Wester Field did not make guns, they sold guns manufactured by Marlin, Winchester, Hi Standard, and others through the 1970's.
Montgomery Wards did not make guns, they were made by various companies like Mossberg, Savage, Stevens and Hi Standard. Who made guns /shotguns for JC Penney, Sears, and Western Auto along with guns for Wards. The brand name were put on the guns for the stores to sell.
No. There never was a Western Field company. That was a trade name owned by Montgomery Wards and the guns were made by a variety of manufacturers including Stevens/Savage, Winchester, Mossberg, and others.
I would start with a Gun Values book and try to match the gun to the pictures and figure out what the gun really is (since Western Field didn't make any guns, but bought them from several different manufacturers). Once I knew what the gun was, it is an easier task to determine the years in which that gun was manufactured. You will likely not be able to determine the exact year of manufacture unless you can access the Western Field data base.
No, mainly german field artillery pieces
Western Auto did not make guns, they were made by various companies like Mossberg, Savage, Stevens and Hi Standard. Who made guns /shotguns for JC Penney, Sears, and Western Auto along with guns for Wards. The brand name were put on the guns for the stores to sell. Take the Shotgun to a gun shop and get it identified first to find out who made it.
At this time, no- but they have in past years,
Yes
Mossberg DID make the western field m172a. Western field is just a hardware store brand name, the same as Sears had alot of firearms made by Winchester, High Standard, Mossberg etc.... under the name of Ted Williams, JC Higgins, etc...
YES
Silversmiths did not make guns.
What's the fun in that. Hunting is suppose to be a sport of skill. Why don't they make field goals automatic once you make a touchdown. SKILL!
We do not know the name of the first gunmaker, not the exact date. The first guns were made 900-1000 years ago in China.