Bridge Gun Company, according to Dr. Google, was a brand name of Crescent Arms which was assigned to guns sold by the Shapleigh Hardware chain. Crescent sold TONS of inexpensive but sound shotguns; they are best known for their doubles which had either sideplates or sidelocks (not sure which). They were ultimately absorbed by Savage in the early 1930s, I think.
My general rule with old .410s is to limit them to 2 1/2" shells unless it says "3 inch chamber" or "for 3" ctg." someplace on the gun. Most 2 1/2" guns will FIRE 3" fine. But the cumulative increased pressure effect of shooting them in the short chamber loosens the action over time.
The I J that I started this thread with is clearly too old to have a 3" chamber unless it was rechambered sometime in the past. It shows the effect added 3" pressure by not being quite as tight as it should be (I've seen this before, and on better quality guns). It doesn't matter much if you're going to only shoot the gun occasionally, but I don't need the extra shot that are in a 3" shell and so won't be shooting any.
Last edited by Mesa; 06/12/21.
