Posted by stanley on July 12, 2007, 8:19 pm, in reply to "# 2 grade 1890"
I don't know whether it's common or not, but my Grade 2 also has the number stamped (only) on the barrel splinter, just below the lug. It is an early gun with only the scroll engraving on the sidelocks (no birds). Russ Ruppell once opined that the "Trap Gun" buttplate was likely a marketing device used to capitalize on the popularity of the sport at the time. It does not indicate the grade of the gun.