Need some help with my new shotgun? a very old Iver Johnson Champion(pics inside)

[diablo_man]

Just bought this gun(first gun that was bought or passed down from my dad!, first shotgun) online(from a CGNer) for 100 bucks, just arrived today.

now, the markings are worn and hard to see, but as far as i can tell they read:

on top of the barrel near the breach
-12 gauge choke bore. barrel and(?) lug forged 'n one-

and on left side near trigger, very worn
Iver Johnson's Arms and Cycle Works, Fitchburg Mass USA Champion

serial numbers on other parts of the gun are handstamped or written in(matching) as 51361 with some having a "C" stamped by them.

seller told me it was chambered in 2 3/4", full choke, and it has a 34" barrel(though no markings indicate to me what length chamber or choke it is)

I think from the name "iver johnson arms and cycle works" that dates it as 1891 at the earliest and the numbers instead of letters in serial # indicates before around 1940, but i would love to know how old this is.
has some kind of hammer/trigger safety

good idea to avoid shooting slugs, steel shot out of this?
intend to use as a farm, plinking and hunting gun(deer, birds, clays etc) especially since this is a multi projectiles only area.

as i said, this is my first shotgun, any advice is great! what ammo to use, what to clean/protect with, reblueing etc?

put one 2 3/4" #6 lead shot through it just for the hell of it today, stiff recoil, not surprising considering it weighs less than our old czech pellet gun, even with the 34 inch barrel! cool gun

pictures here! album http://imgur.com/a/Jgx3m#0

 

[krchov]

it will have a full choke so do not shot steel

 

[diablo_man]

oh so that applies in general to full choke guns, not just old barrels? interesting.

 

[Calum]

Great old shotguns. Usally the ones I have seen have been cut down a bit and had the bead relocated buy a gunsmith.

I'f you can I'd check with a gunsmith on how to clean it up and reblue it.
But for now it problebly wouldn't hurt it to spray it down with some G96.

Congrats btw

 

[Mike Webb]

Iver Johnson's are my personal favourite single shot, Hard to pin down an exact date, I'm guessing 1940's by the shape of the forend. Those made in the 1930's and earlier had just a little sliver of a forend with flat sides. No steel shot but foster style slugs won't bother it mechanically except that these old guns are light and the stock wood is usually dried out, heavy loads may cause the wood to crack at the tang. Also distinctly unpleasant to fire. Personally I would stick with low brass shells, all you need for upland game anyway.

 

[gunsaholic]

With numbers for the serial number with a possible letter it will be from the 20's or 30's.

 

[diablo_man]

Great old shotguns. Usally the ones I have seen have been cut down a bit and had the bead relocated buy a gunsmith.

I'f you can I'd check with a gunsmith on how to clean it up and reblue it.
But for now it problebly wouldn't hurt it to spray it down with some G96.

Congrats btw

hehe thanks, im pretty happy with it, would love to get it tuned up. getting it cut down would be neat if it wasnt too expensive. think it would probably cost as much as just getting a new shorter single from H&R. how do you deal with the choke being chopped off?

g96 eh? ill have to look into it, ive just got some hopps #9 and blueing i havent used yet.

Iver Johnson's are my personal favourite single shot, Hard to pin down an exact date, I'm guessing 1940's by the shape of the forend. Those made in the 1930's and earlier had just a little sliver of a forend with flat sides. No steel shot but foster style slugs won't bother it mechanically except that these old guns are light and the stock wood is usually dried out, heavy loads may cause the wood to crack at the tang. Also distinctly unpleasant to fire. Personally I would stick with low brass shells, all you need for upland game anyway.

foster style slugs? how would a solid slug deal with a choked down barrel?
yeah im still trying to figure out what ill be running through it.

With numbers for the serial number with a possible letter it will be from the 20's or 30's.

hmm, wish there was a serial number lookup to be sure. aint much about the Iver's on the net

 

[Grouse Man]

Classic farm shotgun.

 

[Mike Webb]

Foster style slugs are smaller than even the full choke portion of the barrel. They have been shooting them from full choke shotguns for years.

 

[Calum]

how do you deal with the choke being chopped off?

Most just live with the cylinder bore and some get them re threaded for choke tubes. Yah the cost goes up, lol.

Personally I'd leave it as is and about the only thing you can use in a full choke is bear bangers which can get stuck in the end of a full choke barrel...very bad.

As for restoring I have had some success with evapo rust. But you will need to re blue after use as it removes bluing as well. Certainly get as much advice in the gunsmithing section before you start.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSf1zJAdSRk&list=PL5835CF704C362E78&index=10&feature=plpp_video

 

[Mount Sweetness]

the gun looks fine, leave it

 

[diablo_man]

yeah, i dont think im gonna go anything to affect how it looks, its old and its cool because of it.getting it a little tighter operating would be nice, but not that necessary. just dont want it to crack etc.

i shouldnt have any issue with 00 buck in this eh?

 

[farmer47]

i have one old iver johnson shotgun that i had as a boy and shot rabbits with it . i still get it out but i never use anything but light loads as the gun is old .have fun and be safe and welcome to the world of shotguns .