged and case hardened, but I have sometimes found that I could cut the locks and bolts with an ordinary pocket knife. The stocks, of the plainest description of American walnut, are strong and serviceable, though not a thing of beauty to begin with, and the simple finishing soon wears away, leaving them baldly ugly.

Of course this gun is machine made and while the working parts are strong they grind in a new gun in a way to put your teeth on edge. Despite this, perhaps, too severe criticism of the cheap gun of standard make, it is not to be denied that such arms are good shooters and they will hold together a long time. As a rule, arms of this grade are not built to order but are turned out after a fixed pattern. They are sent in quantities to the retail dealer where they are sold to the less discriminating purchaser.

THE AMERICAN KNOCKABOUT

At from twenty-five to thirty-five dollars our standard gunbuilders grade their cheapest or knockabout arm. These weapons undoubtedly possess strength and superior lasting qualities. The barrels are tough enough to withstand ordinary or extraordinary usage, being made for the most part of modern compressed steel, plain and sound. The locks do not differ from the higher grade weapons except that they are a trifle softer and are not so smoothly ground and polished. The stocks are generally of the plain walnut variety, but they will be shaped to order in length and drop while the wood is sufficiently seasoned to retain its grip on the iron unimpaired for years. The world has no better gun value for the money than these American knockabout guns. They are of such absolute utility, their merit so positive, that the owner must constantly regret the lack of finish in his weapon. Especially is this true when he grows to the arm with the passing of time and is unwilling to exchange his piece for any other.

Every gunbuilder may have a special feature of excellence which he places in these arms. One will take pride in close jointing and superior fitting; another furnishes a better quality of stock, finer in finish; some one else may attach barrels of the higher grades and great tensile strength; without exception, any of our reputable builders will give splendid value in these knockabout guns.

The principle to be observed by the purchaser of a knockabout is to buy all gun, unadorned. Every dollar which is placed in ornamentation must be subtracted from the fit, balance, and soundness that should alone be considered now. Buy from the manufacturer whose reputation is behind the piece, for from him you secure, free, reputation, knowledge, system, and principle of construction.

At from twenty-eight to thirty-five dollars the cheapest of American guns can be obtained having self-ejectors. These ejector arms are perfectly reliable though of course very plain. Such weapons are certainly worthy of our admiration when we reflect that the entire gun costs no more than the ejector mechanism of some of the imported arms. Considering their ability to undergo all kinds of hard service for years these knockabout guns, either plain or self-ejector, must be regarded as nothing short of a triumph for American machinery and methods of building.

FIELD AND TRAP GUN

($100 List to $100 Net.)

This is the most popular of all our shotguns either for trap, field, or wildfowl shooting. It is a balanced weapon, lacking in nothing that a modern fowling piece should possess. The manufacturers pay due attention to every feature of this grade. So strong and lasting are these arms that they are practically certain to outlive both their day and their owner, only to be laid aside with the march of time and progress which may finally antiquate them. I have known a hundred dollar list gun to be used steadily at the trap, in the field, and upon the marsh for ten years without a sign of shakiness or any indication that it had not merely ripened with age like good whiskey.

The barrels, while not of the highest grade, are practically just as good; the stocks have both grain and finish; the frames are drop forged and admirably case hardened; the springs may be everlasting, with the locks, bolts, and all bearings of tempered steel; while the jointing and finishing will bear the most rigid inspection. These guns have all the elegance of balance and outline that the maker can place in any of his output, and even the ornamentation of steel and wood will not be neglected. The main difference between this grade and those higher is in the quality of stocks, the amount of engraving, and the hand finishing. I do not mean to argue that a sportsman should not buy a higher priced piece if he can afford it, but if he cannot there is no reason why he should not take a deal of pride in the ownership of one of these guns. He can at least say to himself and his friends that a score of years ago no man could have owned a gun like this one though he exhausted his bank account.

A shotgun at one hundred dollars should have every modern improvement with the possible exception of the single trigger. It is my belief that the time has come when self-ejectors ought invariably to replace the plain extractor in this grade--in fact the extractor should only be furnished to order and then at no reduction in price. It has been charged that we are a conservative people, but the manufacturer can at least be progressive. The single trigger is at present so costly that it would not be advisable to sacrifice to this mechanism any more important feature which might be the case in a weapon at one hundred dollars.

THE HIGHER GRADE

One hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars should procure the most carefully selected material throughout. The best possible quality of barrels might be placed upon it, with stocks of fine English, Italian, or Circassian walnut. Only the expert workmen of a factory would be employed upon a gun of this description--men of pride in their calling, who work conscientiously and artistically. Now, at last, beauty of ornamentation takes its proper place with utility and strength.

The simple scroll and outline engraving might well give place to game or hunting scenes, the tastes of the purchaser being consulted when the arm is made to order. In engraving every one of these guns should have a distinct design of its own, not only for the sake of the future owner, but that the manufacturer may display his own artistic versatility.

In gunfitting and measurements, at the price of two hundred dollars, the gunmaker should be able to embody every feature the experienced sportsman thinks desirable, the length and shape of the grip, the height and thickness of comb, the cast-off of heel or twist of toe, the taper of barrels and their weight compared with that of stock and frame.

In addition, the shooting qualities of the gun should be thoroughly tested at all ranges, with varieties of ammunition and an accurate record kept for the sake of the future owner. Not only should the weapon make a prescribed pattern with a standard load, but the sportsman, who may not have an opportunity of experimenting himself, frequently desires to know the capabilities of his piece with some other size or quantity of shot or change of powder. This information the builder is receiving pay for when he charges two hundred dollars.

In every specification except engraving and grade of wood in the stock the above weapon ought to be as good as the manufacturer can possibly turn out at any price. Many imported guns are kept in stock by dealers who make a specialty of them in the higher grades, but American guns are usually only made to order.

THE HIGHEST GRADE.

At three hundred dollars and upward American shotguns are built only to order. In this grade the manufacturer is given a free hand, where he can use all the knowledge and experience that he possesses, reinforced by the utmost skill and art of his factory. The pride a gunbuilder takes in the construction of a weapon of this kind is not second to that of the sculptor who lingers over a piece of statuary with loving touches long after the novice would think it complete.

The result is the most beautiful bit of wood and iron that the skill of man can put together. I say this advisedly for there is nothing that mechanics construct quite so handsome as a double hammerless gun of the highest grade. I must approve the judgment of the man who buys one, for beauty and utility were never so well combined. If the author had a hundred thousand dollars to spare he would place one thousand of it in guns and the other ninety-nine in shooting them; neither would he consider that he was displaying anything but good horse sense.

This is the first grade of shotgun wherein the foreign arms come into active competition with ours. I think as good value can be obtained in an English or Continental arm at three hundred dollars as in any of ours, but it is the first grade of which I would venture to say that. The value, depending largely upon the engraving, fitting, and character of the hand work placed upon the gun, fairly represents the quality of the artisans employed in the different countries.

A hundred choice pieces of wood may be rejected before one is found that the manufacturer will attach to one of these guns. It will be taken from the stump or root of the very finest Circassian walnut, seasoned thoroughly and oil finished without regard to pains or labor. The barrels should be of Sir Joseph Whitworth fluid steel or other steel of like grade, proved and recorded with all varieties of charges. The engraving should reflect the taste of the purchaser, and depend upon it the man who can appreciate one of these arms will not lack esthetic taste of his own.