i need info on 16ga shotgun.?

Question

this gun is old single shot stamped either hermitage or heratage(spelling probably wrong)arms.cant find anything anywhere on this one all i have is a family story that gun was bought by great grandpa from a peddler for 2 bucks.any idea gun guys?

Answer 1

Hermitage marked shotguns were made for the Grey-Dudley Hardware company by the Crescent Fire Arms Company, the J. Stevens Arms & Tool Company and Iver Johnson's Arms & Cycle Works.
These are called "store brand" guns and are normally priced at 10%-15% LESS than the name brand model they are similar to.
It depends on the manufacturer for the actual value on each gun.
CRESCENT FIRE ARMS CO. & CRESCENT-DAVIS ARMS CO. : SHOTGUNS SINGLE SHOT MODEL
- 12, 16, 20, 28 ga., or .410 bore, exposed hammer, various barrel lengths, walnut stock and forearm. Disc.
Grading .....98% .....95% ......90% ......80% .....70% .....60%
..................$100 ....$85 .........$70 .......$60 .......$45 .......$30
Add 15% for 16 or 20 ga., 50% for 28 ga. or .410 bore.

STEVENS MODEL 94
- 12, 16, 20, 28 ga., or .410 bore, single shot breakopen, hammer, 6 1/4 lbs. Mfg. 1929-disc.
Grading ......98% ......95% ......90% ......80% ......70% ......60%
...................$85 .......$75 ........$60 .......$50 ........$45 .......$40

IVER JOHNSON CHAMPION
- 10, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32 ga., or .410 bore, also available in .44, .45, 12mm, or 14mm rifle cal., single barrel shotgun or rifle, 26-32 in. full barrel, exposed hammer, auto ejector, plain pistol grip stock. Mfg. 1909-56.
Grading ......98% ......95% ......90% ......80% ......70% ......60%
..................$225 .....$200 ......$175 ....$150 .......$100 ......$75

Prime among the shotguns readers and members inquire about are those made by two long- defunct, companies: Crescent Fire Arms Company once located in Norwalk, Conn., and H.& D. Folsom in New York City. From 1888 to 1899, Crescent made shotguns on its own. Sometime around 1900, the company merged with N.R. Davis and H.& D. Folsom, becoming Crescent- Davis. Crescent made shotguns for many, many companies under many names. Once amalgamated with H.& D. Folsom, the list exploded. [The following is an excerpt from the recently published The Shotgun Encyclopedia (2000, Safari Press) that may help identify an heirloom.] H.& D Folsom was located at 312-14 Broadway, New York, N.Y., and imported and distributed firearms from about 1890 to 1930. At some point they merged with Crescent-Davis, and were finally sold in 1954 to Universal Tackle and Sporting Goods Co. Far from complete, the following list includes brand and trade names of Crescent-made and Folsom-imported shotguns: American Gun Co., Bacon Arms, Baker Gun Co., T. Barker (for Sears), Carolina Arms Co., Central Arms Co., Cherokee Arms Co., Chesapeake Gun Co., Compeer, Cruso, Cumberland Arms Co., Elgin Arms Co., Elmira Arms Co., Empire Arms Co., Enders Oak Leaf, Enders Royal Service, Essex, Faultless, The Field, F.F. Forbes, C.W. Franklin, Harrison Arms Co., Hartford Arms Co., Harvard, Henry Gun Co., Hermitage Arms Co., Hermitage Gun Co., Howard Arms Co., Hummer, Interstate Arms Co., Jackson Arms Co., Kingsland Special, Kingsland 10 Star, Knickerbocker, Knox-All, Lakeside, J. H. Lau & Co., Leader Gun Co., Lee Special, Lee's Munner Special, Leige Arms Co., J. Manton & Co., Marshwood, Massachusetts Arms Co., Metropolitan, Minnesota Arms Co., Mississippi Valley Arms Co., Mohawk, Monitor, Wm. Moore and Co., Mt. Vernon Arms Co., National Arms Co., New Rival, New York Arms Co., Nitro Bird, Nitro Hunter, Norwich Arms Co., Not-Nac Manufacturing Co., Oxford Arms Co., C. Parker & Co., Peerless, Perfection, Piedmont, Pioneer Arms Co., Quail, Queen City, Rev-O-Noc, W. Richards (not related to the British gunmaker Westley Richards), Richter, Rickard Arms Co., Royal Service, Rummel, Shue's Special, Sickel's Arms Co., Southern Arms Co., Special Service, Spencer Gun Co. Sportsmen, Springfield Arms Co., Square Deal, Stanley, State Arms, H. J. Sterling, St. Louis Arms Co., Sullivan Arms Co., Ten Star, Ten Star Heavy Duty, Tiger, Triumph, U.S. Arms Co., Victor, Victor Special, Virginia Arms Co., Volunteer, Vulcan Arms Co., Warren Arms Co., Wilkinson Arms Co., Wilmont Arms Co., Wilshire Arms Co., Wiltshire Arms Co., Winfield Arms Co., Winoca Arms Co., Wolverine, and Worthington Arms Co. Most of these were store-brand shotguns, all of the same style, and no repair parts exist for these guns. Certainly a skilled gunsmith can make parts, but given that none of these guns can be considered valuable, the cost is hardly worth it. This is not to say that Grandpa's Nitro Hunter doesn't have great sentimental value, but in dollars and cents to a collector or even someone manning a table at a gun show, of little value. Certainly, it might be fun to try to collect some of these shotguns, say those from one particular hardware company, but they just don't rank with the big names in value.

Answer 2

It is a Hermitage gun made by Crescent Firearms Company. Most of the Hermitage guns were made for Grey-Dusley Hardware Company in Nashville, TN. The approximate dates for your gun are from 1922-1931 (give or take-that is when Crescent was using the Hermitage name). I have an old 16 G Double Barrel made by Crescent Arms for Sears & Roebuck. They are great guns and though not worth much, $50-$175 (poor-VG Condition, respectively), I wouldn't trade my 16 Ga for anything! I guess it's worth more sentimentaly than anything, but I have never had a problem with mine! I hope that helps! If I were you I would take it to your gunsmith and see what he has to say.Good Luck!

Answer 3

I'm pretty sure it's Hermitage. Check out the following at a library or local book store:
The Blue Book Of Gun Values [[phone], orders only] offers excellent reference points for establishing condition.