Found the article in "GunBroker" by iron jockey
Starting Member
"The 10 gauge cannons manufactured by Winchester Repeating Arms Co. are found in four basic variations. The very first model, which appeared for sale about 1903 had a one inch O.D. muzzle diameter. It is estimated that there were less than a thousand units made with this dimension when it was changed to a 1 1/4 inch diameter (second major variation) for the rest of the production run, ending about 1957. Apparently there were early "market gunners" lashing these cannons to the bows of their punts or johnboats, paddling up to flocks of sitting ducks, and pulling the lanyard on live shotshells. The guns were only designed to shoot blackpowder blanks. The resulting failures prompted Winchester to strengthen the barrel wall. These two variations of the cannon had blued barrels and "japanned" carriages. "Japanned" is a somewhat out of use term for a type of black paint. The third variation was a chrome plated cannon with rubber tires. The first style tires were of the "baby buggy" type, small half round grooved tires like those seen on old style baby buggies (prams)in which most of us old guys rode in back during the dark ages. That was way back in the days of no hair, no teeth, and filling our pants. Well, maybe things have not changed all that much anyway. The fourth major variation is the chrome plated cannon with the large tires marked "FIRESTONE". These tires are similar to the ones you see as advertising items with the glass ashtrays in the center. The only other variations within the Winchester made guns are in markings on both the carriage and barrel. The biggest misconception about these cannons is in regard to serial numbers. Winchester did not serial number the 10 gauge cannon. The only minor exception to this was on guns made for export which were required to have a serial number by the importing country. For obvious reasons, these are rarely encounted in the USA.
All Winchester cannons will be found with a one, two, or three digit parts assembly number on both the barrel and the trunion collar. It was necessary to fit and matchmark the collar and barrel before the bluing process. They then had to be disassembled for finishing and reunited with the correct barrel/trunion collar so the breech would be at the proper degree in the carriage. Finishing the barrels with the collar installed would have caused severe rusting within the fine threads holding the collar on. All of the cannons made by Winchester will have a number from "1" to "999" on them, at which time the number went back to "1" again. In the mid-1970's Winchester licensed the Bellmore-Johnson tool company to produce the cannon with the Winchester trademark. There were production shortcuts on these guns, such as a black anodized finish on the barrel and elimination of the roller bearing on the foot of the hammer where it rides on the mainspring. These guns are still in production, along with some variations including brass and chrome models. The quickest way to tell an original from the replica series is to look at the top of the barrel. All original Winchester guns were plainly marked "NOT FOR BALL" on top of the bbl. in front of the trunion collar. The B-J series is marked "FOR BLANK USE ONLY" along with the Bellmore-Johnson name and address. Production estimates are said to be in the 17 to 19,000 range for the originals. The guns are difficult to date with the exception of the early small diameter muzzle. It is not believed that the one inch muzzle production reached over 999 units, thus it can be fairly safely assumed that the numbers on these guns, for all practical purposes, indicate order of production from circa 1903 to circa 1907. This is probably more than most people want to know about this cannon, but it is a very interesting item produced during the glory days of Winchester. I have collected and studied them for over 40 years and have owned most all of the major variations several times. All of that being said, original or repro, they are a hell of a lot of fun to shoot!!!"
take care
jpc
