I refinished my son's .410

[Rebeldon]

I refinished my son's .410 this week, ending my labor today. I refinished the stock and reblued the steel. It looks pretty good now. It is a very old single-shot shotgun that a friend gave to me to give to my son. It was rusty and the stock was in very bad shape. Now the stock looks virtually new, and the steel is dark matt blue, although the texture is still old looking and a little rough where the rust was removed.

The manufacturer of the shotgun was Iver Johnson Arms & Cycle Works. Anybody know of this company? It's a Champion model. The serial number on this puppy is made up of four letters.

[Dave McC]

Champions were made by Iver Johnson from the late
19th century up to the 30s, IIRC. An inexpensive but durable single, they were the first shotgun of many kids, and oft served as truck tractor and barn guns.Not much collector interest here.

I strongly suggest you have a good gunsmith check it out before firing the first shot, and measure the chamber to see if modren ammo will fit. Once he/she OKs it, I'd use 2 1/2 shells for starters.