I recently acquired a very old Hunter Arms Smith catalog and found some interesting info in it. You may already know this stuff but I thought I'd print it anyway **Each grade in this catalog is prefaced by the word "Quality" **The A-2, A-1, 5, 4, 3, and 2 were offered in 8 gauge **The A-2 was offered with damascus or Whitworth barrels, the A-1 with damascus only, 5, 4, and 3 with damascus or nitro, the 2 with damascus or crown, the pigeon with nitro or crown, the 1 with laminated, the 0 with twist. The Quality A-3 was listed but with minimal description. The Quality pigeon left the factory with a straight stock but could also be ordered with a half, 3/4, or full pistol grip. The terms"new nitro" and "new crown" were used in the descriptions. Also had an ad in the catalog for Hunter bicycles.
Don, you have an interesting early catalog in that it advertises guns in terms of quality and not grade. The "quality" designation became "grade" about 1896. I've only ever seen one Hunter bike and I think it was at the museum in Fulton, NY. Great find and thanks for sharing
For a few years after the move from Syracuse to Fulton, NY Hunter advertised their guns using the word "Quality", a carryover from the Syracuse era; simultaneously with the term "Grade" as they slowly transitioned to alter their grades designations. It seems that evidence of that fact is more often found in early periodical ads than in factory catalogs.