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410 bay state
sheree
Member Posts: 2 ✭✭
Please tell me the value of my aunt's gun. It is a 410 Bay State Worcester, Mass A699206 and says it is 12 mm choke. That is all I know about it. It is in good condition.
Comments
We've had several discussions on the history of Bay State shotguns and the name here in the past few weeks. Originally "Bay State" guns were made by Hopkins & Allen. Then H&A was absorbed by Harrington & Richardson who began using the Bay State name on some shotguns about 1919'ish to around 1940 or so.
Values aren't too high. VG might be $150-$200. Good $75-$125.
a couple of points needs clarification. the markings on the top of the barrel '410-12mm' is not refering to the choke. the 12mm is a european small bore shot shell simular but not quite the same as the 410. h&r guns with this marking will not chamber the modern 3 inch 410 shell. h&r also offered this gun chambered for a 14mm shot shell. an H&R 'bay state' with the 410-12mm marking was manufactured between 1924 and 1930. the "A" in the serial number lead me to believe this is a standard size frame and not the small lightweight frame.
the other point is hopkins and allen was purchased by marlin and the only thing H&R aquired was the name "bay state" they also aquired the "columbia" name. these names were used on their standard and light weigth frames as economy grade guns to be sold through mail order companies. starting in the mid to late 1920s the bay state and columbia marked shotgun started to appear in some (but not all) H&R price lists and in the 1940 and 1941 H&R catalogs the bay state only appeared as a economy brand with a lesser finish than the standard H&R single barrel shotgun.
the values given by fatstrat would be considered retail.
bill