Who made the shotgun I Have?

Question
QUESTION: I have a single barrel shotgun and Iam trying to find out who made it.
On the Butt plate it has a eagle with A*F and Co.(the "and" goes sideways) on a banner at the feet of the eagle
On the top of the barrel is says Genuine Twist.
On the left side of the barrel it says choke bored.
Right below that,But not on the barrel it says
Worlds Challenge Ejector
The only #'s I could find was 79301, I assume that it is serial #..
Under the butt plate has a hunting license date in 1931 so I know it is atleast that old.
I would appreciate any help you could give me
Because I do not know anything about shotguns
Thank You
Linda

ANSWER: Linda,

Your shotgun was manufactured by Andrew Fyrberg & Co.  Fyrberg was a gun designer that worked for Iver Johnson for a while before going on his own in 1896.  He primarily built break-top revolvers, single barrel shotguns and a few side by side type shotguns.

Fyrberg contracted with Sears, Roebuck in 1903 to produce firearms exclusively for sale in the Sears, Roebuck catalog.  Ultimately, Sears ended up making an investment in his company to allow him to expand production resulting in he and his two sons becoming salaried employees of Sears.  Production was moved from Massachusetts to Connecticut in 1904 after the Sears investment.

It is a little fuzzy in the research since there are conflicting stories, but I believe Fyrberg made shotguns for Sears principally between 1899 and 1906.  Some references say that the shotguns continued to be produced as late as 1915, but I have not been able to verify this last point.

At the time they were inexpensive, utilitarian guns that sold for prices in the $10 range.  It does not appear that these are collectable guns as current values seem to range from $35 to $100 depending on condition.  

You appear to have an interesting old shotgun that probably does not have much in the way of actual value, but has an interesting history...

Hope this helps you out...

Doug


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Doug,
Thank You Very Much For Your Help I really Appreciate it.
Is it safe it say that the shot gun I have is not part of the shotguns that were contracted for the Sears Roebuck Co., since it does not have the Sears Roebuck name on it? Iam trying to find a close timeline of when the shotgun was actually made.
Iam not really concerned about the Money Value of the shotgun
Iam just interested in all the History that I can find on it. So the History and the story of the shotgun can stay passed down in the family with the shotgun.
The shotgun belonged to my Grandfather who then gave it to my father in the mid to late 1970's when I was a teenager. I remember my Grandfather telling my father the history and the story of the shotgun when he gave it to him. But the only thing I could remember was the Hunting License being under the butt plate of the shotgun. Unfortunately both My Grandfather and Father have passed away so Iam unable to ask them about it.The shotgun is in "EXCELLENT Condition"
I know it is a powerful shotgun. I shot it once when I was a teenager. My father put me up against a tree to shoot it and had me keep my shoulder up against the tree so it wouldn't break my shoulder, because of it's kick when it is shot.
Thank You Again For your help
Linda  

Answer
Linda,

Even though the gun does not have the Sears name on it, Sears bought close to 100% of the production of Fyrberg starting in 1899, even though they did not invest in them until 1903.  Sears did not start "house branding" until much later.  The shotgun was most likely made by Fyrberg and sold by Sears.

There are no serial number records that I can find, so I think you are probably looking at a total date range of 1896 to 1907 when Meriden Firearms took over Fyrberg & Sons.  That's probably about as much as I can narrow it down.

Hope this helps you out...

Doug