ot- Got a kinda neat old shotgun ( More Photos).

[2ndovc]

Got a call from a good friend of my Mother's yesterday.

He asked if I wanted an old 12 gage. I said probably, what is it and
what do you want for it? He says nothing it's on your Mom's back proch
stop and get it on your way home.

Cool!

Well there it was in an old case wraped up in a wool blacket he brought home from the Navy.
He'd bought it just after he got home from the service and hadn't used it in 20 yrs.

It's marked J.C. Higgins, Sears and Roebuck Model 20. 12 Ga.
A little rust here and there and really stiff but looks pretty good.
It has a funky poly choke on the end marked J.C. Higgins Choke.
the tube that's in it isn't marked but it looks like it could be full.

According to my book it was made by High Standard but it looks
a lot like a Stevens too.



Hard to tell from the flash but it has a really nice piece of walnut on it.



Looks cool with out the choke installed.



I gave it a quick cleaning but it needs to be taken apart and cleaned to get all the
old gunk out.

Looking forward for another trip to the range

jb

[Buffboy]

It is made by High Standard, I gave a similar one(Ted Stevens?) in 20ga to my niece ten years or so ago. They are good shotguns.

[gamekeeper]

You lucky son of a gun Why don't things like that happen to me?

[wm]

It is defomtely a High Standard. I had two in 12 ga.

I personally was not happy with the two I had and was happy tomove them on but they were problem children who had suffered a hard life. The design is good and they are all steel where it counts.

WM

[DarryH]

I like the choke, only because I saw so many like it when I was growing up. It brings back a lot of memories.

In the 50's and into the 60's, these were very effective.
Most were adjustable, so one gun would work for many
different types of shooting.

With the internal chokes we have these days, the old
Poly-Chokes and the like do look kind of funky.

Either shoot it as is and enjoy it, or sell to someone else who will appreciate it. I'd hate to see someone lop it off and turn it into a psuedo combat gun!

Good Shootin!!
DarryH

[2ndovc]

It's going to stay just like it is except for a good cleaning and maybe strip and refinish the stock.

That and I'll keep it for a very long time.
The fellow it came from has three sons of his own but they
are not close.
It means a lot that he thinks enough of me that he would want me to have it.


jb

[mescalero1]

You are stuck with your family,
you CHOOSE your friends.

[2ndovc]

You are stuck with your family,
you CHOOSE your friends.

Boy that's for sure!!


Here's a question for you guys.

if I shoot a 00 load out of it with out the choke tube is it possible
that the threads can get damaged?

I wouldn't think that the shot would spread that fast but a friend of mine told me this a.m. not
to shoot it with out the tube.


jb

[Nath]

Nice gift. Say is that a Cutts type of compensator?

Bet that wood comes up good!

Not sure of the threads getting damaged, full of poop yes!

Nath.

[iceman]

I wouldn't shoot it without the choke. If you bugger up the threads, your sol. Does poly choke still exist? If so other chokes should be available. Maybe the original owner still has them and just forgot to bring them along. Good luck, great gift!!

[Nath]

I don't think/ convinced thats a poly choke iceman, looks more like a Cutts to me!

Nath.

[2ndovc]

It's not the usual "Poly Choke" that I've seen on most shotguns of this vintage.

I'll take a better photo of it when I get home.

jb

[airedaleman]

It's not the usual "Poly Choke" that I've seen on most shotguns of this vintage.

I'll take a better photo of it when I get home.

jb

That is a Cutts Compensator; believe thay were offered by Lyman. Do you have the tubes for it? Great old pump gun! Enjoy your good fortune...

[kimwcook]

Well that was a phone call worth taking. Good for you.

[wm]

Defintley a Cutts compensator with screw on (as opposed to IN) chokes.

Actually they work pretty well and the compensators due seem to dampen down recoil a good bit.

If you need chokes you should Google Dick Williams, Saginaw, Michigan. Dick has quite a collection of such stuff at his shop.

Wm

[Blaine]

http://www.corsonsbarrels.com/cuttschokes.htm

[Sixgun]

Jason,
Price sure was right. I say you send that baby off and have it 100% engraved by Colt's John Adams. Replace the stock with solid elephant ivory. Then add a Schmidt & Bender 20X.

Or....it would make a nice truck or cabin gun.

I see you joined the "One Gun A Week Club" Your on a roll -------------Sixgun

[bogus bill]

They are a good shotgun. I bought one from sears in about 1954 or 1955. They let me trade a 20 guage iver johnson single barrel on it! Mine had a magazine cutoff switch on it so you could change to a slug or different size shot in a hurry. I dont see that lever on yours. It was my main shotgun for many years. I shot a lot of pheasants, rabbitts and maybe 5 or 6 deer with slugs with it. Unfortunately it got stolen about 6 years ago along with many other family guns. My safety got very loose on mine and I had to habitualy check it.

[JOHNNY WACKO]

I have 2 guns with that choke CUTTs 1 a rem.M-31 and a stevens 67 or 69 i think.

I have seen people hack them off and sell them on G/Broker several times.Go under shotgun,Parts,and chokes and check it out.You might get luckier then you are now....Free guns sure are nice....

[Ysabel Kid]

You lucky son of a gun Why don't things like that happen to me?

+1

No wait, my MIL just gave me a pocket pistol. Broken firing pin - ordered a replacement and repaired it in less than a week for less than $20. Not nearly as cool as the shotgun though!

[2ndovc]

Well I had in my head that it said Poly Choke on it.

Marked : J.C. Higgins Choke.

Found a tiny little F for full. I called again to thank him for the neat old shotgun and he
told me he had a modified choke for it "somewhere".
He said he shot it alot without the tube so I guess it's ok.
He's bought it new in 1957.




He sad he's got a little .25 acp somewhere. He's said he'd call me when he finds it.

Blaine, thanks for the link. The spreader choke sounds interesting.

Can't wait to burn up some shotgun shells!!

jb

[dbateman]

wow that is a very nice old shoty you were given
looks like he really took care of it.

[Mokwaw]

Jason...........nice gift. Those are good shotguns, I've had 2 of them thru the years. They slick up real nice. I took both of mine apart, cleaned thoroughly, then polished the action bar on all sides and made sure it was straight, also check the mag tube for tight spots where the action bar ring slides up and down, and polished the shell lifter, with extra fine grit. Then lubed with WD40. When the gun was held vertical and the action release button pushed, the action dropped open under the weight of the slide alone. Those old Cutts Compensators look like a corn cobb on the end of the barrel but they served a useful purpose for a man who could only afford one gun.