Reader Forum

Diamond Shotgun I have a Diamond shotgun in my shop and need some internal parts for. Can you please help me identify it by the pictures? I have looked through all the old publications I have and all the reference books. Either I missed it or I don’t have a reference for it. Kenneth W. Jeff Brian Smith responds.

I don’t know much about Diamond Arms shotguns other than it was a Shapleigh Hardware store brand, and after WW1 they were made by Iver Johnson so it might be possible that internal parts are shared with some IJ branded gun(s) as was the custom with so many New England gun manufacturers who made store brand guns alongside their own. Prior to WW1 they were made for Shapleigh in Belgium, probably one of the many gunmakers in Leige. For parts I’d suggest Numrich, Jack First, and Poppert’s Gun Parts.

From Mark Hollensen (Bench- MarkPerformanceServices.com). The closest resemblance I ran across was a Hopkins and Allen single shot, top break hammer shotgun (Gun- PartsCorp.com/gun-manufacturer/ hopkins-allen/shotguns-ha/singlebarrel-shot). Unfortunately, these "trade named" shotguns are difficult to cross-reference for parts purposes. This is certainly a challenge. Young America Rimfire I am trying to reassemble a Young America 22 with a short octagon barrel. I got the gun in pieces and am missing parts.

Do you have a schematic or any other info on how to put this back together? Ira Young America Double Action was manufactured from about 1890 to the early 1940s in .22 rimfire and .32 caliber variants with 2.5, 4.5, and 5.5inch barrel options. Approximately 1,500,000 were manufactured. Cowan’s Auctions lists the value at $50- $150. Numrich has a parts list with a diagram and eBay.com also lists parts for sale. AG