• Baker Gun Company Shotgun Serial Numbers

Smith Collectors Association The L.C. Smith Collectors Association baker 12 gauge hammerless doublebarrel shotgun serial numberPosted by dale cumberland on September 10, 2012, 8:52 ami recently purchased a baker 12 gauge hammerless doublebarrel shotgun from a friend of mine and would like to how old this shotgun is and what year(s) it was made in.

There is no engraving on the metal on the reciever or the barrel stating that this gun was manufactured by l.c. Smith and company. On the reciever on the right side of the reciever is the name baker gun company, on the left side are the words batavia leader.

On the barrels are the letters llh underneath the forearm. The serial number is 3603F. The barrels are 30 inches long. Thank you any help will be greatly appreicated.

This appears to be a very nice restock of an old double. The Baker Batavia Special was the lowest grade gun Baker produced. Lack of an F in the serno indicates manuf before 1919 as ownership changed to a company named Folsom and Folsom guns had f's in the serno.

Baker had an interesting history as he contributed to starting up L.C. Smith and Ithaca Gun before coming out with a shotgun with his own name on it. The wood on this is probably worth more than the rest of the gun.

Batavia Specials go for between $200 and $400 when you see them. Although I think they are nice old doubles there is virtually no collector interest in them. Ken Hurst information on the barrels being being damsacus is incorrect provided this gun is a 'Batavia Special' vs. 'Batavia Leader'. The Batavia Special was never made with Damascus barrels, the leader barrels should be stamped on top near the chambers in very small letters 'Homotensile steel', the other barrel will be stamped 'choke bored'. When this gun came out fluid steep barrels were a 'new fangled contraption' and damascus was preferred for it's good looks.

Baker Gun Company Shotgun Serial Numbers

Baker named them homotensile steel to indicate they were homogeneous (one piece) tensile(strong). Unless the chambers have been opened with a reamer they are likely shorter than 2 3/4', probably 2 1/2 or 2 5/8'I believ ethe barrels of batavia specials made between 1900-1919 were made by Crescent Arms. When Folsom acquired Baker Gun the barrels were made Belgium however it is this piece of Baker Gun history I could have backwards, I need to check my reference material to be sure.

F in the serial number indicats a 1920 and later Baker, I think they stayed in production until 1938. Although no real collector interest in Baker Guns exists the guns made before the Folsom acquisition seem to be preferred. Personally I tend to think of them as the poor mans L.C. Info on Bakers is scarce. With passing years and no collector interest details faded into history.

There is one Baker advertising brochure from 1909 'The Baker Gunner' that could provide info on barrel lengths. It was reprinted and can be found. I confirmed pre 1919 Batavia Specials (no F in Serno) had barrels made in Belgium. It was the Folsom made Bakers that had the Crescent Arms Barrels. I believe 28 inch barrels would have been available but there is a chance someone cut yours back from 30 or 32'. If there is choke constriction in the last two inches of either barrel it has probably not been cut.

Chambers would have definitely been 2 5/8' Remember the early nitro powders 'white' did not create the higher pressures of todays duplex powders. The standard load for 12 gauge at the turn of the 20th century was 1 ounce and 1 1/8 ounce.

You would be wise to handload for this old piece of americana and use low pressure, standard volicity loads at those shot weights. Sidelock double barrel stocks are inherently prone to cracking near the receirver.

Gentle loads are in order. Also if you take it hunting and shoot at reasonble ranges, say 30 to 35 yards you'll find the game comes down just the same even without high velocity 1 1/4 loads. The following additional information on Baker Guns was taken from the discussion board of the L.C. Smith Collectors Assn:Baker/Batavia - Baker references are -The Double Gun Journal - Vol 3, Iss 3&4; Vol 9, Iss 2; and Vol 14, Iss 4American Rifleman - June 1968Shooting Times - May 1962The Gun Report - Nov 1989 and Jan 1991Field & Stream - April 1908Guns Illustrated - 29th Edition, 1997The Batavia guns were the low priced or 'field grade' models of the Baker Gun & Forging Co. To reduce costs the Batavia line did not have the 'firing pin block safety' or the 'draw block' which passes transversely through the barrel lug and mates into recesses in the frame, of the graded Baker hammerless guns and the Model 1897 hammer gun.

After WW-I with the rise of repeaters Baker sold their gun business to H&D Folsom Co. A major marketer, manufacturer and importer of low priced guns. Folsom added the 20-gauge to the Baker line that they produced. Folsom-made Baker guns normally have an F before or after the serial number. In the very last Baker ads that I've found in old sporting magazines from April and May 1928, and October 1929, Folsom also offered a 410-bore Batavia Leader, though I've never seen one.During the Baker Gun & Forging Co. Days there were several variations of the lower priced 'Batavia' line.

From a 1909 copy of The Baker Gunner - The Batavia Leader had twist barrels and listed at $25 - The Batavia Special had steel barrels and listed at $21.75 - The Batavia Damascus had Damascus barrels and listed at $28 - and, finally the Batavia Brush had 26-inch twist barrels and a straight-grip stock listing at $24 and offered swivels and a sling as an option for $3. There was also a Batavia Ejector that listed at $35 with steel barrels and $37.50 with Damascus barrels. By the H & D Folsom days they were all consolidated as the Batavia Leader with steel barrels. Pat - Your collection of Baker trap guns sounds interesting. The donation you made was a nice thing to do. Many shooters are not aware Baker Gun was one of the 'Big Six' of classic American Doubles.

I have found them to be nice handling shooters. Without serious collector interest they can be had for a song in comparison to Parker, Fox, Smith's etc. I believe Bakers provide a man of average means to own and collect some very nice classic American Doubles at very reasonable prices. Unfortunately I think cowboy action shooting is going to cause a lot of otherwise nice Bakers to get chopped. I bought a very high condition Batavia Special earlier this year for the price of a used 870. The clerk at the store put a tape measure to the barrels to get an idea of what it would look like with 18.5 barrels. They were factory original 30'.

I asked why he would do consider doing that, he said it would be a good cowboy gun.