Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Engraver Orville Kuhl? Rem Sportsman 48

I recently came to own this neat old shotgun. It is a Remington Sportsman 48 from 1950 (barrel code KWW) vent rib barrel stamped skeet with a polychoke and most unusually, custom engraving on the receiver. On close inspection the name “KUHL” can be found. In googling it appears an Orville Kuhl is a known engraver but little seems to turn up. Any additional information would be appreciated. About Mr. Kuhl, 11-48s (I’ve never shot one before) or other thoughts. There is something on the receiver, just in front of the second duck from the right, that did not come off with Hoppes no 9 and a flannel rag. Any ideas how best to clean whatever it is?
Thanks!

I have a skeet 48 just like that, sans extra engraving & Poly-Choke. I came real close to having the barrel threaded for screw-in choke tubes. Glad I didn't.

Due to the engraving being cut thru the bluing this leads me to believe that Mr. Kuhl was primarily a jewelry engraver who applied his skills to the Remington shotgun pictured. Some call this "pawn shop engraving" though that is usually much cruder. Have you researched the book Entitled "American Engravers"? You may find some information there, most libraries have a copy or can get one on inter-library loan. It has been a while but the book was useful when I was researching an engraver. Another source may be FEGA, the Firearms Engravers Guild of America.

Just to save you the trouble, I checked my copy of the book, "Custom Firearms Engraving" by Tom Turpin (1999).

He lists about 80 of the top American engravers, and Orville Kuhl doesn't seem to be listed.

Sorry I can't offer any more than that. Good luck.

Thanks for looking in the book for me! l appreciate it. The ingraving doesn’t seem to be unfinished steel to me. Is it possible that it is some finished differently? There was some very light surface rust over the blurring in places that cleaned up fine, but there was no hint of rust in the bright engraving.

Google searching turned up a couple interesting photos:

Great photo of Clark Gable and Robert Stack from when Hollywood had real men working there.

It looks good to me. When you think about it the simi-auto receiver is a very large canvass to apply decoration to and game scenes is the order of the day on most. You would need to look at the receiver with a loop to see what is the irregularity. The 11-48 was a fine gun. It is really a model 11 without the hump and Remington's first mass produced shotgun. It shares the receiver with the mod. 870. I have one in 410 and one in 28ga. I gave my father's 20ga. to his favorite grandson, my favorite nephew. It is fun to hunt doves with the little 410. it cycles my 2 1/2", 9 shot hand loads well.

The 11-48 is a long recoil shotgun like the Browning and can kick a little with heavy loads. The gun you have is a good piece of history and I would keep it.

Very nice engraving.

this was posted on shotgunworld by wfb18:

Congratulations, jfkid, your new-to-you Sportsman 48 is undoubtedly worth far more than either you or the seller realized.

I did some genealogy on Mr. Orville Jay Kuhl, He invented a special process for electric welding of gold and platinum to steel. Mr. Kuhl was a master engraver of firearms and wild life scenes on metal plates, but his welding process made it possible to do far more elaborate work, since the figures of dogs, birds, and animals could be applied to the guns in high relief, which could be done in no other way. He never engraved over the factory stampings of a firearm. Mr. Kuhl used a trademark scallop design on the borders of firearms that he engraved. You will see this on the receiver and trigger guard of your Sportsman 48.

Image

From his life travels in California, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Canada, Mr. Kuhl enjoyed duck and pheasant hunting. He owned a 5000 acre hunting preserve and four of the finest duck clubs in northern California. He was one of the first members of Ducks Unlimited, organized in 1937. He had many friends who were celebrities and hunters, like Clark Gable and Gene Autry.

He was born in Omaha, Nebraska on 01 Jul 1894. He had an eighth grade education, the same as both of my grandfathers who were his contemporaries. All three men had talents far beyond their limited schooling.

In the 1940 census, Mr. Kuhl lived in Alameda (Oakland) CA and was a general engraver for a "retail sport store". This was the D. W. King Sporting Goods store, which had just relocated about 1937 from 555 Howard Street to 171-173 Second Street of San Francisco. Mr. Kuhl arrived from Oklahoma to do contract engraving for clients of the highly regarded King Gun Sight Company, which shared the new address. Mr. Deane W. King was a renowned gunsmith and a major S & W, Colt, and Remington Arms dealer. In 1938, King offered the Colt - King Super Target Woodsman pistols for the first time. Mr. Kuhl engraved many of these pistols. However, Mr. King suspended all commercial work to support the USA in World War II, and he died in 1945.

