Harrington & Richardson Topper

     Notes: There are essentially two versions of the Topper: The version produced beginning from 1900-1980 by Harrington & Richardson while it was still an independent company, and the versions produced after 2000 after Harrington & Richardson merged with Marlin and changed it’s name to H&R 1871 Arms.  Both are virtually identical in operation and form, with the primary differences being in the use of modern construction methods and materials.  Toppers were quite common in the US, Canada, and Britain until just shortly before World War 2.

     In both cases, the Topper is a simple break-open single-shot shotgun, but better-built than the average break-open shotgun of its period (whether it be the original versions or in 2000 or later).  Most have blued metalwork with dark-finished fancy hardwood stocks, though other finishes are available depending upon the model.  Hammers are exposed, and they have tang-mounted safeties.  Fore-ends are half-length, and may or may not be capped with a variety of materials.

     The original Topper was introduced in 1900.  Single-shot break-open shotguns were common at that time, but the Topper was markedly better in quality than the average such shotgun.  In addition, it could fire both blackpowder and modern-propellant shells, and was chambered to fire magnum cartridges, including the newly-available 3.5-inch 12-Gauge shells.  (The original Topper of 1900 was chambered for 12-gauge shells, but this was quickly followed by Toppers chambered for other gauges.)  The original Toppers had a stock with a checkered semi-pistol grip wrist, a checkered fore-end with a swell at the end to further prevent the hand from slipping forward, and a butt equipped with a rubber recoil pad (another rarity at that time).  Two barrel lengths were available for this original 12-gauge model, 26 and 28 inches.  Later, the Topper was also introduced in 20-Gauge and .410-Gauge.  The Topper Deluxe was similar, but the faux side plates were nickel-plated and engraved and also used a lot of scrollwork.  The stock was also of fine walnut instead of hardwood.  The Topper Deluxe was also quite a bit heavier than its standard counterpart.  (It is identical to the standard 12-Gauge Topper for game purposes.)  A Topper Deluxe Slug version was also available; this version used 24-inch rifled barrel, and is not recommended for use with shot.  It was chambered only in 12-Gauge.  The barrel of the Topper Deluxe Slug also has a ported barrel.

     Shortly thereafter, the Topper Junior was introduced, chambered in 20-Gauge and .410 Gauge.  Barrel length is shortened to 22 inches, and the Topper Junior does not have the checkering of the standard Topper.  The Topper Junior was also able to fire 2.75” shells as well as magnum shells.  The Topper Junior’s counterpart to the Topper Deluxe was the Topper Junior Classic.  It is essentially a smaller version of the Topper Deluxe, but also has a decorative white spacer between the butt and buttplate, and the checkering of the Topper was added back in.

     In 2004, Harrington & Richardson, now reorganized as H&R 1871 under the Marlin umbrella, began again to manufacture the Topper.  The New Topper is very similar in appearance to the original Topper.  Differences include more modern manufacturing methods and materials are used, the stocks of better-quality wood, the mix of gauges is a bit different, and interchangeable chokes are available on some models.

     The standard Topper is now chambered for 2.75-inch and 3-inch shells (except for the 16-Gauge model, which only uses 2.75-inch shells); barrels are 26 inches for the .410 Gauge and 20 Gauge models, and 28 inches for the 12 and 16-Gauge models.  The stock and fore-end are of black-stained hardwood.  The front and rear of the barrel have bead-type sights.  The barrel is blued, but the rest of the metalwork is nickel-plated.  The 12 and 20-Gauge models have Modified chokes, while the 16 and .410-Gauge models use Full chokes.  The standard Topper has no recoil pad.

     The Topper Deluxe Classic version uses a stock of dark-stained American walnut; only a 28-inch barrel is available, topped with a ventilated sighting rib as well as bead-type sights.  The Topper Deluxe Classic has a ventilated rubber recoil pad.  The Topper Deluxe Classic is available only in 12 and 20-Gauge versions.  The Topper Deluxe Classic can use screw-in interchangeable chokes; standard choke is Modified, but with the interchangeable chokes, the Topper Deluxe Classic can have any choke.  A somewhat “lesser classic” version is the Topper Classic; it is almost the same at the 12-Gauge version of the standard Topper, but can use the interchangeable chokes, comes only in 12-Gauge (with up to 3.5” shells being useable) with a 28-inch barrel, and has a recoil pad.

