I just purchased a Lefever shotgun. I believe it is a G grade. It has 30" damascus barrels. serial number 19395. It has the push button fore end and red rubber recoil pad. Is there any way to determine when this was manufactured? Thanks
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Probably built in 1892, but you can't really go strictly by the serial number listing we have here. As you learn more about your new gun you'll notice that the workings changed over the years. It might be better than a G grade if it has the push button fore-end release. Anyway, the grade is stamped on the action flats. Invest in a good book on the Lefever brand...Geo
I believe that most G's in that serial # range had push button forend releases, as did other grades. A little later most had snap on forends & some guns had metal escutcheons & some had the non-metallic round Dog's Head escutcheon. Many later G's fell into this category, but they were not limited to the G's. A G in that SN range will likely have just line engraving with a little sunburst on the screw hweads etc, but they were still well made quality guns, just not highly decorated. Many had very nice wood.