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16 gauge Baker
Posted: Tue Dec 31, 2019 3:10 pm
by SPE33
Got this earlier this year.I’m double checking the increased picture posting capabilities.Betting we will see ALOT more of our members treasures!
Re: 16 gauge Baker
Posted: Tue Dec 31, 2019 9:16 pm
by Jeff S
I don’t know a thing about Bakers, but that is a really nice looking gun. Thanks for posting.
Re: 16 gauge Baker
Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2020 12:50 pm
by SPE33
Jeff, I’ve seen some articles on what some consider the ‘Top 5’double gun makers of the earlier part of the 20th century.In no particular order they were AH Fox,Lefever,Parker,LC Smith and Baker.The last two were true sidelocks.I’ve been on a quest to include at least one of each in my collection.Was lucky to find this 16 gauge Baker A grade last spring.First graded 16 I’ve encountered,most of the ones I’ve seen were their Batavia model which was their entry level gun similar to the Sterlingworth.All I need to find now is a nice Parker,preferably a 16.
Re: 16 gauge Baker
Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2020 4:16 pm
by Jeff S
SPE33, I have a Parker 16 ga. DH that is just a delight to carry
. I once read in Parker Pages that Parker always engraved a Setter on the right and a Pointer on the left (SRPL). The author referred to this as "Sir Pull". Unless my dog identification is incorrect, it appears that Baker chose the opposite scenario for their dogs, Setter on the left and Pointer on the right.
Re: 16 gauge Baker
Posted: Thu Jan 02, 2020 2:11 pm
by Fin2Feather
Pretty gun!
Re: 16 gauge Baker
Posted: Thu Jan 02, 2020 4:26 pm
by Jim Cloninger
I would think Ithaca would be ahead of Baker.
Jim
Re: 16 gauge Baker
Posted: Thu Jan 02, 2020 5:37 pm
by OH Osthaus
Jim Cloninger wrote:I would think Ithaca would be ahead of Baker.
Jim
i would agree with you Jim at least as a volume maker
Baker made some beautiful guns - with great engraving on the graded guns - this one is a good example - very nice find
of course WH Baker was involved in the founding of Ithaca, before ending up in Batavia -
Ithaca certainly made more guns - and Ithaca's graded guns have some ( IMHO ) of the best engraving, but for some reason they fall off many folk's radar
Re: 16 gauge Baker
Posted: Thu Jan 02, 2020 5:48 pm
by SPE33
Googled ‘Top 5 American double gun makers’ just for fun.They listed 6.....All of the above and Ithaca too! Thanks a lot Jim,now I need to buy another gun!
Re: 16 gauge Baker
Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2020 9:45 am
by Researcher
Baker didn't make the cut for Mike McIntosh's The Best Shotguns Ever Made in America. He included Parker, A.H. Fox, L.C. Smith, Lefever, Ithaca, Remington Model 32 and Winchester Model 21. The same seven carried through in his later book Best Guns.
Re: 16 gauge Baker
Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2020 10:20 am
by SPE33
Guess it all depends where you look .
Re: 16 gauge Baker
Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2020 11:24 am
by OH Osthaus
SPE33 wrote:Guess it all depends where you look .
everyone can make up their own list, there is no real doubt that Baker was a player in the American double world
its a nice gun from a good maker - like I said - always like his engravers work -
and have wondered if (with his connection, although he passed in 1889 ) if Baker used the same outside artists that Ithaca did
scroll down to the graded guns here - look a the 4th one down in the grade B side plate pics
http://www.bakercollectors.com/index.php?p=1_10_Photos
Re: 16 gauge Baker
Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2020 12:06 pm
by Jeff S
Wow! That's great reference material for a guy like me, who knows nothing about Bakers. Thanks for sharing it. Jeff
Re: 16 gauge Baker
Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2020 6:36 pm
by Researcher
I wasn't bad mouthing Bakers. I own a couple.
- 10-gauge Pigeon Gun
Re: 16 gauge Baker
Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2020 1:20 pm
by Mike of the Mountain
Baker made some beautiful guns, however,no great American doubles maker list would be complete without the ever so classic Crescent Arms Mfg Co !!!