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Earliest Tobin

Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 8:29 pm
by Researcher
I was cruising GI the other day and found the lowest serial number Tobin I've seen so far, 220. This is the sixtieth Tobin I've recorded
220 01 No. 30 Expert Grade, 12-gauge, 28-inch.jpg
220 06.jpg
220 07.jpg
I've not seen the hole through the top-lever before, but I have heard it mentioned.

Re: Earliest Tobin

Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2021 9:38 am
by DarylC
Don't know much about the Tobin but they look to be a well finished gun. I've seen the skeletal type top levers but not one like that with the hole. Seems to me to be functional. Did they make only 12's Dave?

Re: Earliest Tobin

Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2021 11:49 am
by Researcher
Tobin shotguns were offered in 12- and 16-gauge guns.

My Tobin articles were published in Volume Five, Issue 1, and Volume Eight, Issue 1, of The Double Gun Journal; Volume 39, Number 12, May 1994 of The Gun Report; and Volume 34, Number 3 of (the Canadian Journal of) Arms Collecting.
7574 10.jpg

Re: Earliest Tobin

Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2021 12:42 pm
by Jim Cloninger
Wow, you have a spectacular example of a Tobin shotgun, Dave! Jim

Re: Earliest Tobin

Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2021 10:43 pm
by Researcher
Wow, you have a spectacular example of a Tobin shotgun, Dave! Jim
That one is not mine, but I do have one of that grade, the No. 55 Model Grade. The engraving pops a bit better in that picture than in the only picture I have of mine.
8431 01 12-gauge Tobin No. 55 Model Grade.jpg
There are higher grades out there like Frank Tobin's gun --
8952 01 Frank Tobin's gun.jpg
or this high grade Canadian example --
xx900 02 No. 250ET Regal Grade.jpg

Re: Earliest Tobin

Posted: Wed Nov 03, 2021 6:58 am
by Stan Hillis
That "Frank Tobin gun" is stunning, Dave. The barrel wedges are over the top.

I notice that both it and the "Canadian example" are single trigger guns. Were their single triggers of their own manufacture, or did they use an "aftermarket" trigger?

Re: Earliest Tobin

Posted: Wed Nov 03, 2021 11:39 am
by Researcher
The single triggers on those two high grade guns with the swinging lever behind the trigger are different than the single selective trigger shown in the Tobin catalogs and on other Tobin single trigger guns I've observed.
Tobin Positive Single Trigger Catalog 206.jpeg
9283 13.jpg

Re: Earliest Tobin

Posted: Wed Nov 03, 2021 11:43 am
by Jim Cloninger
Dave, yours is a beauty! Jim

Re: Earliest Tobin

Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2021 7:22 am
by 44whiskey
yours is a beauty and looks high condition, strong colors. thanks again for ALL your contributions to this forum

Re: Earliest Tobin

Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2021 8:12 am
by Stan Hillis
The Tobin Positive Single Trigger!

Thank you, Dave .......once again.

Re: Earliest Tobin

Posted: Sat Nov 13, 2021 5:08 pm
by Fowlgunner
Dave my Remington DE had a hole in the top lever.

Will

Re: Earliest Tobin

Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2021 8:39 am
by Foxnut
The High Grade Tobins are stunning. The engraving compares to the best out there on any American/Canadian guns of the day. I’ve only seen one high grade Tobin in the flesh at OGCA several years ago. I once owned a 16 ga. Tobin that was a lower grade model with light engraving and blacked/blued frame. Extremely well made with nicely figured wood for a lower grade gun and balanced very nicely.