-=> Quoting JERRY GOODSON to ALL on 06 May 98  02:56 <=-
 Re: guns 
 JG> Oh cool!  A technical conference about my favorite subject...
 JG> I have something that might stump some of y'all....
 JG> I restored for my fiance a Revelation .22 rifle.
 JG> The gun was made by Western Auto Supply, and doesn't even have
 JG> a serial number!  Well... it DIDN'T have a serial number... I went
 JG> out and bought a number dye set, and put my fiance's social security
 JG> number on the bottom of the barrel. (It's covered up by the stock
 JG> when it's assembled)  I reblued it, using Van's gun blue.  I
 JG> refinished the stock, and I cleaned all kinds of gummy goo that must
 JG> have been there since before I was born! (I'm 21)
It wasn't actually made by Western Auto, merely sold by them. I see Jim 
told you that, though...
Prior to 1968, neither shotguns nor .22 rifles were required to have 
serial numbers on them. Of course, if it were some particularly high- 
grade model they would have put a number on it for bookkeeping purposes, 
but it was not required. At various times I've had several shotguns and 
several .22s with no serial numbers. (I'm not refering to anything 
illegal, like having had the number removed. These all never had a serial 
number.)
But just for similarity, at one time I had a shotgun which had been sold 
as a "Coast-to-Coast model 267", which means it was actually a Stevens 
model 67M sold through that particular chain of hardware stores - and it 
had no serial number either.
 JG> Last, but not least, there's my Smith & Wesson Model 916-A 12ga.
 JG> shotgun. Don't know much about it... shoots 3" shells, holds 6 rounds. 
 JG> I've owned it for a year now, and haven't even fired the sucker!
Interestingly, my current "defensive" shotgun is an "Eastman" 916-A, 
which means it's actually a Smith & Wesson like yours. At one time it had 
a rifle-type sight on the barrel (prior to my owning it) but at current 
it only has the groove where the sight used to be. It hold 7 standard 
2-3/4" shells or 6 3" as yours does. Functions well, and shoots as well 
as I do. If yours is like mine, it'll suit you just fine as a defensive 
gun. It wasn't intended as a bird gun - not with that short barrel and 
large magazine. I know S&W did make version intended for other uses, such 
as a Trap model the 916-T, but I haven't actually seen any. Oh, the 
magazine spring isn't quite as good as it could be - if you keep it 
loaded to capacity for a while, the spring tension relaxes and the last 
shot won't feed properly.
Welcome to the club, so to speak. After a while, you might even get to be 
an expert (of sorts). Lots of professionals around, including some old 
guys who still write for shooting magazines.
Steve
--- GEcho 1.00
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