     The new Topper Junior is essentially a smaller version of the new standard Topper, with a 22-inch barrel and shorter stock.  The stock has no recoil pad.  The 20-gauge version has Modified choke, and Full choke on the .410-Gauge version.  The Topper Junior Classic has a stock and fore-end of dark-stained walnut, with a recoil pad, but is otherwise the same as the standard Topper Junior.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The new series of Topper are not available in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Hunter Fulton

     Notes: Also known as the Hunter Special and the Fulton Special, the side-by-side Fulton was designed to counteract the flood of inexpensive and poor quality foreign-made shotguns appearing around the turn of the 20th century.  The Fulton appeared in 1915, and the Fulton Special in 1916 with production ending shortly after World War II.  It was built with a stock of good quality walnut, and a color-case hardened receiver and side plates with engraving on it. The rest of the external metalwork is deep blued.  The Fulton may still be expected to work flawlessly today.  The standard Fulton had a double trigger, but a single non-selective trigger was an option, with the barrel being selected by a switch on the tang below the safety/break-open switch.  They have true side plates and a box lock action and is hammerless.  The buyer could specify any choke he wished, but there is no provision for interchangeable choke tubes (they were a rare commodity at the time). The stock has a semi-pistol grip and checkering on the grip and fore-end.

     Some users have found that the cocking lever may need to be moved with a wooden dowel or a metal stick to get the barrels reassembled to the frame.

Ithaca Auto & Burglar

     Notes: The “Auto & Burglar” name of this mini-shotgun comes from the intended function – use for home defense and against the roadway bandits that were somewhat common in 1922, when this shotgun was designed.  It was actually more popular, however, with the owners of stores and as a concealed weapon for police.  Two versions were made: the Model A had 10.1-inch barrels, and the more popular Model B had 12.2-inch barrels.  Both are essentially very well-made double-barreled scatterguns.  They have double triggers.  These shotguns were made very difficult for civilians to own by the 1934 National Firearms act, but they remained popular with police until the 1960s. 

Ithaca Victory

     Notes: A single-barrel shotgun designed for Trap and Clays, the Victory was introduced in the 1920s and built until shortly before World War 2,  It uses a boxlock action with a hammerless profile and true side plates. The side plates are often nickel-plated and engraved. The barrel is 34 inches long and has a ventilated sighting rig that is usually equipped with a front post-type sight with a cylindrical protective shroud. The barrel comes only in Full choke and cannot accept interchangeable choke tubes.  The barrel is of high-quality.  Except for the side plates, the Victory is deeply blued, with a shallow semi-pistol grip stock which is checkered, along with the fore-end.  Some five grades were made, with increasing luxury and wood quality.

Iver Johnson Champion

     Iver Johnson weapons have a certain amount of respect in general due to their quality and accuracy. The Champion is perhaps the most basic of their weapons, and is a single-barrel gun with long barrels with a full choke. The action features a boxlock with side plates and breaks open with a top lever.  The barrel and the lug are forged in one piece.  The stock of the Champion is American black walnut with a semi-pistol grip, and the receiver is color-case hardened (nickel plating is available). The fore-end is short and tapering.  Metalwork is blued.  The action is hammerless, with automatic ejectors an option. The Champion was built 1909 to 1978, but .410, 24, and 28 gauges were not available until 1913 and the 24 gauge was dropped in 1928. In 1941, all gauges except for 12 gauge were dropped.

     The Matted Rib is the same for game purposes, but uses a matted sight rib and checkering on the semi-pistol grip and the fore-end.  The Special Trap is the same except for its long 32-inch barrel and the same checkering as on the Matted Rib.  Both were discontinued in the early 1940s.

Kimber Valier SXS

     Notes: A fairly-new double-barreled shotgun from Kimber, the Valier is built to very high standards and tolerances with many deluxe features, even in the “basic” models.  Placed on the market in early 2005 and introduced in late 2004, the Valier comes in Grade I (the “basic” model, which is still quite fancy), and the Grade II.  In real life, Valiers cost a pretty penny.

