I got another Tobin! (is it a Crandall?)

dilly

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Location
SW Ontario
I bought another Tobin Arms 12ga the other day. I was aware of this gun for a few years and when the owner, a local doctor, offered it for sale, I jumped on it.

The story goes...The gun was built by GB Crandall, the head gunsmith for Tobin Arms in Woodstock who bought the company out. It was built for his wife and is a "one of a kind". It was purchased from George Crandall (GBs son) in Detroit in 1967 and brought to Statford by a man named Cunningham. It was then owned by Mr. Thompson, a Tobin expert and collector in Woodstock until it was sold to Dr. Travis. The gun is different from other Tobins I have seen and own. The internals are finished to a higher grade, the action is slightly changed, and leaf springs have been replaced by coil springs in some spots. The gun has the auto safety disconnected and has no serial number. It shows very little wear and I believe it has been shot very little. I am really stoked about it.

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The stock is English walnut and does not drop like my other guns.(2 1/4" at heel) It has a straight grip with an engraved long tang trigger guard.
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The gun is nicely engraved with delicate scroll on the sideplates and a dog image on the bottom. It has a "black diamond" finish.
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The forestock is elongated and is a semi-beavertail in shape. It is quite a bit bigger than the regular forestocks.
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The barrels are lighter than on my standard grade and are DeMoya fluid steel. It has a nice rib with a brass blade like mid bead. I am told it is choked skeet and imp mod ( just like the 16ga I have).

All in, I am really thrilled to get my hands on this neat gun. I really like these old Tobins and value them as a piece of Canadian firearms history. I have more pictures that show the differences between a regular Tobin field and this "Crandall improved" model.
 
Nice gun. What would the date of manufacture be?
I have no way to tell as there are no markings on it whatsoever. I have read that Crandall assembled guns from Tobin parts into the 50s. I wouldn't be surprised if it was later rather than earlier but I don't know.
 
Very nice looking Tobin indeed. I like the Canadian aspect of the history of them as well. I have one with a pistol grip stock and one with a straight grip stock but neither as nice as yours. Contrary to what many may think, I find them to be rather nice handling guns, especially the straight grip model.
 
Very nice shotgun, I especially like the English walnut. Is the length of pull short due to the fact it was built for a smaller person? It looks short.

It is short, but no more short than my other Tobins. The pad is an aftermarket pachmayer with a spacer to bring it out to 14 1/2". Mrs Crandall must have been big because the dimensions seem standard. I put pads on all of them to bring them out to a shootable LOP.

It looks short because the forearm is so long.

I am lucky to own three nice examples. The top one is a nice field grade 12ga I opened to skeet1 and skeet2, and the bottom is my 16ga Black Diamond.
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Dam, I need to go me a bid cause I am drooling like I just came home from the Dentist Office and had my face frozen in 10 places.
I like the triplet pic the best, but am jealous of your find.
I know nothing about Tobins , but they sure look purdy ;)
Hope the new gun is what your looking for cause again, they sure are very nice.
Thanks for taking the time to share and post.
Rob
 
Nice score Dilly....next time I come to visit the Doc, I should make it a day trip and bring up some of my 'Oldies", I would love to see these in person....never held or seen one in person.
 
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