Western Field Shotgun Barrel

jeffrefrig · Sep 6, 2020

I only received this old shotgun this year, never really did much to it besides getting it to function freely and started to get it ready to clean up the side plates. I just noticed this on the end of the barrel. It has no ser. numbers anywhere. From what this forum told me it was made by Noble (?). It's a .410, 3", pump. I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet. Any input appreciated. I've never seen this irregularity in the thickness of the "pipe." Perhaps since it was made for Montgomery Wards they didn't get the best parts?
Thanks, Jeff T., PGH PA

s&wchad · Sep 6, 2020

Serial numbers weren’t required on shotguns and .22’s until the GCA of 1968. I saw photo’s of another XNH 480 that was stamped with patent number 2926445, which was assigned to Noble Manufacturing Company.

Both Sears and Montgomery Wards had guns made by various manufacturers to meet a price point, but they didn’t sell unsafe guns. Even though the barrel is bored slightly non-concentric, there’s plenty of steel on the thin side.

.410 pumps are cool! If you want a humbling experience, get some 2-1/2” shells and try your hand at skeet. There’s very little recoil and they will break birds if you do your part!

DWalt · Sep 6, 2020

Like Sears, MW sourced their guns where they could get the best deal, and for sure, some of the Wards guns were made by Noble. I once had a Wards Noble .22 pump rifle (they can be found with both wood and plastic furniture). An odd fact is that in 1972 S&W acquired Noble's tooling and patents out of Noble's bankruptcy, and for awhile sold the Noble pump gun as the S&W Model 916 in several variations, although I don't know if they were in gauges other than 12. I have one of those Model 916s and I can't say anything bad about it. In fact that 916 fits my anatomy better than any other shotgun I have. I bought it at a yard sale back in the 1990s for $50, but I had to clean it up thoroughly as it looked like it had been stored out in the rain.

2152hq · Sep 6, 2020

That's a Noble Model 70,,or one of their other variants (72, 77....).
But I think it's a Mod 70.

Made & marked for Monty Wards. A 'House Brand' like so many other mfg'rs made them.

As S&WChad mentions, no ser# required on shotguns before the GCA68.
Noble was still in biz at the time of the GCA68, but just barely.

Here's an pretty good history with some pics about the Noble company.
I found it interesting along with it's link to S&W.

TINCANBANDIT's Gunsmithing: Firearm Factory of the Month: Noble Manufacturing Company

The off center bore is not uncommon to see. It's just how the bbl is ground after being bored. Some mfg'rs have better machinery, QC and designs than others.
Nobel just wasn't one of the top tier makers around.

fiasconva · Sep 6, 2020

These were mass-produced economy models made for several different companies such as Sears and Monty Wards. QC probably wasn't at the top of the list for most of them. Several different gun makers produced a ton of them for these stores.

bummer · Sep 6, 2020

DWalt said:
Like Sears, MW sourced their guns where they could get the best deal, and for sure, some of the Wards guns were made by Noble. I once had a Wards Noble .22 pump rifle (they can be found with both wood and plastic furniture). An odd fact is that in 1972 S&W acquired Noble's tooling and patents out of Noble's bankruptcy, and for awhile sold the Noble pump gun as the S&W Model 916 in several variations, although I don't know if they were in gauges other than 12. I have one of those Model 916s and I can't say anything bad about it. In fact that 916 fits my anatomy better than any other shotgun I have. I bought it at a yard sale back in the 1990s for $50, but I had to clean it up thoroughly as it looked like it had been stored out in the rain.

I have a model 235 pump with the all wood furniture

jeffrefrig · Sep 6, 2020

s&wchad, this one is marked "Patent applied for."
2152hq, it does look like that model 70 in that one picture; you can see the safety on the top. It's not exactly very lightweight though! That was pretty interesting history and pictures. Thanks for the info. Jeff

Buick · Sep 6, 2020

My guess is that is the result of a choking process gone slightly awry. The raw tubing supplied by the vendor would probably be more consistent than that. Pattern the gun and if uniformity and point of impact is good, enjoy as is. All shotguns are just tubes at the end of the day anyway.

DWalt · Sep 7, 2020

2152hq said:
Here's an pretty good history with some pics about the Noble company.
I found it interesting along with it's link to S&W.

TINCANBANDIT's Gunsmithing: Firearm Factory of the Month: Noble Manufacturing Company

An interesting article. I knew little about Noble aside from their products. As I said earlier, I once had a .22 Noble pump sold under the Western Field brand, and it had a plastic stock and fore end. I have seen the same rifle with wooden furniture A very smooth action with a very short stroke. I gave it away over 10 years ago. As I said earlier, I can't find any fault with my S&W 916 12 gauge, aside from its slightly unappealing cosmetic features. But it has always worked well for me. Its main use by me is shooting hand-thrown clay birds, but I have killed a few wild turkeys with it. When I first bought it it had a broken firing pin in it, but it was a fairly simple job to turn out a replacement on my lathe. I did the same for another person who had a similar 916 with a broken firing pin. That must have been a design weak point. Not the simplest shotgun to disassemble to get to the firing pin, but not too bad either.

Western Field Shotgun Barrel

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