     Both Valier grades have double triggers (the forward trigger fires the right barrel, and the rear trigger fires the left barrel), fixed chokes (Improved Cylinder on the right, Modified on the left), a hand-checkered wrist and fore-end at 24 lpi, and barrels which have positive locking using the chopper and lump system. Butts have a thick rubber recoil pad.

     Grade I Valiers come in 16 gauge and 20 gauge; the 16 gauge model has 2.75-inch chambers, while the 20 gauge model uses 3-inch chambers.  Both are available with 26 or 28-inch barrels, which are strengthened for steel shot.  The stocks and fore-ends are of Grade 3 Turkish walnut with a pistol grip wrist or a straight wrist.  The fore-end is of a Schnabel design.  The woodwork has a hand-rubbed oil finish.  The receiver has a color case-hardened finish, while the barrel, trigger, and trigger guard use a Belgian rust blue finish.  The barrel is topped with an 8 millimeter-wide ventilated sighting rib.  The Valier’s chamber uses automatic extractors which push the shells out of the chamber enough for them to be grasped easily.

     Grade II Valiers have most of the features of the Grade I Valier.  However, the woodwork is of Grade 4 Turkish walnut, the receiver can be finished in a color case-hardened finish, bone charcoal, or simple gloss blued.  The chambers use automatic ejectors which totally eject spent shells, while extracting non-spent or dud shells enough for them to be grasped.  There are some weight differences, but they are for the most part the same as their Grade I counterparts for game purposes.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The Valier does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

M-6 Survival Gun

     Notes: This weapon was designed as a survival weapon for USAF aircrews, to some extent as an emergency combat weapon, but mostly as a weapon to hunt small game.  The weapon folds to a little over 38 centimeters long (but cannot be fired in this condition).  The weapon was described as strikingly ugly, with all-steel construction and vestigial stock, and a bar that is squeezed upwards instead of a trigger.  The ammunition for the weapon was stored in a compartment in the stock, which held 15 rounds of .22 Hornet and 5 rounds of .410 shotgun ammunition.  These weapons were originally made for bomber crews of the USAF Strategic Air Command in the 1950s.  When the weapon was phased out in the late 1970s, thousands were spirited away from Air Force bases and wound up in civilian hands.  Hundreds more wound up in National Guard field hospitals, used for rodent control. 

M-6 Scout Pistol/Carbine

     Notes: Though originally based on the M-6 Survival Gun, the M-6 Scout is quite a different animal.  Like the M-6 Survival Gun, it fires .22 Long Rifle or .22 Hornet from the top barrel and .410 Gauge from the bottom Barrel; however, it can also fire .45 ACP rounds through the bottom barrel.  The weapon can still be folded into a small package; however, the stock is radically different, and can be folded to the side or removed altogether to form a large pistol.  Two sets of barrels are included, one set of 10-inch barrels (primarily for use when in the pistol configuration) and one set of 16-inch barrels for use when in the carbine configuration. 

Marlin L.C. Smith

     Notes: There are two versions of this double-barreled shotgun: side-by-side and over-and-under.  The side-by-side version is a near-reproduction of the original L.C. Smith double-barreled shotgun, nicknamed the “Elsie” and popular for nearly 70 years starting in 1888.  When Marlin bought the L.C. Smith company in 1945, they retained the rights to the name, though they stopped production of the Elsie in 1950.  They tried to reintroduce the Elsie in 1969, but it was not popular at the time, and production stopped again in 1971.  In 2005, Marlin decided to again manufacture the Elsie; with the rise of Cowboy Action Shooting, it was deemed to be time to do so.  The new Elsie is not produced using the same manufacturing methods, and there are several important differences.  The new Elsie is not a true sidelock design, though it does have false side plates for decoration, upon which engraving and gold inlays can sometimes be found.  The new Elsie uses a sturdy boxlock which is in many ways better than the original L.C. Smith design.  The barrels have interchangeable chokes (Modified, Improved Cylinder, Full).  12 gauge models use 28-inch barrels, while 20-gauge versions use 26-inch barrels.  They have a rubber recoil pad and a solid rib between the barrels.  They have single selective triggers.

     The other “Elsie” is an over-and-under shotgun, something which L.C. Smith never made, but Marlin still included it in its new Elsie range. These guns have a ventilated sighting rib above the top barrel and a ventilated cooling rib between the barrels.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: These shotguns do not exist.