I do a lot of restorations and rebuilds of various tools/machines, ect. This one came with a story. Many decades ago this old, farmers shotgun was wrapped in burlap and buried in the ground to keep it hidden. It remained there for many years.
As you would expect, when the gun was unearthed the wood was gone and the metal is very corroded. I was old it was heavily greased to protect the metal. It worked, to a point. This particular homesteaders shotgun was then attempted to be cleaned and then remained in a state of disrepair for a few decades afterwards, Parts sitting in a box and forgotten. Until it arrived at my shop.
The shotgun is a Enders Royal Western 16 Ga. Break action. The top of the barrel is stamped with the following.
“Electro Steel Choke Bored gun patented August 12 1913”
Web searches state that the shotgun was made by Crescent Arms Co., which was associated with H & D Folsom Co. until the demise of both in the early 1930's.
The Enders Royal single shot scattergun was manufactured in an era when it was considered an inexpensive farm tool that would have been used by a homesteader.
Enders Royal was a "Trade" name used by the Crescent-Davis Firearms Company on shotguns made for the Shapleigh Hardware Company of St. Louis, Missouri. Thisshot gun was made somewhere in the 1918 - 1929 timeframe.
I was asked if I could restore the old gun into service. I was told explictily. "I want to be able to shoot this shotgun". This is not to be a show piece since the original gun was a hardware store “farmers” tool. The goal here is to return the shotgun to usable service to be fired and then perhaps hang on a wall in restored condition. It has sentimental value to the owner more than anything. Its not meant to be a trap gun or a shotgun that will see a lot of use.
I have resorted many old guns in the past but the guns always had a stock or I could at least purchase a replacement stock. That is not the case with this old shotgun. Weeks of searching for a replacement stock online got me nowhere. Emails to custom stock makers were also dead ends. Gun shows were of no use so making the stock parts was required.
Here is the old shotgun as I received it. Not all the parts were included.
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As you would expect, when the gun was unearthed the wood was gone and the metal is very corroded. I was old it was heavily greased to protect the metal. It worked, to a point. This particular homesteaders shotgun was then attempted to be cleaned and then remained in a state of disrepair for a few decades afterwards, Parts sitting in a box and forgotten. Until it arrived at my shop.
The shotgun is a Enders Royal Western 16 Ga. Break action. The top of the barrel is stamped with the following.
“Electro Steel Choke Bored gun patented August 12 1913”
Web searches state that the shotgun was made by Crescent Arms Co., which was associated with H & D Folsom Co. until the demise of both in the early 1930's.
The Enders Royal single shot scattergun was manufactured in an era when it was considered an inexpensive farm tool that would have been used by a homesteader.
Enders Royal was a "Trade" name used by the Crescent-Davis Firearms Company on shotguns made for the Shapleigh Hardware Company of St. Louis, Missouri. Thisshot gun was made somewhere in the 1918 - 1929 timeframe.
I was asked if I could restore the old gun into service. I was told explictily. "I want to be able to shoot this shotgun". This is not to be a show piece since the original gun was a hardware store “farmers” tool. The goal here is to return the shotgun to usable service to be fired and then perhaps hang on a wall in restored condition. It has sentimental value to the owner more than anything. Its not meant to be a trap gun or a shotgun that will see a lot of use.
I have resorted many old guns in the past but the guns always had a stock or I could at least purchase a replacement stock. That is not the case with this old shotgun. Weeks of searching for a replacement stock online got me nowhere. Emails to custom stock makers were also dead ends. Gun shows were of no use so making the stock parts was required.
Here is the old shotgun as I received it. Not all the parts were included.
