Info of Remington 1889 shotguns

[Killer Kanuck]

I'm working on a deal for a Remington model 1889 sxs shotgun - 12g 30" barrels. It's a grade 2 (damascus barrels) but they have obviously been reblued. The receiver in basically "in the white", and the stock has some scratches and scars but no major gouges, and no cracking that I can see. Bore is pretty good. Looks to be a good solid shooter. My question is - what would be a fair market value for an 1889 in this condition?
FYI - it also comes with a parts gun with 1 hammer, a dinged barrel, and buttstock with nail holes (I beleive all the internals are still there though).

 

[Killer Kanuck]

Bueller? Bueller? Anyone?

 

[Killer Kanuck]

On the off chance someone might know, a couple of crappy pics.

 

[Sharptail]

KK, I really don't know anything about 1889's, but based on what they seem to be selling for in the U.S., and judging the condition of your gun from the photos, I would guess it would be in the range of $400 to $600. There is a big question mark regarding the barrels - how were they blued? Anything but slow rust bluing will devalue the gun significantly, and if they were hot dipped, then the salts will eat away the solder and the ribs will come loose. I don't think the parts gun adds any real value, the only truly useful parts would be the springs. Not a very good answer I'm afraid, but that's all I can offer.

Sharptail

 

[Killer Kanuck]

Thanks for the info Sharptail.
I don't think they were hot dipped - more than likely cold blue. I'm debating on cold blueing the receiver.
I already salvaged the springs from the parts gun. I figured they were the most useful part.
Guess it wasn't a bad deal then - and old Belgian double I paid $200 for traded for the 1889, parts gun, and a Winchester 1200 trap gun.

 

[Sharptail]

You did well. I wouldn't have traded you the Belgian gun for the Winchester alone. I am glad you got the springs.

Please don't blue the locks and the receiver. Your effort would be better spent on restoring the barrels to bring out the beautiful patterns. The case hardened receiver and lock plates are miserable to blue, even with a product like Oxpho. The results are rarely satisfactory. Collectors like original condition, even if the original condition is not perfect. By putting back an original style finish on the barrels, you create real eye candy and some desirability. That's my opinion, anyway.

Sharptail

 

[Killer Kanuck]

How would I go about restoring the barrels? They're grade 2 (twist) so while there wouldn't be a whole lot of "eye candy", there would be some.

 

[Sharptail]

KK, twist barrels provide very nice patterns. It is more work to obtain the patterns, but it is worth it.

There are two excellent articles by Oscar Gaddy in the Double Gun Journal, volume 8 (1997) issue 2 and issue 3. I recommend them very highly. The solution he uses is;

50 grams mercuric chloride
40 ml ferric chloride solution
9 ml conc. nitric acid
24 millilitres of alcohol
1 litre of deionized water

A good web page to start with is here: http://members.aol.com/illinewek/faqs/browning.htm

Sharptail

 

[Killer Kanuck]

Thanks for the link. I didn't know damascus barrels were browned as opposed to blued. Wouldn't it be easier to use Birchwood Casey Plum Brown, or does the homemade browning solution work that much better?

 

[Sharptail]

Damascus barrels were done either with browning, or in a "black and white" motif. The problem with using Plum Brown is that it will brown the iron and the steel to the same extent. You don't get a pattern, just brown. The above listed solution browns the two metals at different rates, and creates the visible pattern. Read the thread here, and you will see examples of both brown and black barrels, both Damascus and twist.

http://gunshop.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=022263;p=1

You will not recreate Dr. Gaddy's high contrast work on your first try, but you will raise a pattern. The finish is quite durable, but some people coat the barrels with TruOil, wax or even lacquer to preserve them.

Sharptail