What year was a 410 shotgun trademark Electric City SN a474997 made Your granddad bought it when he moved from west Kansas in the late 1800s to early 1900s?

Answer 1

Scranton, PA adopted the nickname "The Electric City" shortly after 1886. It was the practice of the time for makers to mark their guns with the trade name requested by major buyers so the name means very little except to indicate it was made for the Scranton market area after 1886. A major clue to the date of manufacture would be the chamber length. This may be marked on the outside of the barrel. If it is not, it may be measured with a chamber gauge or by measuring the distance a .473" diameter rod may be inserted into the chamber. If unmarked, it may not be a .410 at all, but one of several .44 shot cartridges which evolved into the .410. If marked as .410 without a length indicated, the chamber may well be 2". That would place the gun in the earlier part of our time frame. If the chamber is for 2 1/2" shells, it would have been made well after 1900. It would be extremely dangerous to fire an 2 1/2" shell in a 2" chamber.