Mr. Kuhl signed his individual commissions, but he did not sign guns that he did for King Gun Sight Company. Below is a Colt Woodsman pistol that he did for them, with wood grips carved in a beautiful floral design. Price is $3000 plus $40 shipping. It is a C&R.

Image

Image

On 25 Jul 1941 it was reported that Orville Kuhl had donated duck hunting shoots at the Kuhl Duck Club and the Kuhl Gun Club in Alameda as prizes for the Oakland Tribune - Ducks Unlimited shoot at the Golden Gate Gun Club of West Alameda. The Kuhl Gun Club was off of highway 99W between Williams and Maxwell.

On 18 Jul 1941, Orville Kuhl wrote in the Oakland Tribune, "I recently purchased the Burgess Estate of nearly 2000 acres which adjoins the Kuhl Gun Club on the East. This estate consists of three of the finest duck clubs in northern California and includes the Senator Commercial Club, the Black and White, and the Northern Gun Club. These three gun clubs combined with the adjoining Kuhl Gun Club, creates a very unusual set-up of approximately 5000 acres, nearly seven square miles of the finest duck and pheasant hunting land in the heart of the rice fields near Maxwell.

"All four club buildings, lakes and ponds are being reconditioned and will be in top condition for one of the greatest duck seasons Ducks Unlimited have estimated for us since their formation. I feel sure that we would no doubt be experiencing a closed season, instead of the ever growing duck population, were it not for the untiring efforts of the management of Ducks Unlimited. Every duck hunter should get behind this organization 100 per cent. Incidentally every shooter at the above mentioned clubs will have to be paid up members of Ducks Unlimited. My every effort will be pledged to these hunters. The slogan will be 'Quality hunting facilities for Mr. Average Duck Hunter at the lowest possible cost.' That's the Kuhl idea."

Mr. Kuhl was self-employed as an engraver and owner of Orville Kuhl and Company in 1942 in Maxwell, Colussa County, California. His family residence was in Alameda in 1942. In time his company was Orville Kuhl & Son, also Kuhl & Kuhl, of San Francisco, California.

Mr. Kuhl lived in Oklahoma City from about 1927 to just after 1935. He was an engraver in 1935. Mr. Kuhl was a self-employed jewelry merchant in 1930.

He was a World War I U. S. Army veteran. He and his young bride lived in St. Paul MN before moving to St. Joseph, Missouri for his training before he left for France. His wife was born in Illinois. His children were born in Minnesota and Oklahoma.

In 1920 Mr. Kuhl was employed as a jeweler by a jewelry store. In 1917 he was employed as an engraver by Emil Geist in St. Paul MN. He was an engraver in the 1916, 1917, 1920 and 1921 St. Paul directories. He owned his own jewelry store in St. Paul in 1923. His life's work may have been influenced by his two year older brother, who was an eighteen year old jewelry saleman in 1910.

Image

His parents were Julius Lucius (Jay) and Mary Robertson Kuhl. His father was born in Wisconsin and his mother was born in Canada. When he was age 5 in 1900, his family lived in Detroit MI. By 1902 they lived in St. Paul MN. His father taught him how to weld, and that eventually inspired his invention of welding gold and platinum to steel.

From 1955 or earlier through the 1960's, Mr. Kuhl lived in Walnut Creek, CA, where he engraved numerous works of art depicting wildlife scenes. He demonstrated his designs on aluminum alloy at the Pageant of Arts there. On 26 Sep 1957, Orville Kuhl demonstrated metal engraving on guns and aluminum at a booth of the "Art-In-Action" exhibition assembled by the San Francisco Municipal Arts Festival. On 06 and 07 Jul 1959, Breuner's Home Furnishers of Oakland invited the public to see Mr. Orville Kuhl, a hand engraver, at work. "See a nearly lost art of hand engraving on metal (this particular metal being indestructable). Mr. Kuhl, retired gunsmith engraver, will also show prize guns, up to $10000 in value."

Mr. Kuhl died in Walnut Creek, Contra Costa County, California on 11 Apr 1972

That is great information. I am glad you were able to find it with the help of "wfb18".
And thanks for sharing it. A gun is much more enjoyable when it has interesting history.

You are the caretaker of a fine engraved shotgun.Enjoy it.Huntz

I agree nifty-two-fifty, a gun is more enjoyable when it has an interesting history. I wish I could figure out a way to find out who the original owner, who commissioned the engraving was. In 1950 when this gun was made it was arguably the best auto loader available. It sounds like it was most likely a California resident in 1950-1951 who could afford the engraving on a gun that he would actually use. I think to shoot skeet more than hunt birds.