Originally Posted by Drew Hause
Has anyone here seen a Lefever that looks like this; unrelated to a fall or dropping the gun?
Help me out Ted wink

[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]

IMHO these cracks start at the head of the stock and extend toward the butt

Yes Ted, the Preacher obviously needs help here.

I have seen a Lefever with a similar stock fracture, and it didn't happen as a result of recoil... any more than this example from the Preacher's vast photo collection happened from recoil. In the case of my Lefever, the cause was careless handling during shipping by Fed Ex. The gun was intact when I bought it, intact when the seller boxed and shipped it, and broken nearly in two when Fed Ex delivered it. The box also showed obvious signs of rough handling.

In the photo above, all it takes is the simple power of observation and reasoning to SEE that the widest part of the split is near the end of the top tang. The split runs along the direction of the grain (which is not optimal in terms of grain layout through the wrist), and the split becomes more narrow as it runs forward, and then appears to terminate somewhere under the lockplate region. I would bet that if we could see this gun with the lock removed, the end of the split would be at least an inch or two from the head of the stock.

If this was caused by recoil, the widest part of this crack or split would be at the origin of the splitting forces, namely the head of the stock. The famous cracks behind the lockplates of L.C. Smith's are largely due to the wedge effect of the rear of the lockplate. The amount of wood removed during inletting, and the fragile nature of the old wood are contributing factors. This wedge effect is also the greatest cause of stock splits behind the top tangs of guns like the Parker and Remington doubles. We don't know precisely what caused this stock split, but if we observe and use reasoning, we SHOULD also be able to see those signs of damage in the checkering on either side of the split. That sort of thing is not seen in recoil induced splitting either.

Originally Posted by Lloyd3
Ouch! Just recoil did that?


Short answer Lloyd... Absolutely not!

BTW, you should think about making room for that F Grade if the condition and price are right. It will hold it's value far better than paper dollars, that are being severely devalued by Biden-flation.

A true sign of mental illness is any gun owner who would vote for an Anti-Gunner like Joe Biden.