Reader Forum

Hopkins & Allen I have a Hopkins & Allen XL double action revolver chambered in .38 Short Colt and marked, "PAT. MAR.28.71 JAN 5.88". What is the estimated value of this revolver given the gun has matching serial numbers and is intact? There is a small coil spring in the trigger mechanism. Along with anew cylinder, I believe it will be shootable. Would there be any interest in publishing on article on this? David A.

Denhoff Hopkins & Allen Manufacturing Co. of Norwich, Connecticut, was a major manufacturer of rifles, shotguns, and inexpensive cartridge handguns between 1868 and 1915. Hopkins & Allen purchased the assets of the Bacon Manufacturing Company when that firm ceased operations in 1868.

The firm was initially prohibited from manufacturing cartridge revolvers using Rollin White’s patent for bored-through cylinders that Smith & Wesson held exclusive rights to, however, after the patent expired Hopkins & Allen converted their percussion revolvers to fire cartridge ammunition. In addition, a line of spur-trigger cartridge revolvers in .22 rimfire and .32 rimfire calibers was introduced.

Many of Hopkins & Allen revolvers were sold to distributors under trade names such as Blue Jacket, Mountain Eagle, Ranger, and others. By the late 1870s, Hopkins & Allen’s sales had grown to the point that the company relocated to larger facilities in Norwich. Their product line expanded to include the XL Army, XL Navy, and XL Police models. The patent dates stamped on the top strap refer to patent number 113,053 issued March 28, 1871 to Samuel S.

Hopkins for a revolver and patent number 333,725 issued January 5, 1886 to James Boland for a revolver and assigned to Hopkins and Allen Manufacturing Company. Rexville, NY Gun values for revolvers of this type range from about $100 to $350, depending on condition. Numrich (GunPartsCorp.com, has an entire section on Hopkins & Allen revolvers with parts, springs, cylinders, and schematics. Higgins M101.25 I have a J. C. Higgins Model 101.25, which is a variant of the Stevens Model 39A.

Does this use the 2 1/2inch shell or the 3-inch shell? Robert B. Three-inch .410 shotshells were not common until the 1940s and J. C. Higgins made four models (39A, 59A, 59B, and 59C) between 1946-1950. If the barrel isn’t marked as having a three-inch chamber, assume it is 2 1/2" until you have it measured. Three-inch .410 shotguns can safely fire 2 1/2" but not the reverse. German Hunting Guns I am looking for more information on E. Schmidt & Habermann firearms.

Specifically, the company’s bolt action and single shot rifles with double triggers. What calibers were offered? What are typical values? Ken Rice Ken Arthur’s Trading Post E. Schmidt & Habermann was founded by Emil Schmidt and Al Habermann as a gun factory in 1860 with headquarters at Roschstraße 1 in Suhl, Germany. The company owned a number of hunting-related patents. Around 1920, the company was bought by Franz and Paul Stadelmann who operated it until 1935.

They produced bolt actions, double shotguns, drillings, and Bockdoppelbüchsen (Bock double rifles), among others. The website German Hunting Guns (GermanHuntingGuns.com/ archives/e-schmidt-habermann) has an entire section on E. Schmidt & Habermann firearms along with articles and original advertisements from the company. The German Gun Collectors Association (German- Guns.com) has information and history on all German sporting arms, including E. Schmidt & Habermann.

Finally, Michael Hammer maintains the website Jagdwaffensammler.de (Hunting Weapon Collector). While the site is written in German, Google Translate will help if you don’t read the language. AG